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Outcome investigation into Schiphol-Detroit flight

News item | 30-12-2009

The results of the preliminary investigation into the failed attack on Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit have revealed that the attack's preparation was relatively professional but its execution was amateurish.

Interior minister Guusje ter Horst reported the preliminary findings in a letter to parliament in her capacity as acting Minister of Justice in Ernst Hirsch Ballin's absence.

 

Prior to releasing the findings, the Minister of Justice decided, in close consultation with the American authorities, to immediately deploy body scanners in security checks at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport for flights to the United States.

 

The investigation conducted by the Dutch authorities concluded that the explosive used is neither simple nor particularly safe to produce. The modus operandi and type of explosive were similar to those used in earlier attacks.

 

The investigation also established that the suspect, Umar Farouk A., held a valid entry visa for the United States. The passenger list submitted prior to the flight did not give the US reason to require extra security measures. The suspect did not leave the customs area during his transfer at Schiphol and he was subjected to a further metal detector check in that area in accordance with protocol. The security check did not raise any suspicions.

 

Flight

 

The suspect, who attempted to crash the aircraft by detonating explosives onboard, left Lagos, Nigeria on 24 December 2009 on flight KL 0588 to Schiphol. The flight arrived on 25 December at 05:37 Central European time (CET). He departed Schiphol at 08:55 CET on flight NW 253 to Detroit (US) with the advance approval of the American authorities. Boarding commenced at 06:40. This transfer route is customary for Nigerians flying to the United States. The suspect was in possession of a return ticket purchased in Accra (Ghana).

 

All airlines flying from, to or via the United States are required to provide details of all passengers and crew to the American authorities prior to departure. In the case of flight 253, the American authorities granted the airline permission to carry the passenger in question without requiring that any extra security measures be taken. The security check revealed nothing to indicate that the subject should be classified as a high-risk passenger. He held a valid visa for the United States and spent the customary transfer time (several hours) in the airport's international lounge. The suspect was not known to the Dutch authorities.

 

Explosive

 

On the basis of the information available it is clear that the improvised explosive device was concealed on the suspect's body in a place where it would be unlikely to draw attention. The main component of the explosive was 80 grams of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), which is also known as pentrite. PETN is a very powerful conventional explosive, which is not easy to produce independently. Nor is its production without risk. Also found with the explosive was the remainder of a syringe containing chemicals presumably intended to function as a detonator. The suspect allegedly spent considerable time in the lavatory of the aircraft prior to the incident, possibly in order to assemble the components into an improvised explosive device (IED).

 

Professional approach

 

Despite the ultimate failure of the attack, the approach used in this case was relatively professional in comparison with other attempted attacks on commercial aircraft. Previous examples include Richard Reid, the so-called 'shoe bomber', who tried to set off a PETN-filled explosive device in his shoe using triacetone triperoxide (TATP) as a detonator, while aboard an aircraft on 23 December 2001. Further attacks were prevented in 2006, when terrorists targeting transatlantic flights planned to smuggle liquid explosives aboard in soft drink bottles in their hand luggage. The most recent example was the bomb attack against a Saudi prince in August 2009, in which the perpetrator was killed. The prince sustained only minor injuries.

 

Investigation

 

The Royal Military and Border Police (Kmar) launched an investigation immediately after the attack on flight 253 took place. On the instructions of the Public Prosecution Service and assisted by the National Crime Squad, Kmar began investigating possible offences committed within the territory of the Netherlands (including the KLM aircraft that transferred the suspect from Lagos to Schiphol). The focus is on whether, having travelled to Amsterdam on a Dutch aircraft, stopped over at Schiphol airport and transferred to the Amsterdam-Detroit flight in order to carry out the attack, the suspect could be charged with participation in a terrorist organisation and making preparations for a terrorist offence.

 

The investigation will consider - partly on the basis of flight data and camera images - the suspect's movements, including any contacts he may have had during the transit phase at Schiphol and during the KLM flight that preceded it. It will also examine the circumstances surrounding the airport's security procedures. Where necessary, mutual requests for legal assistance will be exchanged between the Netherlands and the United States.

 

The incident in Detroit should be viewed separately from the scaling down of the Terrorist Threat Assessment for the Netherlands (DTN) to 'limited' earlier this month and has no implications for the current threat level. Scaling down the threat level had no direct effect on specific security measures, such as those in place at Schiphol. However, the incident of 25 December 2009 inevitably affects the Counterterrorism Alert System for the airports sector, fully justifying the increased alert level for this sector and the security measures arising from it. The extra measures that have been implemented at Schiphol airport as a result of the most recent incident relate only to flights to or over the United States.

 

Body scanners

 

The justice minister's decision, taken in close consultation with the American authorities, to deploy security body scanners should significantly increase the chance of detecting such explosives in the future. At European level, the Netherlands is also urging the systematic introduction of body scanners across the EU.