All the passengers and luggage were inside the pressure hold. When a hole was blown in that all the air blew out.
You are correct, the cargo hold is pressurised and depressurisation begins as soon as there is a breach in the hull. It does take a long time however for this to happen relative to the length of time it took the blast wave from the IED to blast the much larger starburst hole in the front of the aircraft.
Both explosions were caused by brisant explosives. To make sure that there was no difficulty in analysing the residues, Semtex was I suggest used in both explosions.
Again I ask, how do you come to the conclusion that there were 2 explosive devices aboard PA103? What qualifies you to seperate statements of fact from written padding in the AAIB report?
RARDE did all the explosives work. AAIB refused to handle it, I conclude.
AAIB are an air accident investigation facility. RARDE was an explosives R&D laboratory.
I disagree with you when you say there was no damage other than the IED explosion.
Ambrosia said:
Aside from the area around the first IED no explosion damage was detected anywhere else in the aircraft.
The debris trials were a consequence of the aircraft disintegrating as it fell. Read the summary I just posted.
IED explodes - 2-3 seconds later the front of the fuselage detaches and takes with it 1 engine. The remainder of the aircraft falls relatively intact for 12000' and then the tail section detaches, now falling almost vertically and spinning the remaining debris breaks apart.
Plane starts flying level at 31000' 434Knots airpseed. IED explodes plane is pitched into a 45degree angle of descent, contents of the plane, and debris from the explosion make up one debris trail. The plane descends ever more vertically as it falls to 19000' when the next major breakup occurs. All of the wreckage from here on out falls almost vertically to earth, hence shorter more densely populated debris trail.
There was more than enough force acting on the airframe as it descended for it to be torn apart without the need for a 2nd bomb as my summary of the breakup is meant to illustrate.
How can you be sure there was a 2nd bomb? How on earth do bombers ensure a second bomb would even detonate with all the likely destruction that will occur in the plane once the first device explodes? Why on earth plant 2 bombs if you can't guarantee both will explode and risk having an unexploded bomb, that is traceable to you, fall to earth into the clutches of air accident investigators??
It makes no sense at all.
