Tests Show A330 Fuselage Would Not Have Been Breached

While admitting there are some discrepancies, a documentary produced by the BBC, which aired this week on The Discovery Channel, maintains that the bomb allegedly carried by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab would not have been strong enough to bring down the Northwest A330 as it descended into Detroit on December 25th.

In the program "How Safe Are Our Skies," the producers used a PETN device they say was identical to the one allegedly carried by Abdulmutallab, and detonated it inside the fuselage of a decommissioned 747 in a position identical to the one occupied by the alleged bomber. Video of the event shows the outer skin of the aircraft bulging and rippling from the force of the explosion, but it does not open a hole in the side of the airplane. Captain J. Joseph, identified in the documentary as an aviation expert, said the explosion popped a few rivets out of the skin, but there would not have been any explosive decompression of the airplane. "The actual aircraft would have remained intact," he told Discovery News.

The documentary concludes that, had the bombing been successful, the bomber and the person sitting next to him would have been killed, but most passengers and crew would have survived the explosion. Many would have suffered ruptured eardrums from the shock wave created by the blast.

While a decommissioned 747 is not exactly a newer A330, the documentary producers say that works in the test's favor. The composite materials used in the A330 fuselage are stronger than the older aircraft's aluminum skin, and would have withstood the blast better. They also say that, because the attempt came at about 10,000 feet as the airplane was descending to land, the differences in air pressure between the inside of the aircraft and ambient pressure would not have been great enough to be a significant factor.

FMI: www.bbc.co.uk, www.discovery.com