Bathroom smoking causes shoe bomb scare on United flight 663

A diplomat, Mohammed Yaaqob Y.M. Al-Madadi, the third secretary for the Qatari Embassy in Washington, who was smoking in the first class lavatory of United flight 663 from Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington D.C. to Denver International Airport (DEN) on Wednesday, April 7, was placed in handcuffs by federal air marshals aboard the plane.  He allegedly joked that he was trying to light his shoes. Mr. Al-Madadi may have felt privileged by his low ranking diplomatic status to laugh off the incident. It occurred nearly four months after a Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, tried to blow up Northwest flight 253 over Detroit with a bomb concealed on his body. The joke referred to British shoe bomber Richard Reid who attempted to blow up American Airlines flight 63 on December 22, 2001 from Paris to Miami.

CAPTIONS: (ABOVE LEFT) TSA's Behavior Detection Officer Terrence McClain,right, watches United Airlines passengers checking in for the morning flight at Washington's Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, April 8, 2010 (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta);  (BELOW RIGHT) Karly Holmes, front, gets a ride on a baggae cart pushed by her father, Brian, of San Diego, CA, as they arrive in the main terminal of Denver International Airport on Wednesday, April 8, 2010. The Holmes family was on a United Airlines flight that a Qatari diplomat tried to sneak a smoke in an airplane bathroom and sparked a bomb scare. (AP Photo/Will Powers);  (BELOW LEFT) Video screen shot of UA663 incident broadcast live (AP/MSNBC);  (BELOW RIGHT BOTTOM) Federal prisoner photo of shoe bomber Richard Reid (Wikipedia/Common Usage)

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The Boeing 757-200 with 157 passengers and six crew members aboard was escorted for the last five minutes of its flight by two F-16 fighters from Buckley Air Force Base, in Aurora, Colorado, who were scrambled to intercept the plane. The aircraft landed safely in Denver at 6:54 p.m. MDT.

A passenger on the flight, 61-year-old Scott Smith, a computer programmer from Laramie, Wyoming, said a man was led off the plane in handcuffs from the first-class area. He appeared to be calm and cooperative.

According to Mr. Smith, as reported by the Associated Press, "The approach into Denver was unusual. We came in rather fast, and we were flying low for a long period of time. I've never seen a jetliner do that. There were no announcements, nothing about your carry on bags or tray tables."

Eventually, after the plane had landed, the pilot announced that "we have a situation here on the plane."

Passenger were told to remain seated and stayed on the plane for nearly an hour before they were taken off for questioning by the FBI. They were instructed to leave their carry on items on the aircraft. Several hours later, the suspect was still being questioned by federal investigators.

While diplomats have immunity from most criminal prosecutions, the country which they represent may choose to waive that immunity if the U.S. State Department makes such a request. If immunity is not waived, a diplomat would then be expelled under international protocol as persona non grata. There has been no decision yet on what charges, if any, will be filed over this incident. Authorities have indicated that no actual explosives were found.

Qatar is a strong allay of the United States, and hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, which is currently overseeing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It has a population of almost 1.5 million people and is governed by a monarchy, which draws it wealth from oil and natural gas reserves. It is located on the Persian Gulf  just north of Saudi Arabia.

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