@ tdracer - Well, remember that the "shoe bomber" was caught and stopped because people noticed him trying to set fire to his shoe.
With IEDs, the methodology can be very - weird.
Additionally - obviously the explosion (and they can be very "firey" - see
http://www.drum.army.mil/mountaineer.../explosion.jpg
....had to come before the aircraft was breached, and thus before anyone could be sucked out.
Combine those with the fact that shocking events can lead to "stop-action" memory - and witness accounts are memories of the event - and I just don't see a mystery.
Bang - flame - hole - suck - in short order.