Did Tang almost bring down 7 airliners?

The details of the 2006 “Liquid bomb” plot have finally been spilled. The Guardian reports that yesterday the prosecution in the trial of eight men charged with hatching the plot, revealed a diary belonging to one of the alledeged conspirators. Inside police found specific details of the explosive cocktail.

The plan was to create an explosive mixture of hydrogen peroxide, Tang and some other easily-obtainable chemicals. The mixture was to be detonated with the power supply from a disposable camera. The aim was  probably to produce an explosive called HMTD, which has been used in previous suicide attacks and was the most likely explosive used in the 7/7 London bombings. Tang, a powdered citrus drink, would have both disguised the liquid explosive, as well as provided chemicals needed for the explosion.

Bruce Schneier’s blog is hosting a compelling debate on the likelihood that the bombers could have assembled these bombs in-flight, and how much damage they would have done. So far the consensus judgment seems dubious.