Raw Video: Likely Impact of Liquid Explosives on Planes
U.K. jury saw tapes of tests showing the likely impact of liquid explosives.
May 13, 2008— -- The device is contained within a small beverage bottle yet the explosion shatters thick laminated glass.
Prosecutors in the United Kingdom say alleged terrorists hoped to use liquid explosives to kill thousands of airline passengers, and today they showed a jury the likely impact of those bombs. The tape is chilling and contains three different views of an explosion that begins inside a small sports beverage bottle.
An explosives expert told the court the controlled tests used ratios of hydrogen peroxide and the sugary powdered drink, Tang. The judge, however, questioned the submission of hypothetical tests.
Prosecutors say the eight alleged plotters hoped to blow up airplanes full of passengers headed from London to New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and Montreal. Prosecutors say the alleged plotters planned to conceal their liquid or gel explosives inside modified sports beverages containers.
The public revelation of the alleged plot in the summer of 2006 led to unprecedented security measures at airports worldwide, most of which still remain in force, including the ban on carry-on liquids more than three ounces.
All eight of the defendants have denied the charges.