Inspection failed for downed plane

It now appears there was an explosive device in the luggage compartment of the Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt in November. If so, the inspection process was deficient, either in checking baggage or checking baggage handlers.

In 1973, while doing research for a paper at the Army War College, I traveled to Israel, taking El-Al from New York. We stopped in Geneva for refueling, landing a great distance from the terminals. All passengers were required to disembark and we were bused to the terminal. When returning to the aircraft, we saw that all of the hold baggage had been removed from the plane and lined up on the tarmac. Each passenger alighted from the bus and identified his or her baggage, which was then placed in the baggage compartment. I had a window seat and was able to view the situation after returning to my seat. When the last passenger boarded the craft, there was one suitcase left on the tarmac. Of course security was paramount in El-Al. In the 40 years since, I’ve always wondered about that one piece of luggage.