2010 transatlantic aircraft bomb plot
On October 29, 2010, two packages, each containing a bomb consisting of 300 to 400 grams (11–14 oz) of plastic explosives and a detonating mechanism, were found on separate cargo planes. The bombs were discovered as a result of intelligence received from Saudi Arabia's security chief. They were in transport from Yemen to the United States and were discovered at stopover locations: one at East Midlands Airport in the UK and one in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
| Cargo planes bomb plot | |
|---|---|
| Location | United States of America (target); East Midlands Airport and Dubai International Airport (discovered) |
| Date | October 29, 2010 (discovered) |
| Target | 2 planes |
Attack type | Bombing (failed) |
| Weapons | Two packages, each containing a printer cartridge packed with a bomb made from the plastic explosive PETN |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Perpetrator | Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula |
One week later, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took responsibility for the plot and for the crash of UPS Airlines Flight 6. American and British authorities believed that Anwar al-Awlaki of AQAP was behind the bombing attempts and that the bombs were most likely constructed by AQAP's main explosives expert, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri. The bombs were probably designed to detonate in flight, with the intention of destroying both planes over Chicago or another American city. Each bomb had already been transported on passenger and cargo planes at the time of discovery.