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Terror plotter says he was aware of shoe-bomb attack in Malaysia

MAS is the 16th most reliable airline in the world, says travel website

Could a shoe bomb have exploded on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370?

British terror plotter Saajid Muhammad Badat was quoted by the Daily Star as saying he was aware of plans for an earlier shoe bomb attack in Malaysia.

He said: “I gave one of my shoes to the Malaysians. I think it was to access the cockpit," Saajid was quoted as saying by the Daily Star.

“I said: ‘How about I give you one of my bombs to open a cockpit door?’”

Saajid's account of the 2002 plot prompted new terror fears as he testified to an American court via a video link from London during the trial of Osama bin Laden's son-in-law in relation to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Saajid and fellow Briton Richard Reid, 40, were both sentenced to jail after unsuccessfully attempting shoe bomb attacks on United States-bound airliners in 2001.

He also claimed that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had once revealed plans for a Malaysian terror plot.

This has led to speculation that the Boeing 777-200ER, which is currently missing, was brought down by a shoe bomb.

MH370, carrying 12 crew members and 227 passengers, dropped off the radar at 1.20am on Saturday.

An extensive search and rescue operation by 12 nations over the past five days has failed to unearth any clues to the aircraft's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the Daily Star reported another theory which has emerged to explain how an airliner, equipped with tracking devices, vanished without a trace.

An aviation expert said he believed the pilots may have deliberately crashed it as hijackers stormed the cockpit.

They would have taken the action fearing they could be used to commit another 9/11-style attack.

Pilot Karlene Petitt claimed terrorists might have planned to smash the plane into a skyscraper in a city such as Hong Kong or Singapore.

"I think the flight deck was compromised. The terrorists turned the transponder, which gives its location, off," she told the Daily Star.

"They told the captain to fly towards a different city. Hong Kong comes to mind, but they could have turned back to Singapore, or head anywhere in range with one mission in mind – create another 9/11.

“I believe that the captain initially followed their directions and when he realised what was about to happen he put the plane into the ocean to save thousands of lives on the ground.

“If I were in that seat and they decided they did not need me any more I would click off the autopilot and push the nose over in descent during my final breath.”

She told the Daily Star that no terrorists had taken responsibility as their plan had failed and they wanted to launch a similar bloodbath soon.

She said search parties must work out and search possible flight paths to nearby cities in order to find any wreckage. – March 13, 2014.