Comment by jandrewrogers
13 hours ago
This illustrates a point though. TATP you could synthesize on a plane is entirely inadequate to bring down a plane. It also requires a bit more than acetone and hydrogen peroxide. Pan Am 103 required around half a kilo of RDX and TATP is very, very far from RDX.
The idea of synthesizing a proper high-explosive in an airplane lavatory is generally comical. The chemistry isn’t too complex but you won’t be doing it in an airplane lavatory.
> TATP you could synthesize on a plane is entirely inadequate to bring down a plane
Even a small fire can down a plane, especially when distant from diversion airports.
No, you can’t bring down a plane with a small fire. If that was possible terrorists would use a newspaper and a lighter.
A small fire in the right place (like a wiring loom) can definitely bring down a plane, but generally attackers don't have the specialist knowledge to achieve that, and those places are not easily accessible between meal services.
They don't block lithium batteries, so...