Known terrorist plots that were foiled when they were in the process of being carried out:

• The “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s attempt to bring down American Airlines Flight 63 on December 22, 2001 that was thwarted by flight attendants, passengers and a faulty fuse; 
• The effort by “underwear bomber” Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on December 25, 2009 that was prevented by passengers and faulty explosives; and
• The action of street vendors in alerting police to a smoking van in Times Square, New York on May 1, 2010.