Failed In-Flight Terror Attacks: From Richard Reid to the Dubai-Tel Aviv Diversion
A recent incident involving a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which made an unscheduled landing in Saudi Arabia, is part of a series of foiled attack attempts. Among the significant events are the September 11, 2001, attacks, where passengers successfully prevented one aircraft from reaching its intended destination. On December 22, 2001, Richard Reid was subdued by passengers while trying to ignite explosives concealed in his shoes on American Airlines Flight 63. Similarly, on Christmas Day 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to set off a bomb on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 but was restrained after a minor explosion. Additionally, on June 29, 2012, six Uyghur men tried to hijack Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554, resulting in an in-flight confrontation. Historically, hijackings occurred more frequently before 9/11, typically resolved without violence.
Key facts
- A Dubai-Tel Aviv flight diverted to Saudi Arabia is still partly unclear but fits a pattern of attacks foiled by crew or passengers
- On September 11, 2001, passengers prevented one of four hijacked U.S. planes from reaching its target, crashing on empty Pennsylvania ground
- Richard Reid boarded American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami on December 22, 2001 with TATP hidden in his shoes
- Reid carried about 280 grams of explosive that FBI bomb experts said could have torn the fuselage and downed the plane
- Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate a bomb sewn into his underwear on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009
- A defective detonator prevented a large explosion on Flight 253, and Abdulmutallab was sentenced to life
- On June 29, 2012, six Uyghur men allegedly tried to seize Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554 from Hotan to Ürümqi; two hijackers died
- El Al Flight 219, hijacked on September 6, 1970, ended with one hijacker killed by an on-board security agent and an emergency landing at Heathrow
Entities
Artists
- Richard Reid
- Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Institutions
- American Airlines
- al Qaida
- FBI
- Northwest Airlines
- Tianjin Airlines
- El Al
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- World Uyghur Congress
- Royal Air Force
- Il Post
Locations
- Dubai
- United Arab Emirates
- Tel Aviv
- Israel
- Saudi Arabia
- United States
- Pennsylvania
- Paris
- France
- Miami
- Boston
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Detroit
- London
- United Kingdom
- Hotan
- Ürümqi
- Xinjiang
- China
- Germany
- Rome
- Italy
- Algiers
- Algeria
- New York
- Heathrow
- Dawson's Field
- Jordan