On December 22, 2001—just months after the 9/11 attacks—Richard Reid boarded American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami with homemade bombs hidden in his shoes.

During the flight, Reid tried to detonate his shoes, but he struggled to light the fuse. Crew members and passengers noticed and restrained him.

The plane diverted to Logan International Airport in Boston, and Massachusetts State Police officers took Reid into custody. Reid told FBI agents that he made the shoes himself.

This is the pair of shoes [Richard] Reid—also known as the “shoe bomber”—tried to detonate. FBI bomb techs determined that the shoes contained about 10 ounces of explosive material.

https://www.fbi.gov/history/artifacts/richard-reids-shoes

  • @ShawiniganHandshake
    link
    English
    34 months ago

    Something similar happened to me. I accidentally left a Victorinox Swiss Card in my wallet when I went traveling. They only flagged it at the airport on the way back. Security made me throw out the tiny scissors because they were longer than 2 inches but let me keep the knife part. It was absurd.