Maybe. I think it was for the purpose of sending the message.
Triggering it over the mid Atlantic would optimize the chance of success; even if the bomb did not completely destroy it, the plane would have to continue to fly for some time and could still crash if the bomb did significant damage. He didn’t do this.
I don’t know the flight path. But I imagine an Amsterdam to Detroit flight does not fly much over the USA, probably flies more over Canada then comes into Detroit from the NW. If so, there would only be a small timeframe of flight over the US – at the end of the journey on the approach to Detroit.
In the mind of a terrorist blowing up a jetliner over the continental United States sends more of a message then it does blowing one up over the Atlantic or Canada.
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