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Last Updated: December 25. 2009 10:42PM

Suspected al-Qaida attack fails on flight to Detroit

U.S. says Nigerian tried to detonate explosive device during landing

David Shephardson and Leonard Fleming / The Detroit News

Washington -- Federal officials and police are interviewing a 23-year-old passenger from Nigeria who they say tried to ignite a powdery substance on a Northwest plane that landed Friday at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, injuring himself and two passengers.The Nigerian man on a flight from Amsterdam told authorities he was directed by al-Qaida to explode a small device in flight over U.S. soil, according to ABC News.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad, a Nigerian. CBS news sources identified the man as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

King said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit.

Authorities have not corroborated that link and the credibility of the man's statements are being questioned.

"The United States government believes the event was an attempted act of terrorism," a White House official told The Detroit News on condition of anonymity.

The suspect had been in a law enforcement intelligence database but was not on the government's no-fly list, a law enforcement official told ABC.

Two people noticed the attempt to ignite the substance and a third person jumped on the man and subdued him, an airline official told NBC News.

The passenger, who was traveling on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 that was carrying 278 passengers, was not identified. He was being questioned Friday evening, according to a U.S. national security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

"He appears to have had some kind of incendiary device he tried to ignite," said one of the U.S. officials.

White House spokesman Bill Burton told The Detroit News that President Obama was keeping close tabs on the incident.

"The president was notified of the incident this morning between 9:00 and 9:30 Hawaii time by the president's military aide," he said. "The president subsequently convened a secure conference call with John Brennan, his Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism adviser, and Denis McDonough, NSS chief of staff. He asked to arrange subsequent secure call and in that call instructed that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel. The President is actively monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates. There is currently no change to his schedule."

Authorities initially believed the passenger had set off firecrackers that caused some minor injuries.

Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Susan Elliott said the passenger was subdued immediately. She had no details on the injuries. Delta and Northwest have merged.

One passenger from the flight was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. She didn't know the person's condition, or whether the person was a man or woman. She referred all inquiries to the FBI.

An FBI spokeswoman in Detroit said the incident is being investigated. It came just as the flight, an Airbus 330, was arriving in Detroit.

Passenger Syed Jafry, a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, said the incident occurred during the plane's descent. Jafry said he was seated three rows behind the passenger and said he saw a glow, and noticed a smoke smell. Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him."

"Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic," he said.

Rich Griffith, a passenger from Pontiac, said he was seated too far in the back to see what had happened. But he said he didn't mind being detained on the plane for several hours. "It's frustrating if you don't want to keep your country safe," he said. "We can't have what's going on everywhere else happening here."

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. It said he is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates from his vacation spot in Hawaii.

J.P. Karas, 55, of Wyandotte said he was driving down a road near the airport and saw a Delta jet at the end of the runway, surrounded by police cars, an ambulance, a bus and some TV trucks.

"I don't ever recall seeing a plane on that runway ever before and I pass by there frequently," he said.

Karas said it was difficult to tell what was going on, but it looked like the front wheel was off the runway.

The Homeland Security Department said passengers may see additional screening measures on domestic and international flights because of the incident.

"We encourage those with future travel plans to stay in touch with their airline and to visit www.tsa.gov for updates," the department said.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been briefed on the incident and is closely monitoring the situation.

The department encouraged travelers to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement officials.

Staff Writer Catherine Jun and the Associated Press contributed.

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