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Posted by: athomas
Check out my thoughts on the subject during a Fox News Channel interview.


Click here to watch.
Posted by: athomas
A passenger on a Panama-bound flight made threats that forced a diversion and lead to a SWAT Team intervention.

Check out the really cool video here.
Posted by: athomas
The good thing about terrorists - if there can said to be one- is that while they are highly motivated, they are not very bright.

This seems to be the case of the 2009 Christmas Day underwear bomber, whose plot to set-off off an explosive sewn inside his pants, failed in part due to the fact he had worn the same clothes for two weeks...

Such thinking was also evidenced by the shoe bomber in 2001, who took a stroll in the rain the night before his failed attack...

Posted by: athomas
Another warning about IEDs targeting airliners. Another announcement that aviation security will work to address the threat.

We are now hearing that the rise of ISIS has many officials believing that terrorists will once again target commercial flights.

This is a bit confusing, as terrorists never halted trying to destroy airliners. This has been an ongoing battle, dating back to the dawn of commercial air travel.

In 1933, a United Airlines flight bound for Chicago left Cleveland at 6:57pm with four passengers and three crewmembers. A little after 9:00pm, the Boeing 267 exploded over Chesterton, Indiana, killing everyone on board.

Given the nature of the crash, the size of the debris field, and eyewitness statements, conclusions for the reason of the explosion immediately focused on a bomb.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, who investigated the crash, determined the aircraft was destroyed by an explosive device; possibly a container of nitroglycerin attached to a timing device. No one was ever charged.

In the current day, where the specter of international terrorism and criminality continues to play a key role in shaping the geopolitical and economic climate, we would be wise to remember that attacks against civil aviation are as old as commercial air travel itself.