The BBC2 has this month released a new documentary called How safe are our Skies? Detroit Flight 253, about the failed Christmas Terrorist Bombing on Northwest Airlines. Chameleon’s Amotz Brandes is featured in the documentary. As we all know, on Christmas Day 2009, a 23-year-old passenger on Northwest airlines attempted to detonate a device containing military-grade explosive PETN, while on descent into Detroit International Airport. This excellent production includes eyewitness testimony and in-depth expert analysis on how the bomber Umar Abdulmutallab slipped under intelligence radar and evaded three sets of airport security. It traces Abdulmutallab’s student days in London, his time spent with Al Qaeda in Yemen, and his journey to the USA. The documentary attempts to understand what security services knew about him before he boarded? What would have happened to the plane if the bomb had detonated? What lessons have we learned and how safe is it to fly, today? This documentary is timely, interesting and provocative – worth a look.
To view the entire documentary on youtube lick here
