[Blade]

CNN reported that eyewitnesses saw an explosion on the right side of the plane.

After 9/11, what is the likelihood that a well maintained American Airlines plane would take off with an unnoticed mechanical problem egregious enough to cause a explosion?

[MindBender26]

Such eyewitness observation is completely consistant with first stage impeller disintegration and shroud penetration.

THere is zero likelihood of ANY A/C taking off with visible problem, but such impeller problems are microscopic until catastrophic failure. Also, planes crash somewhere in world every day.....

[cgbg]

what is the likelihood...American Airlines plane..poor maintenance...leading to explosion.

For a given flight, probably less than one in a hundred thousand.

Of course the odds that a terrorist bomb would blow up this particular plane is also less than one in a hundred thousand.

Conclusion: this news story never happened. ;-)