[judicial meanz]

The bathroom trips, or the suspicious powders that keep appearing all the time on flights.

My best guess is they are looking for some substance combination that would render the passengers unconscious so they could take over easier, and they've been experimenting with combinations of substances that are brought on by several passengers and combined in the restroom ( or elsewhere)

[HipShot]

So now they're willing to spend 14 per aircraft. Why are they fighting the last war?

There must be a pretty good reward for them, knowing that a hijacked aircraft would be shot down. Something fast, implemented just before landing. I have a hard time imagining that they want more skyscrapers. Gotta think.....

[Cindy]

It could be something simpler.

It could be either prior passengers, airplane personnel who debug or clean the plane, or plane staff may have put something already in the bathroom and these guys have to retrieve it.

HOWEVER, it is probably easier to use the toilet water (and if it has a chemical in it already, ie chlorine, etc); then these guys could bring on the plane something as innocent looking as say, a tablet that resembles an aspirin, mix it with the toilet water and voila--- you have your concoction.

A truly terrifying thought.