• Either way, a terrorist can succeed in hijacking simply claiming that he has a bomb on board (it's not important whether it's true or ever possible) or just forcing his way through the airport security (with a gun or by taking hostage, using even something as ridiculous as a fork).
  • And of course there's the bit where the air force might shoot down the aircraft or let it crash.

I think this was true once, but now that we're all too conscious of the weapon potential of a hijacked airliner, at least in the US, procedures have been changed so that the pilot isn't to turn over the plane no matter what. Does anyone have a source?