Posted on 12/27/2009 6:57:14 AM PST by KeyLargo
PETN explosive used in terrorist attack Northwest Flight 253: Carried on in condom
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who claimed to be acting on orders from al-Qaida to blow up a NWA plane, apparently carried on PETN explosive onto Northwest flight 253. A high-ranking law enforcement official told CBS News that the suspect apparently used a syringe to inject a chemical into the powder, which was located near his groin. The explosives were carried in a soft plastic container which may have been a condom, although fire destroyed much of the package.
What is PETN?
According to information on both Wikipedia and Brittanica Online:
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) is one of the most powerful high explosives known.
The most obvious use of PETN is as an explosive. It is more sensitive to shock or friction than TNT or tetryl, and it is never used alone.
It is primarily used in booster and bursting charges of small caliber ammunition, in upper charges of detonators in some land mines and shells, and as the explosive core of detonation cord.
PETN is a colourless, crystalline material that is generally stored and shipped as a mixture with water. It is less sensitive than nitroglycerin but is easily detonated.
How did Abdulmutallab get the explosive PETN on board Northwest Flight 253?
Officials said something similar to condom could have been used to bring the PETN on flight 253. That would have made it very difficult for authorities to find on the suspect even if they would have thought it was a possibility. This type of substance can be transported in a variety of ways making it a major threat for safe air travel.
Are airports in and out of the US stepping up security?
Travelers described the tightened security, especially for international flights bound for the United States. Some of the latest safety measures include:
Pat downs of passengers at airport security, concentrating on the upper torso and legs
Physical inspections of all carry-on bags at the gate
Requiring all passengers to be seated for the full hour prior to arrival
Banning the use of blankets and pillows one hour prior to arrival.
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SECURITY
Passengers flying to the U.S. from London’s Heathrow can only carry only one piece of hand baggage onto their flight.
Brussels: passengers were advised to reach the airport three hours before departure to allow time for a second security check at the boarding gate.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has been testing full body scanners for about a year that allow security staff to see the outline of a passenger and potential weapons beneath their clothes, and intend to roll out a more complete program next year.
Sweden, Denmark and Norway: airport operators are applying tougher security checks on flights destined for the U.S., but that they did not plan tighter rules for other flights.
Nigeria: This is where Abdulmutallab's trip originated. According to reports, soldiers impassively stared at those passing into the departure terminal Saturday and the airport X-ray machines were notably battered.
Just as I read this,ABC news played a sound bite from the man who subdued him.
He clearly stated that Muttalab had a flaming container.
Let’s see....
He carried one element of the mixture stitched in his underwear and the other in a condom?
Too many visuals, too little time.....
This is a magnum condom the most powerful prophylactic in the world you got to ask yourself one question do you feel lucky punk
Would not surprise me one bit to learn that the technique for smuggling explosives past security and on board an aircraft involves the use of a body cavity, similar to the bomber in Saudi Arabia, that attacked one of the Saud royals. The bomb was detonated whilst inside the attacker, thus diminishing it’s effect. Apparently, there wasn’t a plan to remove the bomb prior to detonation, which significantly aided in preventing it’s detection, or a private area was unavailable for removal of the bomb. A possible remote detonation may have been the plan all along. The potential nightmare that this new bombing technique presents to the security agencies is significant and real, especially if the game plan is to always remove the materials/device prior to detonation, thus increasing the explosive force. I’m not sure how sensitive the sniffers are in being able to detect something highly explosive that’s cached internally.
Sheeeet! Now the suiciders will have hard time to blow the planes hour before landing. Other times no problem. Brillllliant! Finally we are safe!
One can only hope.
Makes you wonder, doesn’t it, how many of these were thwarted when Bush was president?
“Requiring all passengers to be seated for the full hour prior to arrival”
“Banning the use of blankets and pillows one hour prior to arrival.”
this, of course, makes no sense. it just moves the detonation time up one hour. the planes will have to be destroyed a little sooner. does anyone really think that if a terrorist is instructed to blow the plane 1/2 hour before arrival but cannot get to the bathroom to prepare the ingrediants that he/she will not simply go prepare the components an extra 1/2 hour earlier? do the officials at TSA or Homeland Security think that the suicide mission will be aborted because no one can go to the restroom 1 hour before landing.
Flight crews will give warning 1 1/2 hours before flight ends:
“we are now 1 1/2 hours before landing in Detroit. if you need to use the restroom for any reason do it now because you will not be allowed to do it when we are 1 hour from our destination.”
that should prevent the terrorist from preparing the bomb since he/she was instructed to use the restoom during the last hour of the flight.
genius
pure genius
of course, i now realize the back-story here is that if the TSA was actually successful in stopping terrorists then they would not be able to expand their mandates and hire more (union of course) workers. it only makes sense to let a few planes blow so they can have job security and pay raises.
I find it concerning that the President has time to disconnect and play golf on holiday when his message of hope and change hasn't reached fools who will stuff explosives up their backside.
genius
pure genius
+1
> Since all terrorists are Muzzies between the ages of 17 to 45 - let’s require all passengers to eat a strip of bacon before boarding the plane!
Unfortunately, not all muslims observe their strict dietary requirements. I know many muslims who enjoy bacon, ham and pork just as much as you and I do. Alcohol, too — no problem for some muslims.
I was always under the impression that these terrorists are extremely devout muslims - not the so called moderates that you speak of.
> I was always under the impression that these terrorists are extremely devout muslims - not the so called moderates that you speak of.
Their devotion to extremism and martyrdom doesn’t necessarily extend to their diet or, indeed, to their taste for porn and alcohol.
These people are seriously cracked. And most muslims disown them, believe it or not.
2. Require EVERYONE, before entering a jet, train, bus, or whatever, to rub their hand on a piece of Ham or Bacon.
Contamination = HELL instead of 72 virgins.
No boom.
As we all know – thanks to being told so by successive administrations — Islam is the religion of peace*. Thanks to the actions of one brave passenger — who fully understood that he had nothing to lose — this incident remained a small one.
Thanks to PC and the chronic disease known as “Cranial Anal Inversion Syndrome” among most alleged American “leaders” all the way up to the White Mosque — er — House, this “small” incident — and all like it in the future — will disappear down the Orwellian memory hole.
I suspect the primary cause of the failure to put this guy – and only God knows how many more — on a no-fly list is that the folks down the food chain and on the ground who are SUPPOSED to keep these MUSLIM idiots off commercial flights are severely conflicted. On one hand, they are tasked to keep flying safe. On the other, they’ve all had multiple memos and “sensitivity sessions” stressing that they MUST NOT PROFILE but be especially alert to the feelings of Muslims. Any actions taken against them MUST be fully justified and documented. The vernacular expression dealing with that is “CYA.” And so they do — while the rest of us die or, thanks to the actions of a passenger, have a very close call on approach to Detroit.
Compounding the problem is that this particular miscreant was not only a Muslim but a black guy from Nigeria. And the American president is _________ (fill in the correct color) and, having been born to a Muslim father and raised in a Muslim country, sympathetic to the religion of _________. (fill in the appropriate term).
The response to this near-tragedy? Fatherland Security now keeps passengers in their seats for the last hour of the trip!! Great! I suspect sales of Depends will soon spike. Now these folks will die at 35,000 feet and the wreckage will be strewn over hundreds of square miles making it virtually impossible to determine if it WAS an act of mass murder by (select one) an angry Norwegian, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, a Muslim nutcase. A few more of these and the air travel industry will be COMPLETELY dead.
By their INACTION and persistence in their denial that we are at war with a determined and dedicated enemy, these alleged “leaders” have 100% guaranteed that the next one will NOT be “small.”
* BTW, “peace” has two definitions:
1. The absence of conflict or war.
2. The ABSENCE or SUPPRESSION OF RESISTANCE TO SOME FORCE, POLICY, IDEOLOGY or POLITICAL SYSTEM, etc. WITH WHICH ONE HAS AN ABIDING DISAGREEMENT WHICH ONE WOULD OTHERWISE ATTEMPT TO DEFEAT TO THE POINT OF TAKING UP ARMS.
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