Another Shoe Bomb Attempt?

This just in from Fox News:

Air Marshals Reportedly Stop 'Shoe Bomb' Attempt on Jet From D.C. to Denver

An airline passenger reportedly tried to light his shoes on fire on a flight from Washington, D.C., to Denver but was subdued by air marshals.

Authorities think it was an attempted "shoe bomb" attack, according to ABC News, which first reported the story, but details couldn't immediately confirmed.

ABC News identified the suspect as a diplomat from the Qatar embassy in Washington.

The Associated Press cited unnamed sources saying the FBI is investigating the incident.

And the Transportation Safety Administration confirmed it was "monitoring" the incident, saying initial reports described a passenger "possibly causing a disturbance."

"The flight landed safely at Denver International Airport. Law enforcement and TSA have responded to the scene and the passenger is currently in custody. All steps are being taken to ensure the safety of the traveling public," Transportation Security Administration spokesman Greg Soule said.

United Airlines told Fox News that the flight was a Boeing 757, with 157 passengers and 6 crew members on board.

UPDATE from Ace of Spades:

This is breaking right now. A man on a flight from DC to Denver was tackled by air marshals as he attempted to light his shoes on fire.

More info to come...

More (9:42): I'm told the plane has just landed. All passengers are uninjured and the man is in custody.

Later (9:47): I'm a bit ahead of the news. Trying to get more info from DIA.

Another attempted shoebomber from within the United States raises questions about the usefulness of the TSA's "take those shoes off" policy.

Later (9:56) Talked to media contact at DIA. They're calling it a "security disturbance". The plane was from Reagan to DIA. It was met upon arrival by the TSA, FBI, and airport PD. It will have no impact on airport operations. There are no flight holds at present.

Later (9:59): He's got a diplomatic passport and is claiming diplomatic immunity.

The passport is from Qatar.

Later (10:07): NBC just picked up the story, but they have no details. I'm on hold with FBI.

Stay with us here at the HQ...

Later (10:13): The guy's name is Mohammed al Modadi. He's a vice-consul at the Qatari embassy.

Later (10:14): Alright, ABC News has the story, including more details on the guy.

Jebus, they scrambled fighter jets to escort the plane.

Later (10:25): It was United Flight 662. This will be my last breaking update on this story.

Erick Erickson gets to the heart of the matter:

Today, the White House leaked that it was ditching the phrase ‘radical Islam’ from government language.

As I write this, details are still sketchy, but an Islamic radical attempted to blow up a United Airlines flight from Reagan National Airport to Denver tonight with a shoe bomb.

The bomber made it on to the plane and attempted to light the bomb, but was stopped by air marshals.

The bomber is claiming diplomatic immunity from Qatar and worked at Qatar’s embassy in Washington.

So we have now had two bombers make it through airport security and on to planes under Barack Obama’s Department of Homeland Security — a Department of Homeland Security that has been tweaking Bush administration era policies to make us safer.

On top of these, we’ve had the recruiting office shootings and the Ft. Hood terrorist attack and the White House still wants to bring the GTMO detainees to Illinois.

All of that talk about making our enemies like us and forgiving us in the post-Bush era isn’t really working out for us, is it?

Another update from Hot Air:

On MSNBC, Pete Williams says they haven’t found any explosives in his shoes yet and thinks it might be a huge misunderstanding. Supposedly al-Modadi got up to use the bathroom around 30 minutes before the flight landed; he was in there for awhile and when he came out an air marshal smelled smoke. When the marshal asked him what he was doing in the bathroom, al-Modadi supposedly said, “I was trying to light my shoes on fire.” In fact, he might have simply been having a smoke and was being sarcastic with the marshal.

Hasn't the diplomatic corps heard that you don't joke with security people? I don't care if this guy does have a diplomatic passport, he should get tossed out of the country for this.

One more UPDATE: It now appears the idiot was wearing sandals and decided to put out his illegal cigarette on them before he came out of the airplane bathroom.