[maestro]

And why would FIVE operators be needed for a bomb? The shoebomber acted alone. To carry in 5 times the amount of explosive one person can, of course.

Assured........'back up'......if others get 'detained' (grounded)....

:-(

[BadAndy]

"And why would FIVE operators be needed for a bomb? To carry in 5 times the amount of explosive one person can, of course."

I think you are correct. A redundancy factor of 5 seems excessive. Assembly in flight is consistant with the recent story about the suspicious group of Libyan "musicians" repeatedly entering a bathroom.

Logic would dictate body cavity searches or xrays of Muslims before boarding. Political correctness will have BCS of all females. That will cut down on airline traffic considerably.