A Northwest Airlines jet takes off on December 21. A man who attempted to light an explosive aboard a US airplane as it landed in Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam told investigators he was affiliated with Al-Qaeda, US media reported Friday.

2009-12-26 09:21 A senior US counter terror official said a passenger aboard a Delta Air Lines flight to Detroit was planning to blow up the plane, but the explosive device failed.

The official said the passenger was being questioned on Friday evening. It was not immediately clear why they wanted to attack the flight that was arriving from Amsterdam. Authorities initially believed the passenger had set off firecrackers that caused some minor injuries. A Delta spokeswoman said the passenger was immediately subdued. She had no details on the injuries.