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Suspect Detained After Attempting to Blow Up Airplane Over Detroit; Passenger Who Initially Subdued Terror Suspect Interviewed

Aired December 26, 2009 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASPER SHURINGA, PASSENGER WHO TACKLED TERROR SUSPECT: I didn't think. When you hear a pop on the plane, you're awake. Trust me. I just jumped. I didn't think. And I just went, went over there and tried to save the plane.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: An exclusive interview there with one of the passengers on board that Northwest airlines flight, Jasper Schuringa. You'll hear much more from him later on about how they were able to subdue this suspect in what's being called an attempted terrorist attack.

Hello again, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It was an apparent attempt to stage a terror attack over U.S. air space during one of the holiest days on the Christian calendar. Northwest airlines flight 253 was on a Christmas Day flight from Amsterdam.

The crew was preparing to land in Detroit when passengers heard the pop, as you just heard, and saw the smoke. They scrambled to subdue a 23-year-old Nigerian man. The plane did land safely, and police took the suspect into custody. He is being treated now for burns and he's being questioned by the FBI.

CNN is following this story from every conceivable angle. We've got correspondents all across the map from Nic Robertson in Europe, and stateside here in the U.S. Jeanne Meserve and Kate Bolduan are also joining us. And Drew Griffin and Josh Levs are here as well in Atlanta. Ed Henry is traveling with the president from Hawaii.

Let's get started with Martin Savidge. He's at the airport outside Detroit where Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab has actually been arrested. We here that he is being quite talkative with the FBI. Martin, what else are you hearing?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Fredricka. He has been very talkative. The question is how much can be believed at this point? That's what the long drawn-out investigation is obviously trying to find out.

There were two things that are very obvious now 24 hours after this attempted act of terrorism took place. One is, fortunately, it did not succeed. It did not work as well as the terrorists hoped it would.

And the second is that it's going to impact a lot of people as a result of what happened here in Detroit, and I mean travel plans, because right now across the country there are new security measures being introduced all which could delay your transit as you go through the airport or perhaps even delay your flights.

So be warned. If you are traveling or flying this holiday weekend, you might want to give yourself even extra time than what you were already planning.

Now to the investigation. Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab is the man who is at the center, a 23-year-old engineering student and Nigerian national. He was on that Northwest Airlines flight 253 yesterday. It was going from Amsterdam here to Detroit. The plane was on final approach.

And then all of a sudden it appears that Mr. Abdul Mutallab set off some explosive device. We are hearing from sources it was a combination of powder and a liquid he mixed together somehow, and as a result the chemical reaction triggered an explosion and fire. That in turn triggered chaos on the plane.

Fortunately though, it did not explode as big as it was expected on his part. And he was quickly subdued by passengers, one of which was Jasper Schuringa, a man who wasted no time acting and helping to bring this situation under control. He talked exclusively to CNN. Here is some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHURINGA: I was on the right side of the plane and the suspect were on a left side there. There were quite some seats in between. When I saw that suspect, he was getting on fire, and I freaked, of course.

Without any agitation I just jumped over all the seats and jumped to the suspect. And because I was thinking he's trying to blow up the plane.

And so I was trying to search his body for any explosives. And then I took some kind of object that was already melting and smoking out of him. And I tried to put out the fire. Then when I did that, I was also restraining the suspect.

And then the fire started beneath his seat. With my hands and everything -- you can see it's a little burned up -- I put out the fire. And then other passengers helped me, as well. And of course I was streaming for water, water, because a fire on the plane is not that good, of course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Abdul Mutallab right now is in the hospital with third degree burns on his legs. The White House is saying there is no doubt this was an attempt at terrorism in the air, and the real question for investigators is was this man acting alone, did he have any assistance? Is he connected to Al Qaeda or is he merely a person who sympathizes with Al Qaeda? And is it possible there could be others out there planning similar sorts of attacks?

Right now, investigators say they believe this man acted alone, that there are no others. However, the fact that security is being beefed up across the nation is their way of just making sure that is so -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Marty Savidge, thanks so much from Detroit. And as you heard, Jasper Schuringa has an amazing story to tell. We'll have that interview in its entirety about ten minutes from now, so stick around to hear a little bit more about that.

So what more do we know about this suspect, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab? Well, he claims to have ties to extremists, but for now, as Marty says, authorities say he was apparently acting alone.

His last known residence, London, and that's where counterterrorism police have been conducting searches today. Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson is there. And what more are they hearing and discover about this suspect?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, they are not talking to and telling us what they are discovering at the moment. But police have, however, cordoned off this street. I'm talking from just beyond the plastic strip that stops traffic from coming down the street. There are now policemen on the corners as the investigation in the luxury apartments behind me carries on into the night. Police have been here throughout the day.

Earlier in the day they were going in forensic overalls, the type of clothing that policemen wear when they want to avoid contaminating a crime scene. This afternoon and into this evening we're seeing them coming and going in what is perhaps more regular police clothing.

They are, according to the metropolitan police here in London, these are counterterrorism police going through this apartment building. And to give you some idea of the type of residence this is, an apartment here costs between $2 million and $4 million. So these are luxury apartments here where this young man was believed to have been living.

We also now understand from the University College in London that he studied at university here, mechanical engineering. He graduated in the summer of 2008, a year and a half ago.

So it's not clear when he was last in this residence here, but it does appear that he would have been here regularly over the years when he was studying. The university is just around the corner from here. And for the police, a priority in this investigation and the searches right now to find out if there are links to any other groups, that if there is any other material giving police information that may lead to other active terror plots, this will be the priority for what they are looking for as they sift for deeper information, if you will, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

While investigators are piecing together information in London, the last known residence of Abdul Mutallab, there are also a lot of pieces being put onto place here stateside. CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve is joining us now from Washington.

Questions how he got this U.S. visa, which partly explained how he is able to get this far from his international travels. What more do you know about that?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, some answers from Elise Lavater, our State Department producer who has been inquiring how this individual attained a visa. She's been told by a senior administration official that he got this visa in June 2008. It was a multiple-year, multi-entry tourist visa to enter the U.S. He got it in London where he was a student.

According to this official, at the time there was no derogatory information in the system that would have prevented U.S. officials from issuing a visa to this individual.

The official then goes on to tell Elise Lavat that the father did contact the U.S. embassy in Nigeria a few weeks ago to express concerns that his son had become radicalized and could be planning something.

That information was passed along to the National Counterterrorism Center, known as the NCTC. That's the group that actually maintains the various databases and watch lists.

But according to this senior administration official, a file was opened on him and he was put on a general watch list, but the information was not deemed specific enough to pull his visa or to put him on a no-fly list.

So another indication reinforcing what we heard from other sources, that U.S. officials were aware of this individual, but the triaging of terror suspects put him fairly low on the totem pole. That is why he was allowed to board that flight and why he was coming into the United States -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Interesting, Jeanne. I may be putting you on the spot. So as it goes then, if you're on a general watch list but you're not necessarily on the no-fly list, something has been said that raises a flag, when he were to check in say in London or perhaps go through security in Amsterdam to change flights, would his name come up if he were on a general watch list in the U.S.? Would his name come up as a red flag enough for any of the authorities to say we don't want you to go even further?

MESERVE: There is something called the no-fly list, and we've been told by multiple sources that he wasn't on that. There has been a much larger list called the "selectee list." Those people who when they fly are pulled aside for secondary screening. For instance, explosive swabs are taken on their luggage, and so forth.

We do not know if he was on the selectee list or whether he was on some even lower category of concern, some other database. There are multiple databases maintained by the U.S. government.

WHITFIELD: All right, fascinating stuff. Thanks so much, Jeanne Meserve. We'll check back with you momentarily.

There are a lot of consequences that have come from this alarming incident yesterday on Christmas Day. If you are traveling in any of the airports across the U.S., you're going to find longer lines and more obvious security, two things that those with tickets should expect today and maybe even tomorrow and the next few days.

This is happening on one of the busiest travel days of the year, what took place yesterday, in what continues to be a heavily-traveled time of year.

CNN's Kate Bolduan is live at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C., where it really is always very busy there, but now this particular incident taking place in Detroit has kind of raised the stakes for everybody as it pertains to travel, right?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As we are speaking with passengers arriving here to Dulles International, we are definitely getting a sense that there has been a ripple effect, as you can expect, and we heard from homeland security officials.

The Department of Homeland Security, the secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano issued a new statement saying that the American people should continue with their holiday travel as planned but should be aware, as always, of their surroundings.

In this statement they also note passengers flying from international occasions into the U.S. should expect to see stepped-up security measures. And we've been talking about some of those security measures that we've been hearing, that people may be seeing at airports across the country and also across the world.

You can see additional gate screenings, added security personnel. You can see more of those bomb-sniffing dogs, those canine units at airports, as well as behavior detection specialists, people who are really trained to root out suspicious behavior in airports.

I'll tell you, though, many of the passengers, by and large all the passengers we're talking to, they're arriving into Dulles, they say what they really noticed as a change today, and many of these are domestic travelers, what they say has been they've seen delays and much more in depth scrutiny at the security checkpoint. One person I spoke to really described it as many different things that he saw in security -- the bags going through the x-rays multiple times, which he said he had not seen before. Another telling me that TSA and other officials are checking each liquid to see exactly what it is, to verify exactly what it is. They said they were surprised to see that.

I asked if they thought of that as an inconvenience. They said inconvenience maybe, but I guess we should allow for inconvenience if it means safer travel. So that's what we're hearing from many of the passengers here.

I'll tell you, Fredricka, there are some international flights scheduled to arrive in the next hour or so. So it will be very interesting if we can get a chance to speak with some of those passengers to see what their travel day has been like.

But I am getting a sense from at least some of the passengers we're talking to that it is a different environment, a different atmosphere, as they travel today.

WHITFIELD: Everything being stepped up quite a bit. All right, Kate Bolduan, thanks so much, at Dulles International Airport outside D.C.

All right, well, a hero of flight 253 -- a passenger who says he actually helped bring down the terror suspect. A CNN exclusive is straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: More now on what is being considered an act of terrorism -- an attempted act of terrorism yesterday. President Barack Obama is keeping up with the investigation. It happened on the Northwest Airlines flight 253 yesterday.

And the Obamas learned about it right away, at least the president did. They are vacationing in Hawaii. Our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is in Honolulu. Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fred, good afternoon. We have some new information that the president got another secured briefing in a conference call this morning about 6:20 a.m. Hawaii time. We're five hours back from the east coast.

The president had a secure call with two of his top aides, John Brennan, his principle Homeland Security adviser, as well as Dennis McDonough. He's chief of staff at the National Security Council at the White House traveling with the president here in Hawaii. The president is also getting paper updates from the Situation Room back at the White House.

But in this call we're told by White House spokesman Bill Burton that the president, quote, "received an update on the heightened air safety measures being taken to keep the American people safe and also was briefed on the investigation, Bill Burton saying the president will continue to be kept abreast of the situation.

What we're being told of what the president is being told in these briefings is a number of things -- number one, that the White House does believe this was an attempted terror attack.

Secondly, that the suspect in Detroit is being debriefed by the FBI and is talking a lot, being very talkative. We'll see, obviously trying to verify a lot of what he is saying, whether or not it is true or not.

And finally, we're told the president is being briefed in general that U.S. officials currently believe that this suspect was acting alone, was not, you know, did not have any formal ties to an organized terrorist group like Al Qaeda.

He may have had aspirations or may have been inspired by Al Qaeda or another terror group, but at this point they have no evident suggesting that there was some formal tie with a terror group -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Ed Henry in Honolulu, appreciate that.

And now this CNN exclusive. A passenger says actually he jumped over others to tackle the suspected terrorist on that Northwest Airlines flight yesterday. Jasper Schuringa has a pretty amazing story to tell.

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WHITFIELD: Did you help take the image or did you also help subdue the suspect? Which is it?

SCHURINGA: Basically, I reacted on the bang. And then suddenly there was smoke in the cabin. So people were screaming, "fire, fire!" And the first thing we all did is check to where the fire was. Then I saw the suspect on the seat.

WHITFIELD: How many rows back were you? Were you behind the suspect when this smoke...

SCHURINGA: I was on the right side of the plane. The suspect was on the left. So there were quite some seats in between.

So when I saw that suspect, he was getting on fire, and I freaked, of course. And without any agitation, I just jumped over all the seats. And I just jumped to the suspect, because I was thinking, like, he's trying to blow up the plane.

And so I was trying to search his body for any explosives. Then I took some kind of object that was already melting and smoking out of him, and I tried to put out the fire.

And then when I did that, I was also restraining the suspect. And then the fire started beneath his seat. So with my hands and everything -- you can see it's a little burned up -- I put out the fire. And then other passengers helped me, as well. Of course I was screaming for water, water, because we had fire in a plane is not that good, of course.

And so -- but then the fire was actually getting a little worse because what I didn't extinguish the fire. So I grabbed the suspect out of the seat because if he was wearing any more explosives it would be very dangerous because he was almost on fire.

And when I grabbed him from the seats, the chemical came and came with fire extinguishers. And they got it clear of all the flames. And just to be sure, I grabbed him with another attendant and we took him to first class and we stripped him and detained him with handcuffs and made sure he had no more weapons or bombs on him.

WHITFIELD: And sop Jasper, when you saw -- you talk about how something underneath the seat was on fire. Was something on fire on him, or was it, did it appear to be the seat that he may have set on fire and then as a result he also burned as well?

SCHURINGA: Like he put something on fire that was hidden in his pants, and apparently was dripping. I think the liquid or anything like that dripped on the floor, and two pillows got ignited. And it went very quick, and like we are all just reacting to the fire, and everybody was panicking.

WHITFIELD: Tell me about him. Was he fighting you? Was he struggling? Did he just seem upon discovery just kind of let it go and you all were able to subdue?

SCHURINGA: He was just very calm. He was shaking, but he didn't resist anything. And he was just sitting there. He looked like a normal guy, as well, but it was just hard to believe that he was actually going to try to blow up this plane.

WHITFIELD: Was there anything about him prior to that incident that made you look at him? Did you suspect anything? Did anything catch your attention about him?

SCHURINGA: No, nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing. So it was a big surprise, when we heard the first explosion, people were looking around, like, this is not good, what's going on? And then the first person shouted "Fire!" And then I got to my sense and this is where I go.

WHITFIELD: Some passengers described it as hearing like a pop. What did you hear prior to the smoke and the fire?

SCHURINGA: First it was a pop. And then like about 30 seconds later, the smoke started to fill up on the left side beneath this person. And from that on, we just jumped and tried to save the plane. And we did, luckily.

WHITFIELD: It sounds like you had an incredible response there, very quick. You think about international flights. Oftentimes when you get close to that descent somewhere within that last hour on a trans-Atlantic flight, many people have been sleeping, you're a little groggy.

When you heard the pop, when you heard people talking about the smoke, how quick was it to actually react? Was there a moment where you said, it really must be nothing?

SCHURINGA: I basically reacted directly. I didn't think -- when you hear a pop on the plane, you're awake, trust me. So I just jumped. I didn't think. And I just went over there and tried to save the plane, I guess.

WHITFIELD: How many people were trying to hold him down along with you? How many people were reacting?

SCHURINGA: There were people standing around because the person next to the suspect, he freaked out because he stood up because there was a fire. I think a lot of people were trying to help later on. And we had very brave flight attendants, that also helped. Thank you to those people. They are also heroes.

And together we maintained the suspect and got a safe landing.

WHITFIELD: Were there any words? Was there any yelling and screaming?

SCHURINGA: No. Like the whole plane was screaming. But the suspect, like he didn't say a word, nothing like that.

WHITFIELD: Never said a word, not fire, not during, not even once you all subdued him holding him waiting for authorities?

SCHURINGA: We were holding, but he wasn't struggling, he wasn't saying a word, nothing.

WHITFIELD: Do you feel like his reaction was just sort of feeling defenseless or relief? How would you read what you saw in him?

SCHURINGA: Well, like he was in a trance. He was very afraid. I don't know. But I don't really want to talk about that.

WHITFIELD: Was he traveling with anybody, could you tell?

SCHURINGA: Sorry?

WHITFIELD: Could you tell whether he was traveling with anyone or was he alone?

SCHURINGA: No, as far as I can tell, he was traveling alone. Yes. Well, thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Tell me about your injury real quick, Jasper. You held up your hand. You got burned while trying to put that fire out.

SCHURINGA: OK. Well, I burn my hands obviously because I was trying to put out the fire and the object I was holding, it was on fire a little bit, and I had to damp it. And with my other hand I had to damp the fire. It was growing. A fire in a plane is not good.

WHITFIELD: And Jasper, you are now in Miami. The flight landed in Detroit. Is this your final destination? Are you visiting friends? Do you live in the States now?

SCHURINGA: No. I'm actually visiting friends. I used to live here a long time ago, but I'm on vacation and I will try to do that, as well.

WHITFIELD: And Holland is home for you?

SCHURINGA: Yes -- sorry?

WHITFIELD: And Holland is home for you?

SCHURINGA: Yes -- again, sorry?

WHITFIELD: Were you traveling from Amsterdam from Holland because that is home for you and now you're visiting the states?

SCHURINGA: Exactly, Yes. I live in Amsterdam and I travelled to Miami for a vacation. And that's the last thing.

WHITFIELD: And what a trip to remember. Jasper Schuringa, thanks so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, one of the passengers earlier interviewed there, one of the passengers who helped subdue the suspect Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, who is now being questioned by FBI authorities for what is being called an attempted terrorist attack on that Northwest Airlines flight.

All right, so how to prevent such a potential tragedy from ever happening again? We'll take a hard look at some of the security issues being raised now in light of that attempted terror attack on that flight yesterday. That's coming up next.

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WHITFIELD: As you'd expect, yesterday's incident at Detroit's Metropolitan Airport is spawning a lot of questions around airline security. So to help us understand at least some of the concerns being raised is former FBI assistant director Tom Fuentes. He also is a CNN contributor. He's joining us from San Francisco.

And here at CNN headquarters, at the headquarters, Drew Griffin with the special investigations unit. All right, gentlemen, good to see both of you.

As investigators are trying to figure out what is this material that was used when the suspect was able to create a popping sound and create a flame onboard this flight, Tom, what is your gut reaction telling you as to how investigators are trying to figure out what this material was? What kind of testing might be taking place right now? THOMAS V. FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Fredricka, it sounds like a chemically-induced fire, which was when you mix two chemicals, it starts a fire, it accelerates quickly.

I should add for people who aren't explosives experts that bombs and bullets basically are ignited that way. It's an incendiary accelerant, if you will, that starts a fire. If you have the chemicals contained, it causes the explosion.

In the case of a gun, the explosion is contained in the chamber of the weapon, and the only opening is out the barrel, which causes the projectile to go out the barrel and fire the weapon.

In other cases, if you don't have those chemicals contain, they merely burn. And that may have been what happened in this case, that it wasn't properly contained by this individual so that when it was ignited with two chemicals mixing, it just created a quick flash fire, setting him on fire and the surrounding parts of the airport.

WHITFIELD: So reportedly we are hearing a syringe may have been involved. We know that when we travel you're not allowed with more than three ounces of a liquid or gel or any of those toiletry objects.

From what we are hearing from the one passenger, we've heard from other passengers, do you feel a syringe could be brought onboard by any passenger and that this mixing of chemicals could take place with less than three ounces?

FUENTES: That would be possible. And again, using the bullet comparison, if you were to look at a bullet or have a diagram of one, what happens is the firing pin punctures a very tiny little dot on the back of the bullet which releases the chemical.

Mixing with other chemicals creates the fire which ignites the black powder which causes the bullet to fire. It takes a very small amount of the chemical to begin that reaction and start the fire, which if contained would lead to an explosion. So it wouldn't take very much in the way of liquid.

And as far as how to connect that liquid to the other chemicals to start the fire, that would be the issue. Whether it was a syringe or some other device to try to mix those chemicals is uncertain right now.

WHITFIELD: Drew Griffin with us, as well. We heard from Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve that Homeland Security is not willing to raise the threat level. They are still trying to figure out what this thing was.

But there are more screeners that are being put at airports, et cetera. They are being more vigilant in that capacity. But it seems as though it's difficult for TSA to get any new instructions. It's difficult for Homeland Security to do anything further without knowing what these devices, what these chemicals, what these components were.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: And keep in mind, the threat level is pretty high right now. We did go through a fair amount of screening at airports, and certainly this fellow, according to the folks in Amsterdam, went through that screening. Whether he was screened in Nigeria or not, he did go through the typical screening that we would go through.

But it's going to be hard to know exactly what you're screening for when you're dealing with something like Tom was talking about, the mixing of two different substances. Could it have been three ounces here and some powder here?

And I would be interested to ask Tom -- Tom, is there a way to screen for that? Have they been concerned about that as we heard terrorists looking for new ways to introduce things on plane?

FUENTES: Normally, those chemicals give off a gas signature, which can be analyzed. Unfortunately, every passenger does not go through that particular screening because those machines are not readily available at every screening center.

So a random number of passengers, as they are going through security, clearing the magnetometer, will be asked to step aside and have their clothing and their carryon luggage swabbed, if you sill. That sample is then placed in a machine that analyzes the chemical composition to see if it matches the signature of chemicals used in explosive or incendiary devices.

To be able to do that to every single passenger at every single entry point all over the world, there is just not enough of those machines in place to do it.

WHITFIELD: OK, and that's been one of the criticisms from others that we talked to, that you can't blame the screeners completely because perhaps they are not being equipped with enough in order to find or detect some of these things.

So as the discoveries are being made in the investigative phase of this, Tom, how long might it be before we actually get some answers so that screeners, et cetera, know what kind of equipment to use or know what kind of new measures to put in place?

FUENTES: Well, the screeners are not going to be able to determine what the chemicals are. But what they will be advised of is what is the method of transporting those chemicals. Will they be strapped in plastic containers, or zip-locked baggies and then taped under the subject's legs on the pants or outer garment?

The method of transport is what they will be advised to look for. Now, this may, to be certain, require practically strip searching every passenger getting on a plane to check what is below their garments or underneath their garments as they get on.

WHITFIELD: And real quickly before we go, this suspect Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, apparently the family actually went to the U.S. embassy in Nigeria and said we think something strange is taking place. This suspect had actually been on a list but not necessarily the watch list. So when you're on a list, what happens... GRIFFIN: This is what -- I mean, we can't screen everybody through puffers and pat-downs, it just would not work. It would slow commerce and travel down too much.

But when you -- so you look for intelligence, right? And what we are learning now is there was some intelligence out there. How it was shared, to what level it was shared -- we do know now according to the State Department that this man's father, this retired banker from Nigeria, went to the U.S. embassy and advised them his son was in some kind of radical state or leaning radical, and he was placed on some sort of list.

It obviously wasn't the list that said you, airport screener, need to either not let this guy fly or you need to pull him aside, ask him some questions, and perhaps send him through a puffer machine or swab his shoes, or whatever they do.

But it has to be smart, intelligence-based, and as we've seen time and time again, when there is a slip in the cracks, there is usually a trail that should have been lit upon or moved more quickly on.

WHITFIELD: All right, Drew Griffin, thanks so much. Thomas Fuentes also, joining us from San Francisco, appreciate both of your input.

FUENTES: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, this incident strikes up the memory of the shoe bomber, Richard Reid. Remember him? There are some similarities. We'll get into that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We are learning more now about the man who fellow passengers say tried to blow up a plane. They were flying from Amsterdam to Detroit yesterday on this Northwest Airlines flight, and suspect, a 23-year-old Nigerian man, the man in the white t-shirt there in this photo, apparently folks said they heard a pop, saw smoke, and then flames.

A family source tells CNN that the father of this man is a former chairman of the first bank in Nigeria.

And if you're flying, apparently, this is how you're going to be impacted as a result of what took place yesterday. Beefed-up security airport check points, long lines.

Homeland Security Janet Napolitano released this statement saying, in part, "These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same thing everywhere. Due to the busy holiday travel season, both domestic and international travelers should a lot extra time for check-in," end quote, that coming from Napolitano.

So many people are already drawing parallels now between the attempted attack on the Northwest Airlines flight with the infamous shoe bomber case involving Richard Reid. That was back in the year 2000.

Here to talk about terror tactics now, Sajjan Gohel. He is a terrorism expert and the director for international security for the Asia Pacific Foundation in London. Good to see you.

SAJJAN GOHEL, DIRECTOR FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY, ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION: Good to be with you.

WHITFIELD: Almost immediately the parallels are being made. Someone who is onboard a trans-Atlantic flight nearing the U.S. Somehow there is a flame, and then in the other case of Richard Reid back in 2000, the flame didn't happen, but certainly someone, a passenger saw him trying to attempt to ignite his shoe at the time.

What other parallels are you seeing between these two incidents?

GOHEL: What is interesting, Fredricka, is that the event yesterday on Christmas Day fell into eight years to the week that Richard Reid tried his attempted attack to bring down a trans-Atlantic flight.

WHITFIELD: And it was also Christmas, as you say, yes.

GOHEL: Very much so.

And there is also this very interesting connection to Holland, to the Netherlands. Richard Reid had been making a lot of trips on behalf of Al Qaeda. And he then claimed that he had lost his passport, which he asked the British embassy in Amsterdam to issue him a new one in order to hide the fact of where he had been traveling.

In addition, what hasn't got much attention is that Richard Reid's co-conspirator was person called Saajid Badat, also a British citizen. The day Richard Reid was supposed to blow up a flight leaving from Paris to the U.S., Saajid Badat was supposed to target a plane onboard midair across the Atlantic flying out of Amsterdam.

So yet again you are seeing the fact that Al Qaeda's crazed obsession in targeting aviation remains a huge concern, and especially from Europe with trans-Atlantic flights. So this is an ongoing concern, I believe.

WHITFIELD: So with these commonalities, are you seeing that perhaps the directive may be the same.

FBI authorities, at least some of the federal authorities right now are saying they believe that Abdul Mutallab was acting alone and they don't necessarily feel that it may be linked to Al Qaeda, whereas Richard Reid apparently was linked to Al Qaeda.

Do you see the directives as being the same?

GOHEL: Fortunately, both Abdul Mutallab and Richard Reid did have much intelligence in the way they tried to carry out their plots. They tried to detonate their explosives in the full gaze of the people next to them. And fortunately people in both incidents took it upon themselves to stop them.

But bear in mind that Mutallab had to have had some connection with some individuals. He couldn't have put this explosive device by himself. There had to be an infrastructure. There could be other affiliated outfits that have the same desire to create a disruption chaos on the aviation industry.

And the fact that Mutallab traveled to Yemen on a number of occasions is also very important, because Yemen has become an important hub for Al Qaeda-affiliated groups. Many people have trained there for this specific purpose of carrying out attacks. And of course, the USS Cole attack in '99 was primarily based through Yemen. So we know that Al Qaeda has a strong infrastructure there.

WHITFIELD: So John Gohel, terrorism expert and director for international security for the Asia Pacific Foundation in London. Thanks so much for your time.

GOHEL: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: You have to wonder what was it like exactly onboard that Northwest flight 253? I'll walk to one of the passengers.

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JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we're back in the NEWSROOM. I'm Josh Levs.

As a result of what authorities are calling an attempted terrorist attack, authorities are increasing security efforts at airports all over the country and around the world. And that affects millions of travelers on this, one of the busiest travel weekends of the whole year.

But there are some things you can do to speed up the security process, and I'm going to talk you through them right now. This is from TSA.gov. Check this out -- they say how to pack and not to pack. They get really specific.

Let's go to some pointers. The first one is they talk you through packing in layers. You have a layer of clothes, then electronics, then clothes, then heavier items, makes it a lot faster.

Keep in mind these liquids, you can get the small containers to put your liquids into. Then put them in quart-sized clear, plastic, zip-top bag of liquids.

And let's go to one more. Pack your coats. People don't want to do this. You're flying someplace cold. But if people are comfortable putting your coats inside your checked baggage, they say that can save minutes per person.

Limit how much metal you're wearing. They are saying there are a lot of people that are wearing a lot of jewelry. It takes a lot of time to take all that off. They might put you through screening several times. Take off as much as you can in advance or just pack it.

And finally, two things I find interesting because they are specifically about the holidays. This one here says no jelly, no sauce, no maple syrup. Maybe you're got grandma's cranberry sauce. If they see you have anything like that, that's gelatinous, that kind of substance, they'll grab it out of your bag, take a while to find it, try figure out what it is, they'll toss it. it will hold up the line and you won't be able to bring it home.

And finally, people making fun of me for pointing this out, but I like it. TSA is putting up a big sign about it. You cannot bring snow-globes with you on an airplane because they have liquid inside, and it's not clear to the average person or anyone screening how much liquid it is, so they'll toss it.

Everything I just showed you is up in the blog. It's CNN.com/Josh. I've also got it going for you at Facebook and Twitter, all sorts of information how to speed up that process.

And coming up next hour, I'm going to tell you how to speed up check-in. That's coming right up.

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WHITFIELD: Security at airports across the country ramped up in the wake of the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines flight 253. And if you are traveling and heading to the airports, take a look, this is what you are going to expect. The lines are long and they are moving slowly. The TSA says that along with increased scrutiny, air travelers should expect screenings to take more time than usual.

And the suspect described as a 23-year-old Nigerian seen in this white t-shirt here, talking to the FBI. He is also apparently being treated for burns he sustained on his legs when that small device was lit on fire.

The alleged bomber was the only one injured. He is allegedly talking to investigators as he is being treated at the hospital.

So the suspect, a little more about him. He recently lived in London, and British counterterrorism police are now searching his last known residence, this upscale apartment.

The attempted terror attack on the Northwest Airlines flight started with a pop and puff of smoke. Then terrifying moments as passengers scramble to subdue the suspect. Here is how one passenger described the commotion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIAS FAWAZ, PASSENGER ON FLIGHT 253: What we heard at the beginning was a bang. It sounded first like a balloon being popped. And then there was a minute later a lady shouting back, and she was saying things like, "What are you doing? What are you doing?" Then we looked back. There was a struggle. I think it was about five rows back on the left of where we were sitting. And we saw fumes and then there was a flame fire coming out.

And there was another man that jumped on the assailant, the guy who was responsible. And I was trying to figure out why aren't they bringing out a fire extinguisher? But they eventually did about a minute later, and they managed to put out the fire and the fumes.

There was a lot of panic in those three or four minutes during the event.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: An exclusive interview with the man who actually helped tackle the suspected terrorist on this Christmas Day flight to Detroit, now, plus, information from the Department of Homeland Security.

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