[hummingbird]

From what I have read, some of the London bombers apparently thought they were going home after the bombing. And some of the Madrid bombers actually did go home without any problem after they had dropped off and armed their bombs.

Interesting, because not all of the 9/11 hijackers knew the full plan either. Only the leaders of each group, I guess, and maybe one other. But, I remember that the majority of the 9/11 hijackers did not know that they weren't returning either.

[livius]

It seems to have been quite a shock. Supposedly, some of the 9/11 bombers thought that they were simply calming the passengers down while they made a monetary hijack demand.

I have no idea where this information came from or if it is true, but it appeared in some sources after 9/11.

However, I doubt that any bomber worth his salt would believe that now. They either have good reason to think they're going to get away (and most of the Madrid bombers actually did escape, and later blew themselves up in a house during a police assault), or they detonate accidentally.

[1066AD]

I remember that the majority of the 9/11 hijackers did not know that they weren't returning either.

Yes, there was a report not long afterwards that Osama himself was greatly amused when told about this.