The alleged terrorist attack on a Northwest Airline’s flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day is continuing to get considerable coverage in the Dutch newspapers on Monday.

The papers devote much attention to reconstructing what happened on board flight 253 on Friday and the heroic actions of Dutchman Jasper Schuringa, the passenger who overpowered the alleged terrorist.
Many papers report how vice president Wouter Bos called Schuringa on Saturday to congratulate him for his swift action. And the Volkrant points out that many people in the US and the Netherlands are posting calls on social networking sites for Schuringa to be given a medal for his bravery.
There is also extensive coverage about how the suspected terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was planning to blow up the plane and his background.
Explosive hidden in condom
The NRC publishes six questions and answers under the headline ‘Could the attack on flight 253 have been successful?’ It explains how the passenger in seat 19A, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had 80 grams of the highly explosive substance PETN (the most importance element for making semtex), possibly hidden in a condom, in his underwear.
In reply to the specific question of how big the chance had been that the plane could have been blown up, the NRC quotes explosives expert Herman Schöyer. He tells the NRC that the chance had been small. ‘Most explosives have to be packed under high pressure if they are to lead to an explosion. That was not the case here.’
And even if the man had not been overpowered immediately the fire caused by the explosive would not have become much bigger. ‘Eighty grams of PETN burns away in one second and the plane seats are fire resistant,’ Schöyer is quoted as saying.
Body scans not in use
The final question in NRC’s list is: would body scans (a controversial new method of checking passengers) have helped to detect the explosives before Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was allowed to board the plane?
Yes, says the NRC, the small package on his body would have immediately been visible. Schiphol has had 17 of these security scans since 2007 but they are not yet in use.
‘The scans are still in the test phase. That means that according to European Union regulations, they can only be used in limited cases and on a voluntary basis because of privacy considerations,’ according to Schiphol spokeswoman Mirjam Snoerwang, reports the NRC.
The Volkskrant website reports that the association of airline pilots (VNV) wants the body scanners to be used on all passengers at Schiphol as soon as possible.
Security above privacy
The organisation says the government must guarantee the funding of this sort of advanced security technology. ‘Security is something which is in the national interest. The government has to take responsibility,’ says VNV chairman Evert van Zwol, reports theVolkskrant.
The call is supported by the Dutch trade Union for cabin crews (VNC) which told the Volkskrant: ‘The balance between security and privacy must in principle be in favour of security’.
The man suspected of trying to blow up the Northwest Airline plane on Friday passed the security check at Schiphol airport. Airports around the world have tightened up security following the attack.