White House issues statement on Detroit airliner incident

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The White House issued a statement about an incident aboard Delta Flight 253 in Detroit, where a man reportedly set off what initially was believed to be firecrackers as the plane arrived from Amsterdam. The Airbus 330 was carrying 278 passengers. A senior U.S. counterterrorism official told the Associated Press that the passenger was trying to blow up the plane but that the explosive device failed.

‘The president was notified of the incident this morning between 9:00 and 9:30 Hawaii time by the president’s military aide. The president subsequently convened a secure conference call with John Brennan, his Homeland Security and counterterrorism advisor, and Denis McDonough, [National Security Council] chief of staff. He asked to arrange a subsequent secure call and in that call instructed that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel. The president is actively monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates. There is currently no change to his schedule.’

-- Alana Semeuls