Why would you do a test run with fireworks and expose a weakness in the system? Wouldn't security then crack down and make getting real explosives through much harder?
Hate to sound conspiratorial, but it would make sense in a way that this was a failed attempt using a homemade explosive device and security is calling it “firecrackers” so travelers don't get upset and stop flying.
i stopped flying a long time ago
Update here:
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/explosives-northwest-airlines-plane-amsterdam-detroit/story?id=9423871
The man said he was directed by al Qaeda to explode a small device in flight, over U.S. soil, ABC News has learned. Authorities have no corroboration of that information, and the credibility of the suspect’s statements are being questioned, officials said.
The man was apparently already on the government’s no-fly list of suspected terrorists, according to a senior intelligence official.
“The subject is claiming to have extremist affiliation and that the device was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used,” a federal situational awareness bulletin stated.