[varyouga]

This was a bomb. Aerated petroleum jelly(similar looking to store bought vaseline) combined with a strong oxidizer(H peroxide) can produce an explosion.

How powerful, I’m not sure.

[Jaxter]

"..combined with a strong oxidizer(H peroxide) can produce an explosion."

Will that work with the watered down stuff that they sell in drug stores as a disinfectant?

[Mr. Silverback]

You may be right, But I’m betting this was just a dry run. They may even have stored some semtex in the bag for a time and then removed it before the flight to see how sensitive the sniffer was.

[pepsionice]

This was more of test...to see if anything would be noticed. The trick is....you don’t aim for one group getting on one airline...you want several groups getting on several flights. So you are hunting for the least capable TSA airport. My guess is that they will now turn around and hunt for airports like Jackson, Miss or Huntsville, Al....hoping to find less capable guys.

You are correct...one day...they will find the right airport, and within a week...have 40 people there to get on a couple of flights within a 60-minute block. The only thing they may have guessed wrong about...no one onboard is going to sit and play dummy. The minute you stand to announce your intentions...20 passengers are going to take you down to the ground and probably terminate you before you realize what hit you. We all learned lessons.