Tuesday, Sep. 08, 2009
Richard Reid
It's a big deal anytime a terrorist manages to get a bomb onto a plane. But if airline security had to fail, at least it failed for Richard Reid. The al-Qaeda operative concealed a bomb in his shoe on a 2001 transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami. But once onboard, the terrorist proved utterly unable to get his shoe to ignite, attracting the attention of flight attendants who saw him repeatedly muttering while attempting to light matches. After noticing a wire running from his shoes, passengers doused Reid, tied him up and sedated him for the rest of the flight. He's now serving a life sentence at the Supermax prison in Florence, Colo.