American Airlines Flight 63 (2001)

American Airlines Flight 63

Company type	Commercial airline flight
Industry	Aviation, Airline transportation
Area served	Transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami
Products	Passenger air transport

On December 22, 2001, an attempted shoe bombing took place on American Airlines Flight 63, a Boeing 767-300ER (tail number N384AA) transporting 197 individuals from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to Miami International Airport in Florida.

The attacker, Richard Reid, was restrained by passengers after attempting to ignite explosives hidden within his footwear. The aircraft was redirected to Logan International Airport in Boston, accompanied by American jet fighter escorts, and landed without incident. Reid was apprehended and later received a sentence comprising three life terms plus an additional 110 years without the possibility of parole.

Incident

During the transatlantic flight, Reid, a UK-based Islamic extremist and self-declared al-Qaeda affiliate, carried explosive devices concealed in his shoes. Notably, he had been refused boarding the previous day.

Shortly after the meal service, passengers noticed a smoky odor. Flight attendant Hermis Moutardier observed Reid attempting to light a match and cautioned him against smoking. Reid assured her he would desist.

Soon after, Moutardier spotted Reid with one shoe resting on his lap, a fuse connected to it, and a lit match in hand. The bomb did not detonate due to moisture compromising the explosives.

When Moutardier tried to intervene, Reid pushed her down; another crew member, Cristina Jones, also engaged with Reid and suffered a bite on her thumb.

Reid, who stood and weighed , was eventually overpowered by crew members and passengers using plastic handcuffs, seatbelt extenders, and headphone cables. A physician onboard administered diazepam from the medical kit. Passengers became aware of the situation when the pilot announced the diversion to Boston.

Flight 63 was escorted by two F-15 fighter jets to Logan Airport. Authorities discovered over of TATP and PETN explosives concealed in Reid's shoes, capable of inflicting severe destruction. Following a guilty plea, Reid is currently held at ADX Florence, a high-security federal prison located in Colorado.

Aftermath

Half a year following the November 12, 2001 crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Queens, New York, Mohammed Mansour Jabarah agreed to collaborate with U.S. authorities in exchange for a reduced sentence. He implicated fellow Canadian Abderraouf Jdey as responsible for destroying that flight using a shoe bomb similar to Reid’s device months earlier. Nevertheless, investigations determined that pilot error—not terrorism—was the cause of the accident. Jabarah, associated with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, claimed that both Reid and Jdey had been recruited by the al-Qaeda leader to execute coordinated attacks.

In response to these events, airport security protocols in the United States were modified in 2006 to mandate shoe removal prior to scanning. This requirement was relaxed in 2011 for travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck, as well as children aged 12 and under and adults aged 75 and above. On July 7, 2025, shoe removal was completely eliminated at selected airports.

See also

• Pan Am Flight 103, Pan Am aircraft destroyed by a PETN explosive, resulting in 270 fatalities – occurred 13 years prior to the shoe bombing event
• Philippine Airlines Flight 434, precursor test for al-Qaeda's Operation Bojinka, causing the death of one passenger
• Bojinka plot, al-Qaeda conspiracy aimed at detonating twelve airplanes traveling from Asia to the United States
• Northwest Airlines Flight 253, unsuccessful PETN bomb attack attempt by al-Qaeda
• 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot, thwarted scheme to detonate at least ten flights en route from the UK to North America
• 2010 transatlantic aircraft bomb plot, unsuccessful PETN bombing attempt linked to al-Qaeda
• List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
• List of terrorist incidents, 2001
• September 11 attacks

External links

• Bomb on Flight 63 Telegraph Media Group Limited 2015