Posted on Nov 18, 2015
Is it possible for a device the size of a soda can to bring down an airliner?
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Wondering what the EOD members think.
Posted in these groups: 
EOD: Explosive Ordnance Disposal55D: Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Specialist
EOD Team Member
EOD: Explosive Ordnance Disposal55D: Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Specialist EOD Team Member
Edited >1 y ago
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 4
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The answer is yes, yes it can, if placed in the proper place. When an airplane is pressurized and in the sky even a small device can have a devastating effect. Here is a link that should get you to Dr. Sydney Alford's demonstration a few years back: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5753092
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It most certainly is large enough. All it takes is a hole in the cabin. If you combine the speed of the aircraft and a hole in the pressured cabin, the bird will come apart rather quick. The fact that has a small shaped charge on the bottom of the can should help make a hole.
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LTC Yinon Weiss
That's actually a bit of a myth. Depressurizing a plane is not enough to take it down. It must cause structural damage at critical areas. Attached are pictures of an Aloha Airlines flight in 1988 which lost a major section of its frame and landed safely. The only person killed was the flight attendant who was not seated and was sucked out.
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MSgt John Carroll
I guess I should have been more specific. You are correct regarding the Aloha flight but there is some other key things to keep in mind. The Aloha flight 243 had just taken off (23 miles) and was at their cruising altitude of 24,000 feet MSL. That amount os damage was caused by a small tear and regular cabin pressure. The Russian plane was an Airbus 321 that has a cruise altitude of 39,000 MSL. Although I don't know what altitude they were at, it was an international flight so they were probably pretty high. Now lets add in a huge pressure change caused by 2 pounds of explosives and you will definitely have a catastrophic failure.
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Of course, especially if packed as a shaped charge pointed at the fuselage.
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