British tabloid News of the World has posted a purported FBI video, showing a live recreation of what would have happened if Al Qaeda shoe bomber Richard Reid had succeeded in his terror mission.

News of the World says the FBI’s bomb was constructed using the same materials in the same proportions as the devices Reid concealed in his running shoes. The explosion rips a pressurized airplane in two.

[Video removed.]

(Hat tip: Bubbaman.)

UPDATE at 5/6/07 5:27:53 pm:

LGF lizards are skeptical that this video actually shows a recreation of Richard Reid’s bomb; the logo at lower left indicates that it’s from a show titled “Maximum Exposure.” Still no proof either way, but it’s beginning to look as if News of the World may have been pulling a fast one.

UPDATE at 5/6/07 6:53:27 pm:

It’s a fake. Kudos to LGF reader ‘PETN Sandwich’ for discovering the source: an L-1011 test in January 1998. (PDF file.)