My understanding is that the plane was No. 1 to take off (not just boarded and doors shut).
And for the record, reporters and reporterettes, is not a ‘clip’ that his 9mm uses, it is ‘magazines’ that piece is designed to use.
/Rant off
My understanding is that the plane was No. 1 to take off (not just boarded and doors shut).
That's close to take-off, for sure. but I'm also sure that the Feds could have had the plane diverted, once it was in the air, too. It wouldn't take much to send a couple of military planes after it and direct it back to an airport to "disgorge" the terrorist.
So, even though that sounds fairly dramatic (and it probably is...), there was still "measures" that they could have taken to "get him" in any case...