[Yaelle]

I only meant that if terrorists stand up and announce they've got a bomb and everyone should please stay in their seats, etc., it is NOT going to work on the post 9/11 American people. We will fight to the death not to give control of the planes to the highjackers. Nor would the pilots let anyone in the cockpit even upon threat of death to the passengers.

9/11 has changed us. Now we know that they intend to die in their acts of terror, so there is no reason to "obey" them. Previously, people fell in line with the terrorists because they only wanted to divert planes, not explode them with all aboard.

To get control of a plane would be very difficult now, IMHO, but perhaps blowing one up would not. Perhaps all that is left to the terrorists is to blow up a plane from within when over a city. I can't see how they would get control of passenger planes and actually get to fly them into buildings. I repeat that I think it cannot be done today.

[oceanview]

the terrorists know all this stuff too. that's why you see them moving onto cargo planes, other forms of weapons that they can sneak onto planes, etc.

I would say this (I might get flamed for this, but so be it), if sometime in the next week, cargo planes are hijacked and flown into buildings here in the US, given that warnings and information on this exact type of attack has been available and well known for a long time, it will be a clear signal that behind the scenes, not alot is being done with regards to effective homeland security. we better be ready to react to any cargo planes that stray off course on FAA radar.

[JustPiper]

Well how about the cleaning crew placing a remote device on a plane?

[Cousin Eddie]

Agreed. Next to impossible (let's hope).