Suspected Bomb Found On Air France Jet Results In An Emergency Landing in Kenya

Bloomberg: Air France Jet Makes Emergency Landing in Kenya on Bomb Fear

* Passenger finds `explosive device' in restroom on Paris Flight
* Paris TV channel says suspicious package was fake device

An Air France flight from the resort island of Mauritius to Paris made an emergency landing in Mombasa after a passenger discovered what appeared to be a bomb, Kenyan security officials said.

Several passengers were hurt scrambling off the plane when it landed on Sunday, police spokesman Charles Owino said by phone in Nairobi. “The plane made the call to Kenyan airspace 20 minutes after taking off from Mauritius at around 9 p.m. It safely landed at Moi International airport at 00:37.” The flight had 459 passengers and 14 crew.

A passenger on Flight 463 found what appeared to be explosive device with a timer in the plane’s toilet. Bomb experts removed the suspicious item and took it for analysis, Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka said from Nairobi. There was no information whether it was “a real device or a decoy.”

Update: Kenya says investigating device that caused Air France flight to make emergency landing (Reuters)

WNU Editor: Everyone is nervous.

FBI Report: Thermite Devices Are Undeteted And They Can Easily Destroy A Passenger Jet

The Intercept: Exclusive: TSA Issues Secret Warning on ‘Catastrophic’ Threat to Aviation

The Transportation Security Administration said it is unlikely to detect and unable to extinguish what an FBI report called “the greatest potential incendiary threat to aviation,” according to a classified document obtained by The Intercept. Yet despite that warning, sources said TSA is not adequately preparing to respond to the threat.

Thermite — a mixture of rust and aluminum powder — could be used against a commercial aircraft, TSA warned in a Dec. 2014 document, marked secret [PDF here]. “The ignition of a thermite-based incendiary device on an aircraft at altitude could result in catastrophic damage and the death of every person onboard,” the advisory said.

WNU Editor: The above video shows a thermite reaction. My brother who has a doctorate in chemistry mentioned this threat to me almost a decade ago .... it looks like someone decided to leak this story because  .... I can only guess .... a terror group has finally figured this out.

More News On The FBI Report On The Dangers Of Thermite Devices On Airline Passenger Jets

TSA: incendiary device a 'catastrophic' threat to passenger planes -- FOX News
FBI calls thermite the greatest potential risk to aviation and the US TSA says it cannot be detected or extinguished -- News.com.au
FBI Report: Thermite 'Greatest Potential Incendiary Threat to Aviation' -- Travel Pulse
TSA Warns of Undetectable Explosive...Great. -- Yahoo Travel

Passenger Jet Hit With Gunfire While Landing At Baghdad International Airport

An Iraqi Airways plane lands at Baghdad International airport, Jan. 27, 2015.

Reuters: Airlines suspend Baghdad flights after airplane shooting

WNU Editor: Bullets now .... anti-aircraft missiles later .... I would not want to be flying into Baghdad right now.

More News On A Passenger Jet Being Hit With Gunfire While Landing At Baghdad International Airport

Airlines halt flights to Baghdad after gunfire hits passenger plane arriving from Dubai -- AP
Airlines suspend Baghdad flights after shots hit plane -- Washington Post
Flydubai Jet Hit by Gunfire as It Lands in Baghdad -- NYT
Airlines Suspend Baghdad Flights After Jet Shooting -- VOA
Inches from death: Passenger reveals bullet hole in the side of a flydubai jet which was shot at as it landed at Baghdad airport, injuring a young girl -- Daily Mail
FlyDubai Says Jetliner Was Shot At During Landing in Baghdad -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Bullets hit passenger plane at Baghdad airport -- The Guardian

FAA Extends Its Ban On U.S. Flights To Tel Aviv For A Second Day But Other Airlines Are Still Flying In

Passengers at Ben Gurion airport hoping to fly out of Israel must now wait after airlines suspended services

Travel To Israel Continues Despite Air Cancellations -- USA Today

As the Federal Aviation Administration extended its ban on U.S. flights to Tel Aviv for a second day Wednesday, Israel's tourism ministry sought to quell concerns among would-be U.S. visitors, noting that 75,000 foreign tourists are presently in the country and "their travel arrangements are proceeding as planned."

Among those visitors is former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who arrived Wednesday in Tel Aviv via Israeli airline El Al, "to show support for Israel's right to defend itself," he wrote on Twitter.

El Al has added additional flights to accommodate passengers waylaid by canceled flights on Delta, United, US Airways and a number of European carriers.

Read more ....

Update: British Airways continues to fly to Israel despite European and US airlines including easyJet cancelling flights after rocket lands near Ben Gurion International Airport -- Daily Mail

My Comment: If there is a will .... there is going to be a way. For those who are determined to fly to Israel (or out), they will find a way.

A Look At the Airlines Who Are Flying Over Warzones

War Zones Don't Deter Some Carriers -- Wall Street Journal

Malaysia Airlines Flies Over Conflict Areas Days After Flight 17 Is Downed in Ukraine

Four days after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed by a surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine, the carrier and other major airlines are still flying over war zones, underscoring how crucial that airspace is to the industry.

Airlines have discretion to plan flight routes along airways they think are safe, but rely on governments to issue warnings if they deem airspace unsafe. The decision by some airlines to fly over war zones—while others avoid them—underscores the complexity flight routing presents for industry and governments.

A leading global air-safety organization on Monday called for a sweeping review of the procedures aviation regulators use to warn airliners about potential hazards from flying over combat zones. The Flight Safety Foundation called on the International Civil Aviation Organization to hold a high-level meeting about "the systems in place to warn airlines of hostile airspace." ICAO, an arm of the United Nations, typically is the world-wide clearinghouse for notices to pilots and airlines about potential overflight dangers.

Read more ....

My Comment: U.S. airlines are barred from flying over Iraq .... but that is not stopping other airlines.

With Eastern Ukraine Airspace Closed Malaysian Flights Are Now Flying Over The Warzone In Syria

Swedish flight tracking service Flightradar24 AB posted a flight map on its Twitter account on Monday showing the change in the route of Malaysian Airlines flight MH4, which flies from Kuala Lumpur to London.

Malaysia Airlines Flight Over Syria Reflects War Zone Challenge -- Voice of America/Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia Airlines rerouted a flight over Syria on Sunday after its usual path over Ukraine was closed, reflecting the challenges airlines face in finding conflict-free routes between Asia and Europe.

After Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down Thursday by a ground-to-air missile in eastern Ukraine, airlines began to avoid the airspace above where the Ukrainian military has been fighting Russian-backed rebels.

Swedish flight tracking service Flightradar24 AB posted a flight map on its Twitter account on Monday showing the change in the route of Malaysian Airlines flight MH4, which flies from Kuala Lumpur to London.

Read more ....

More News On Malaysian Airlines Flying Over The Warzone In Syria

Malaysia Airlines plane diverts from Ukraine to Syria -- AFP
MAS diverts flight over Syria to avoid Ukraine airspace -- Malay Online
After MH17 Shootdown Over Ukraine, Malaysia Airlines Sends Flight MH4 Over Syria -- IBTimes
Malaysia Airlines flight over war-torn Syria draws fresh criticism -- Wire Update
What could possibly go wrong? Malaysia Airlines rerouting flights over Syria instead of Ukraine -- Blake Seitz, Washington Examiner

My Comment: WTF!?!?!?!

Where Are Libya's Antiaircraft Missiles?

A Libyan rebel sits amid stockpiles of ordnance inside a Qaddafi ammunition bunker / Reuters

Long Haul For U.S. To Secure Weapons Stockpiles In Libya -- National Journal

In a sobering update on the effort to secure loose weapons in Libya, a senior State Department official on Thursday said the U.S. still doesn’t know how many antiaircraft missiles are missing from deposed leader Muammar el-Qaddafi’s massive stockpile — or even if any of them have slipped across the border.

Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary of State for political-military affairs, laid out what promises to be a long haul for the effort to secure these so-called man-portable air-defense systems, or MANPADS, in the department's most comprehensive public assessment to date of its ongoing weapons-removal operations in Libya.

Read more ....

My Comment: A sobering update indeed. It will only take one airliner to be shot down with a Libyan antiaircraft missile to shake the airline industry to its core.