Thread: Air marshal subdues man on DC-Denver flight

Air marshal subdues man on DC-Denver flight
Devlin Barrett And Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press Writers – 6 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The FBI is probing whether a man tried to ignite his shoes on a DC to Denver flight Wednesday, according to law enforcement officials, who say the man is a Qatari diplomat.

An official said an air marshal on the flight apparently restrained them. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.

The officials said fighter jets were scrambled but proved unnecessary, as the plane landed safely in Denver with no injuries to passengers.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Kristin Lee said the man is being interviewed by law enforcement officials in Denver.

Two officials say the man is a Qatari diplomat who has been in the United States for years.

Unlike the Christmas Day bomb attempt on an Detroit-bound airliner, officials say it is not immediately clear what the man was trying to do — something harmful like start a fire or explosion, or something as innocent as smoke a cigarette.

Officials insisted Wednesday night it was still too early to tell whether the incident was an attempted act of terrorism or a giant misunderstanding.

A media hot line at Denver International Airport says the United Flight 663 from Washington to Denver was met by FBI and TSA officials around 7 p.m. MDT. Airport officials didn't immediately return phone calls to The Associated Press.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_plane_...1hcnNoYWxzdQ--

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At Ace of Spades, Gabriel Malor is doing breaking news reporting and contacted Denver International Airport. He’s got fresh details: http://ace.mu.nu/archives/300331.php

(9:56) Talked to media contact at DIA. They’re calling it a “security disturbance”. The plane was from Reagan to DIA. It was met upon arrival by the TSA, FBI, and airport PD. It will have no impact on airport operations. There are no flight holds at present.

Later (9:59) He’s got a diplomatic passport and is claiming diplomatic immunity.

The passport is from Qatar.

More via ABC News:

“Suspect identified as a diplomat in Qatar embassy: Mohammed al Modadi.”

Nice immunity shield strategy there.

Is this the new thing in shoebomber recruitment?

And more on how air marshals tackled the suspect:
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/air-ma...ry?id=10315314

Federal air marshals subdued a man who authorities say attempted to “light his shoes on fire” on a United flight from Washington Reagan to Denver Wednesday night, federal law enforcement officials told ABC News.

Authorities say an explosive team is on the way to the airport, and that while the presence of explosives has not yet been confirmed, they believe it was an attempted “shoe bomb.”

The suspect was identified by authorities as a diplomat in the Qatar embassy in Washington, Mohammed al Modadi. The FBI said the man had full diplomat immunity as the 3rd secretary and vice-consul.

Two jet fighters were scrambled from Buckley Air Force Base to accompany the plane as it flew its last 40 miles into Denver, according to authorities.


Via 9News in Colorado: http://www.9news.com/news/article.as...6334&catid=339

A spokesperson for DIA says United Flight 663 landed at 7 p.m.

Both the FBI and the TSA have responded to the incident. Other federal law enforcement agencies have also responded, 9Wants to Know has learned.

A passenger on the plane contacted 9NEWS and says they were held on the plane as it sat on the tarmac for around an hour.

He says all the passengers were taken off the plane and are now being interviewed by the FBI.

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Via NBC: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...50/detail.html

A half hour before landing, an air marshal smelled smoke and confronted a man emerging from a bathroom who claimed he was trying to set his shoes on fire, WNBC reported.

It was uncertain if anything actually was on fire or if this was a joke, NBC reported. Investigators were looking to see what might be in the man’s shoes.

…The latest incident comes a week after the United States announced new security measures to replace the mandatory screening of air travelers from 14 countries that had angered some allies when it was imposed after a failed bombing on Christmas Day. Qatar is not among the 14.

NBC’s Pete Williams is now suggesting it was a “misunderstanding,” via Allahpundit. Hmmm: http://hotair.com/archives/2010/04/0...ight-thwarted/

When the marshal asked him what he was doing in the bathroom, al-Modadi supposedly said, “I was trying to light my shoes on fire.” In fact, he might have simply been having a smoke and was being sarcastic with the marshal. Again, this is all from Williams. I’ll update when I see something contradictory.

Incidentally, until a few minutes ago, MSNBC.com’s own headline for this story was “NBC News: Airline bombing foiled.”

Now it’s “NBC: Passenger subdued aboard United jet.”

Just a friendly reminder that smoking on an airplane is a federal crime.

Are Qatar diplomats immune?

and so it begins ... move along ... nothing to see here ... keep it moving


AP source: Man on flight possibly sneaking smoke
Ivan Moreno And Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writers – 2 mins ago

DENVER – A Qatari diplomat trying to sneak a smoke in an airplane bathroom sparked a bomb scare Wednesday night on a flight from Washington to Denver, with fighter jets scrambled and law enforcement put on high alert, officials said.

No explosives were found on the man, and officials do not believe he was trying to harm anyone, according to a senior law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Arab diplomat briefed on the matter identified the diplomat as Mohammed Al-Madadi.

The sources asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Officials said air marshals aboard the flight restrained the man and he was questioned. The plane landed safely as military jets were scrambled.

Flights continued to land and take off at Denver International Airport, one of the nation's busiest. Passengers from other flights picked up their luggage in the airport's baggage area, apparently unaware of any emergency.

A senior State Department official said the agency was aware of the tentative identification of the man as a Qatari diplomat and that there would be "consequences, diplomatic and otherwise" if he had committed a crime.

The latest edition of department's Diplomatic List, a registry of foreign diplomats working in the United States, identifies a man named Mohammed Yaaqob Y.M. Al-Madadi as the third secretary for the Qatari Embassy in Washington. Third secretary is a relatively low-ranking position at any diplomatic post and it was not immediately clear what his responsibilities would have been.

Foreign diplomats in the United States, like American diplomats posted abroad, have broad immunity from prosecution. The official said if the man's identity as a Qatari diplomat was confirmed and if it was found that he may have committed a crime, U.S. authorities would have to decide whether to ask Qatar to waive his diplomatic immunity so he could be charged and tried. Qatar could decline, the official said, and the man would likely be expelled from the United States.

The Boeing 757 was carrying 157 passengers and six crew members, said Michael Trevino, a spokesman for United Airlines. The flight left Reagan National Airport at 5:19 p.m. EDT and landed in Denver International Airport at 7 p.m. MDT, Trevino said.

The flight crew radioed air traffic control to ask that the flight be met on the ground by law enforcement, he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100408/...ne_disturbance

Diplomat was to meet jailed terrorist
Matthew Lee And P. Solomon Banda, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 7 mins ago

WASHINGTON – A Qatari diplomat was on his way to meet an imprisoned al-Qaida agent when he touched off a bomb scare by slipping into an airline bathroom for a smoke, officials said Thursday as they announced plans to send the diplomat home.

A State Department official and another person close to the matter say Mohammed Al-Madadi was going to meet Ali Al-Marri in prison. Consular officials frequently visit foreigners held in the United States to make sure they are being treated well.

Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar, is serving eight years in prison after pleading guilty last year to conspiring to support terrorism. He was arrested after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, accusing him of being a sleeper agent researching poisonous gases and plotting a cyberattack.

The visit with such a high-profile prisoner suggests that Al-Madadi would have been very aware of terrorism concerns when he sneaked into the plane's bathroom for a smoke and, according to authorities, joked about lighting his shoe on fire.

The people who discussed the case did so on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

No explosives were found on the plane and authorities said they don't think Al-Madidi was trying to hurt anyone during Wednesday's scare. He enjoys diplomatic immunity from U.S. prosecution and will not be criminally charged, authorities said. The State Department official said Qatar had not yet informed the administration how they will handle the case.

Wednesday's scare came three months after the attempted terror attack on Christmas Day when a Nigerian man allegedly tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner. The Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, went to the bathroom just before he allegedly tried to ignite his bomb in his seat. Since then, law enforcement, flight crews and passengers have been on high alert for suspicious activity on airplanes. That scare exposed major holes in the country's national security and prompted immediate changes in terror-screening policies.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100408/.../date/asc/4211

US to close book on diplomat's airline bomb scare
By Matthew Lee And P. Solomon Banda, Associated Press Writers Fri Apr 9, 11:23 am ET

WASHINGTON – The U.S. plans to close the book on the bomb scare aboard a Denver-bound airliner after receiving assurances from Qatar that the diplomat who touched off the panic will be sent home, officials said.

The diplomat, Mohammed Al-Madadi, was flying from Washington to meet imprisoned al-Qaida sleeper agent Ali Al-Marri for a routine consular visit, a State Department official and another person close to the matter said Thursday. Al-Madadi slipped into the plane's bathroom for a smoke, authorities said, then joked about trying to set his shoe on fire — an apparent reference to would-be "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, who was convicted for his 2001 attempt to down an airliner.

That touched off a major response by security officials still smarting from a nearly disastrous Christmas Day airline bombing in Detroit. The military scrambled fighter jets Wednesday night, and the FBI questioned Al-Madadi for hours.

No explosives were found on the plane, and authorities said they don't think Al-Madadi was trying to hurt anyone during Wednesday's scare. He enjoys diplomatic immunity from U.S. prosecution and will not be criminally charged, authorities said.

The State Department official said Qatar had not yet informed the administration how it will handle the case but has assured the U.S. that Al-Madadi will leave the country. U.S. officials expected that to happen by Friday.

Those who discussed the case did so on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

"We fully expect this will be resolved very quickly," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters.

Crowley said the U.S. government is satisfied the Qatari government is taking the matter seriously.

The purpose of Al-Madadi's trip — meeting with a dangerous terrorist — raises questions about why someone familiar with national security cases would apparently flout airline security rules and joke about would-be bombers.

Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar, is serving eight years in prison after pleading guilty last year to conspiring to support terrorism. He was arrested after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, accused of being a sleeper agent researching poisonous gasses and plotting a cyberattack.

Consular officials frequently visit foreigners held in the United States to make sure they are being treated well.

Some air travelers at Denver International Airport said they were amazed Al-Madadi would not be charged with anything.

"I think it's wrong. I'd get busted. I don't think that (immunity) should be a factor," said one of them, Hank DePetro, a retired psychologist from Greeley, Colo.

Under international protocol — the 1961 Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations — diplomats in foreign countries enjoy broad immunity from prosecution. That immunity can only be waived by a diplomat's home government, something that is rarely requested and even more rarely granted.

But even without pressing charges and without such a waiver, the U.S. could have moved to declare Al-Madadi "persona non grata" and expel him from the country. However, officials said they would not attempt to do so, given the close nature of U.S.-Qatari ties and the importance the country plays in the Middle East.

Qatar, about the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined and with a population of about 1.4 million people, is oil-rich and an important U.S. ally. The country hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, which runs the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and is a major supporter of operations deemed critical to both campaigns.

Qatar's ambassador to the United States, Ali Bin Fahad Al-Hajri, cautioned against a rush to judgment.

"This diplomat was traveling to Denver on official embassy business on my instructions, and he was certainly not engaged in any threatening activity," he said in a statement. "The facts will reveal that this was a mistake."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20...9jbG9zZWJvbw--