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What if the bomber had set it off from his seat?

posted 13 years ago by Stevicus-2
4 replies | jump to latest

If events in the film unfolded differently and the bomber set off the bomb before anyone could grab it, would the plane still be able to fly, as Petroni suggested?

If so, then Guerrero's plan might have been flawed from the very beginning, since it all hinged on the explosion bringing down the plane in the Atlantic, which would eliminate all the witnesses and leave all the evidence at the bottom of the ocean. I don't know if the insurance company would still be required to pay off the claim, but the whole thing would still look pretty suspicious.

I also wonder if Captain Demerest was correct when he said that no one has ever gotten away with a stunt like that. Obviously, there are those who have gotten away with blowing up airplanes, but whether it was tied in to any large flight insurance payoffs, I haven't heard.

[–] cowgoesmoo 13 years ago

Maybe. Like Joe Patrone said, sometimes they can still fly, sometimes not.

There's Philippine Airlines flight 434, which had a bomb that was hidden under the seat by a terrorist who sat there on the previous flight. The bomb killed the guy sitting there but it could have been worse. The terrorist thought he chose a seat over the center fuel tank but instead took one over the cargo hold so the damage was limited. Despite all the damage, the pilot was skillful and able to land the plane safely.

On the other hand, there's TWA fight 847, which exploded over the Ionian Sea in 1974 killing all aboard. It's not clear if it was the act of a suicide bomber or a bomb placed in the cargo hold.

As to insurance fraud, it's been tried many, many times. The first to gain prominence was United Airlines flight 629 in 1955, which is also believed to have been the inspiration for the bomb plot in "Airport". A guy named John Graham rigged dynamite in his mother's luggage, killing her and 43 others on board to collect a $37000 payoff. (Graham was executed in 1957.)

Whether someone got away with it, we'd never know, now would we? Captain Demarest would also have no way of knowing whether someone successfully committed insurance fraud and undoubtedly said it just to control the situation.

[–] lwi101 13 years ago

It depends on where the bomb goes off. As Patroni states, there are places where no wires or control cables pass. Remember there was a United 747 that lost a cargo door, a big chunk of fuselage and cabin floor and flew several hundred miles back to Hawaii. Ditto an Aloha 737 "convertible" that lost a piece of cabin roof. Airplanes are pretty tough.
L

[–] nabo7 12 years ago

I saw a photo of a Boeing 727 (same fuselage structure as the 707) after a bomb had exploded under a window seat in flight, and it made a hole similar to what was portrayed in the movie. It was away from the wing and it did not take out the control cables. Yes, the plane could have continued to fly after such a blast if the charge was not too big. It would have been sudden death for several passengers in adjoining seats, at the very least.

[–] TorontoJediMaster 12 years ago

In the book, it says that it was the final mistake of Guerrero's flawed plan. He didn't account for the fact that modern (for the time) aircraft are well built and are capable of sustaining a lot of damage.

In the book, it also mentions attempted insurance fraud cases involving airline bombings.

I think it would have depended on where the bomb was. Right against the skin of the aircraft directed a lot of force outside of the plane.