This may seem like a dumb question, but everyone must learn the answer to a question somewhere, and Google wasn’t helping.

Why is there a focus, both in prevention of terrorism and the committing of terrorism, on planes? Why would a terrorist subject themselves to additional tiers of security to get on a plane before blowing themselves up instead of detonating in the airport lobby, or in an extremely crowded shopping mall, where there is no security between you and your victims? Would it not be a more effective attack on society to make people think that they are not safe anywhere rather than just in the air?

I have often thought this as well. They should change it up for extended shock value and added fear.

I suppose cruise ships have been attempted. Similar venue there. Isolated mode of travel with many people in close confines.

Originally planes were chosen because of laxed security measures I am sure, but now…..dunno why they would be high on the list.

I think it shows how difficult large acts of terrorism actually are to pull off. Complacency is their only ally. If societies stay alert and aware, acts of terror are far and few between and relatively small.

Spectacle, Large plumes of flame. Stuff falling from the sky. Extra damage to whatever the plane hits. The image has an apocalyptic quality not quite equaled by destruction on the ground.

Air travel is how cultures most efficiently cross pollinate. Global tourism demands it. If I wanted to sabotage international relations I would start by making ordinary people afraid to visit other places.

You mentioned security. I think the security measures around airplanes make them more attractive because it escalates the challenge. Muslim terrorists are local celebrities. They make videos and billboards. They want infamy. The difficulty factor of their target is a plus rather than a minus. Especially since it humiliates as well as kills

Planed are shiny, expensive, vulnerable, and tend to be filled with rich western folks. When a plane goes down no one survives and as said above it makes a quite colorful impact that captures headlines.

Because by taking down a plane, you can kill a lot of people, inflict some infrastructure damage, and throw a wrench into the national transportation network all in one stroke.

Muslim leaders know their target audience (pun intended) they know that many western nations spend a great deal of time watching television and will tune in to see blood and explosions. They’ve seen our movies. They know what sort of images we will pay money to see.

Polednice - 26 May 2012 06:20 AM

This may seem like a dumb question, but everyone must learn the answer to a question somewhere, and Google wasn’t helping.

Why is there a focus, both in prevention of terrorism and the committing of terrorism, on planes? Why would a terrorist subject themselves to additional tiers of security to get on a plane before blowing themselves up instead of detonating in the airport lobby, or in an extremely crowded shopping mall, where there is no security between you and your victims? Would it not be a more effective attack on society to make people think that they are not safe anywhere rather than just in the air?

It’s not the body count, as other’s have suggested.  While true that flying a plane into a building will cause MASSIVE DAMAGE (the passengers and the occupants), you can achieve similar results using other methods.  Me thinks the reason is to “stick it to us”.

This is aligned with the above poster who commented on “knowing their audience”.  Hijacking another Plane after 9/11 with heightened security would be a slap in the face and instill the public’s fear of flying and being safe in General.

In other words, intangibles.  Think of it as a high score/achievement in a video game.

Good question though

It has become too risky to try to bring down a plane since security has tightened, so how much longer before the terrorists figure out that bombing the security checkpoint is the way to go?  There’s nothing to stop someone with explosives strapped around the body while carrying a carry on bag full of explosives from putting the bag on the X Ray machine.  Sure, security will find it, but that is the point, because it will be too late to do anything about it when the explosives go off.

Planes flaming out of the sky are much more dramatic, though.

bigredfutbol - 26 May 2012 05:44 PM

Because by taking down a plane, you can kill a lot of people, inflict some infrastructure damage, and throw a wrench into the national transportation network all in one stroke.

That’s what I was going to say BigRed, they make the perfect missile, primed with explosive fuel, a right old mess.

It’s probably a lot of these reasons, but I don’t think the focus on airplanes has been as true for other parts of the world with active fundamentalist populations.