Originally Posted by
neville_nobody
Surely they haven't sat there for 4 hours if they are worried about a bomb going off.
A dedicated extremist hoping for a hot date with 72 black-eyed virgins would not embark on a protracted rant like this guy did. The real deal are more inclined to rattle off a quick "Allahu Akhbar" and push the button/pull the string/pop the pin and blow everything up before someone can take them down. Or just sit quietly fingering their worry beads waiting for the device to go bang at a preset altitude or time.
Once the aircraft landed, the authorities would probably have assessed the risk as relatively low, but they still needed to be sure there was no device planted somewhere running on a timer.
Though it is surprising that they didn't do a rapid evacuation.
Of greater concern now is how this fruitcake gets sentenced. If they drop him in the loony bin for 5 years and then he gets out, who is to say he won't be like that other nutter in the Lindt Cafe disaster? They had pre-warning that he was a crazy radical, too.
The Israelis would have dealt with this guy quite differently. If they hadn't shot him, they would never release him back into public life.