Father of Christmas Terrorist Warned U.S. 6 Months Ago

The 278 passengers on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit experienced an attempted terrorist attack on Christmas day.

Travelers said they smelled smoke, saw a glow, and heard what sounded like firecrackers. At least one person climbed over others and jumped on the man, who officials say was trying to ignite an explosive device.

Reportedly, a passenger sitting near the suspect- a Nigerian man who claimed to be "acting on orders from al-Qaida to blow up the airliner"- climbed over passengers and tried to restrain him.

The incident was reminiscent of Richard Reid, who tried to destroy a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes, but was subdued by other passengers.

Multiple law enforcement officials identified the suspect in Friday's attempted attack as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

According to The Independent, Abdulmutallab lived a very privileged life in London:

With his wealth, privilege and education at one of Britain's leading universities, Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab had the world at his feet – able to choose from a range of futures in which to make his mark on the world.

Instead, the son of one of Nigeria's most important figures opted to make his impact in a very different way – by detonating 80g of explosives sewn into his underpants, and trying to destroy a passenger jet as it came in to land at Detroit Airport on Christmas Day.

Abdulmutallab's father, the former economics minister of Nigeria, tried to warn authorities:

Dr Mutallab said he was planning to meet with police in Nigeria last night after realising his son had joined the notorious roster of al-Qa'ida terrorists, and is said to have warned the US authorities about his son's extreme views six months ago.

If the U.S. authorities were warned six months ago, then how was Abdulmutallab able to get through security carrying explosives? Too busy doing nothing about the Fort Hood terrorist attack, perhaps?