14 Dec 2013

US man accused of suicide car bomb plot at airport

6:33 pm on 14 December 2013

A man has been arrested in the United States state of Kansas and accused of planning to detonate a suicide car bomb at an airport, authorities say.

Terry Lee Loewen, 58, has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Mr Loewen, an aviation technician, does not appear to have been affiliated with any religious group, police said.

Authorities said Mr Loewen was snared by undercover FBI investigators and the public was never in danger.

Mr Loewen was charged in federal court on Friday with attempting to detonate a car bomb at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport.

He has also been charged with attempting to damage property by means of an explosive and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.

The BBC reports that if convicted, Mr Loewen could face a sentence of life in prison.