[Sabertooth]

The shoe bomb would not produce an explosion of that magnitude. That's the problem.

Wasn't the operative theory that the shoe bomb would have caused a secondary explosion in the fully loaded center fuel tank?

IIRC, that's where Richard Reid was sitting, right over the tank.

That said, I don't know why #587 came down... but neither does anyone else. If the stories of the witnesses in this article are genuine (as far as their dealings with the NTSB), it's not going to help put the matter to rest whenever the official findings are released.

[Poohbah]

Wasn't the operative theory that the shoe bomb would have caused a secondary explosion in the fully loaded center fuel tank?

A full tank wouldn't produce an explosion--an EMPTY tank would.

[Shermy]

how about the shoe bomb, combined with the stresses of taking off, plus throw in some worn metals, or any combination of events? Sure, a shoe bomb could do it.

Have the passenger lists been released in full?