Under Leiter 's service , the NCTC was publicly criticized for failing to identify the threat posed by a known extremist , Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab , who on Christmas Day 2009 succeeded in boarding a Delta airplane in Amsterdam rigged with an explosive device that failed to detonate over Detroit , Michigan . Abdulmutallab was wrestled down by a passenger amidst a smokey fire which put an end to the incident
boarding a Delta airplane
Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Michael Leiter