[UnChained]

The sheer scale of this operation argues against a terrorist group as it required the resources available to a nation-state.

I don't understand why everyone says this was such a massive operation. While it could have involved a large support organization, it also might have been a radical group of just eight guy's all of whom died leaving no living co-conspirators.

To pull this off they only needed determination, resourcefulness and a very modest budget. How much did the plastic knives cost? Toss in a few more bucks for flak jackets in case the a US marshall on board got off a shot or two. They probably charged the tickets with no plan to pay the bill. They didn't need to spend months in the US gathering info before they struck.

Maybe one or more of them had some hands on with the big jets and trained the others. It still doesn't mean that this is an example of state sponsored terrorism. But then again maybe it was. I hope we find out and are able to send a devastatingly clear message in response.

[t-shirt]

You honestly think two guys on each plane with plastic knives could overpower the entire crew and all passengers on each plan?

[dennisw]

I agree. The barebones minimum needed is 3-4 commando terrorists on each airplane. That makes ~14 highly trained terrorists who are willing to die.

Work your way up from there as far as how many are needed to execute this plan. One thing they had was a very good structural engineer who calculated that a fuel laden airplane can take out a 100 story building