Man's shoes hid pentrite, could not have destroyed plane: report

Unknown News ^ | Monday December 24, 2001 | Yahoo! Singapore - News

[pa_dweller]

Please hep me! I are confuzzed:

a. the amount could not have destroyed the aircraft
b. would not have caused the aircraft to blow up
c. we are very fortunate that it did not happen

Maybe a few 'grammes' of this stuff would not cause the plane to 'blow up' but, at 30,000 to 40,000 feet would things be different? Could this much explosive weaken the airframe or damage a control system enough to lead to a catastrophic failure?

Would it be enough to blow down a cockpit door?

Since we are 'very fortunate' he didn't get to set it off, methinks this stuff is more powerful than the article lets on.

[wienerdog.com]

See, with our fabulous new security measures in place, there is no real danger. If he had had enough to blow up the plane, they would have caught him at the gate. Nothing to worry about. When is the game on?

[Sungirl]

Why didn't this guy go into the bathroom to light his shoe?

[coloradan]

I think a hand grenade has about 100 g of high explosive ... this would be twice that. Even if the airplane survived, people for many rows would have been completely deafened.

I myself am puzzled by the mention of acetone, which is highly flammable, but not explosive.

[Restorer]

Regardless of its effect on the plane, I strongly suspect it wouldn't have done his feet any good.

[Restorer]

Why didn't this guy go into the bathroom to light his shoe?

Because he's an idiot?

[Common Tator]

The French police were called to investigate Reid by American Airlines employees. French Government officers checked him out and told Amercian airlines that he was OK. French Goverment officals approved and ordered that Reid was Ok to be put on the plane.

They undoubtedly have good reason to try to show that Reid could not have broght down the plane.

I doubt very seriously if they know. But they would like to mitigate their failure to prevent this terrorist from getting on the plane.

How many times have we been told how good the German, French and English airport security is?

Their airport security may be good, but the track record of their cops suck.

[Restorer]

I think a hand grenade has about 100 g of high explosive ... this would be twice that.

Much of the explosive force of a grenade is a result of the explosive force being contained by the casing. An analogy is the difference between clasping a firecracker in your fist or igniting it on your open palm. One results in a scorched palm, the other in a severely damaged hand.

[dighton]

The substance concealed in the shoes of a passenger on a Paris-Miami flight was the high explosive pentrite, but the amount could not have destroyed the aircraft, a source close to the French police said.

I'm confused about something too. When did the French police do a chemical analysis?

[Demidog]

"So a doctor came by, gave him an injection

What was this doctor doing on the plane with a weapon?

[pa_dweller]

But they would like to mitigate their failure to prevent this terrorist from getting on the plane.

I hadn't thought of that, you may be on to something. It would be interesting to have a reply posted by someone knowledgeable about explosives - someone who could shed some light on the relative power of this stuff.

[Catspaw]

Of course, there's the depressurization. That's pretty nasty at 40,000 feet. Plus trying to pilot a plane with a hole in its side to the nearest airport--that could be an hour at cruising speed, but a whole lot longer at a lower altitude and slower speed.

[Sub-Driver]

give him his shoes back..........we'll ingnite them for him

[scouse]

Maybe he just wanted to blow out a window and cause a drop in pressure.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

To find all articles tagged or indexed using AA Flight 63

Click here: AA Flight 63

[FITZ]

Would it be enough to blow down a cockpit door?

No. I think it would have only been enough to blow the tail off the plane like it did to that one that crashed in NY a month ago.

[Tennessee_Bob]

I myself am puzzled by the mention of acetone, which is highly flammable, but not explosive.

One of the things I've read in the reports on this incident was regarding the explosive C-4. C-4 will burn if lit by a match (it was used by GIs to heat water and such in small amounts), but with an additive (and I don't know what additive that would be) it can be made to detonate with exposure to flame. Acetone could be the high-heat source to cause the explosives detonate, rather than to just burn.

[MozartLover]

"What was this doctor doing on the plane with a weapon?"

The sedative, and, presumably, the needle, was in the on-flight medical kit.

[pa_dweller]

Please do not confuse the issue by asking questions designed to get actual factual answers! ;^)

[struwwelpeter]

I went through Frankfurt Flughafen security two weeks ago. It was about as tough as pre-9/11 US security, perhaps even less so. Just a bored Paki-looking guy running the detector door and x-ray conveyor. He didn't worry about my fingernail clippers or big belt buckle, nor did he want to x-ray my money belt.

In Iceland, they didn't even bother with us, since we'd already "cleared" a security check. Once in the states, however, I was jacked up at every stop.