Unsilent Generation

In light of the horrendous record of failed airport security measures, which are recorded in detail in my book 5 Unanswered Question About 9/11, I am passing along this morning’s email on IEDs aboard aircraft, from Andrew R. Thomas, business professor at the University of Akron  and editor of the Journal of Transportation Security.

The most recent attempt by a terrorist to detonate an Improvised Explosive Device within the confines of an air cabin has several recent precursors: 

1995: Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind behind the 1993 WTC attack, was less than a week away from planting IEDs on several U.S. bound NWA flights from the Pacific. The IED was successfully tested in late 1994 on an Air Nippon Airways flight, killing a passenger. 

2001: An Al-Qaeda operative, Richard Reid, unsuccessfully attempted to detonate an IED concealed within his shoe on an U.S.-bound AA flight, originating from Paris’ Charles De-Gaulle International airport.

2004: Two Russian airliners are destroyed, nearly simultaneously, by female suicide bombers who detonated IEDs on-board. 

Source: “History of Attacks Against Civil Aviation” Aviation Security Management: Volume 1, Andrew R. Thomas editor (London; Praeger Security International) 2008,pp. 142-260.