BusterAg said:I know of at least one that was prevented soon after 9/11infinity ag said:Deerdude said:
TSA sucks eggs. We were better without the garbage at airports. Exactly zero terrorist stopped, yet millions of innocent water bottles confiscated.
How many terrorist attacks on planes did you see?
In the US, there was one incident where the perpetrator, Richard Reid, smuggled explosives in the soles of his shoes and tried to ignite it with a lighter. That was prevented in-flight by the flight attendant i.e. TSA screening failed to catch the exploaives.
There was a second case in 2009 where an Al Qaeda terrorist from Nigeria, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, on an inbound flight from Amsterdam to Detroit smuggled TATP (and PETN) onto a plane. He was known as the underwear bomber because he sowed the explosivea into his underwear. Abdulmutallab only succeeded in setting himself and his seat on fire. TATP is very unstable and is a liquid explosive that has to be mixed shortly before it is used. It has a tendency to detonate unexpectedly as it is being made. Al Qaeda called TATP the "Mother of Satan."
It wasn't TSA who missed the bomb but since TATP is made fron clear liquids, acetone and hydrogen peroxide, TSA banned it..
Abdulmutallab is the only case before or since in the US or any other country where a liquid explosive was used or planned to be used to blow up an aircraft. It's ridiculous that TSA banned all liquids from being brought through the screening checkpoint. The only people who benefit from this policy are the airport concessions vendors who sell small water bottles for $4 each.