An 'Airport Insider' May Have Planted A Bomb Aboard The Airplane

Investigators probing the crash of a Russian Metrojet A321 in Egypt are now looking into the possibility that an "airport insider" planted a bomb aboard an airplane set to go off while it was in flight.

Fox News reports that, according to sources not authorized to speak to the media, one theory under consideration is that an airport worker placed a bomb near a fuel line where it is attached to the engine. Under that scenario, the fuel would burn off the explosive residue, making it more difficult to detect and trace.

A second theory points to mention of a "two-hour timer", though the source of that intelligence was not specified.

But each scenario suggests that whoever planted the bomb, if that is the case, had someone inside the airport with access to the airplane.

Texas Republican Congressman Mike McCaul told Fox News that if ISIS did manage to place a bomb on the Russian airliner, it is "a new chapter" for the terrorist group. "We always assumed Al Qaeda had this capability, but now if ISIS has this capability, the threat to American airlines as well as our homeland, I think is very significant," he said.

With the airplane going down about 23 minutes into its flight from Egypt to St. Petersburg, authorities are looking at who might have had access to the plane in the 90 minutes before it departed. Investigators are reviewing surveillance camera video and interviewing ground crews who had access to the ramp and the departure lounge.

The "airport insider" theory is supported by the fact that ISIS has claimed responsibility for the downing, but has not said specifically how they accomplished the feat, leaving the possibility that the airport "mole" is still in place, according to the report.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.civilaviation.gov.eg