Investigation Summary
Richard Reid, a self-proclaimed al-Qaeda operative, had been denied boarding the previous day due to his suspicious appearance and lack of luggage, but was permitted to board on December 22 after further questioning by French authorities. During the flight, a flight attendant noticed the smell of a burnt match and found Reid in seat 29J attempting to ignite a fuse. When confronted, Reid became violent, pushing one attendant to the floor and biting another. Passengers intervened to help the crew restrain the 6-foot-4-inch assailant using plastic handcuffs, seatbelt extensions, and headphone cords. A physician on board administered a sedative from the aircraft's medical kit. Forensic analysis later revealed that Reid's shoes contained approximately 10 ounces of explosives, which investigators concluded were sufficient to breach the fuselage and cause a catastrophic loss of the aircraft.
Final Conclusions
The incident was a failed act of terrorism. Richard Reid pleaded guilty to eight federal counts, including the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted homicide. On January 31, 2003, he was sentenced to three consecutive life terms plus 110 years without the possibility of parole. The failure of the device was attributed to the dampness of the TATP and the fuse, which prevented ignition despite multiple attempts by Reid to light matches.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Systems & Failure Modes
Improvised Explosive Device (IED)
A homemade bomb concealed in the hollowed-out soles of casual footwear, utilizing PETN as the main charge and TATP as the detonator.
Emergency Medical Kit
The aircraft's onboard medical supplies, from which a doctor obtained diazepam to sedate the perpetrator after he was restrained.
Interesting Facts
- 01The shoes contained approximately 280 grams (10 ounces) of TATP and PETN explosives.
- 02The bomb failed to detonate because perspiration and rainy weather made the fuse too damp to ignite.
- 03Richard Reid was a British citizen who had trained at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
- 04The incident led to the global security requirement for passengers to remove their shoes during airport screening.
- 05Reid was sentenced to three life terms plus 110 years at the ADX Florence supermax prison.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Shoe Removal Policy
The TSA implemented a mandatory protocol requiring passengers to remove their shoes for X-ray screening at airport security checkpoints to detect concealed explosives.
Location
APPROXIMATE AREA ONLY · Coordinates are the reference point of the airport named in the location, not the point of impact. No map is shown, because a marker here would imply a precision the record does not have.
Reported location: Atlantic Ocean, near Boston, Massachusetts