‘Sophisticated’ bomb on Somalia plane passed airport X-ray, older scanners to blame.

‘Sophisticated’ bomb on Somalia plane passed airport X-ray, older scanners to blame. (TOI).

The bomb that detonated in a Somali plane earlier this month, blowing a large hole in its fuselage before the aircraft was able to land safely, was a “sophisticated” device that was able to get through X-ray security checks at Mogadishu airport undetected, CNN reported, quoting a source close to the investigation.

It was not immediately clear how the X-ray machine was fooled, or whether the bombers’ “success” in getting the device through security has wider implications for airport security elsewhere.

The news network speculated that the machine may have been an older generation single-view machine still used in less developed countries, rather than a newer multi-view machine.

It also mentioned that some African countries do not use Explosive Trace Detection technology (ETD) in which passengers are swabbed to find minute quantities of explosives.

Such security weaknesses, CNN said, may have contributed to the terrorists’ ability to pass security clearance. The source did not say whether he believed the sophistication of the device could have overcome more advanced security measures.

An explosives expert told CNN that lax security at African airports has been the “elephant in the room for a long, long time.”

The Serb pilot who landed the jetliner after the explosion has described the security at Mogadishu Airport as “zero.” The pilot, Vlatko Vodopivec, called the facility “chaotic.”

“When we park (the plane) there, some 20 to 30 people come to the tarmac,” said Vodopivec, a veteran pilot who has made numerous flights to the airport. “No one has a badge or those yellow vests. They enter and leave the plane, and no one knows who is who … They can put anything inside when passengers leave the aircraft.” Read the full story here.

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