I doubt just a normal Li-ion battery exploding would bring down a plane, Its just on onboard fire really, and Im sure it would be contaned with only burns to some passengers.

Well I don know how easy it is to get hold of Plastic explosives, but I would imagie that on an Xray image the battery which is just a lump of stuff wouldnt look to much different if it was 1 or 2 kilograms of C4 or something. and ofcourse the other electronics would be easy to spoof into a detonator.

"1) Find a second hand laptop with faulty battery"

No... Take *any* device with a large Li-ion battery in a fully charged state. Short out the battery. More batteries, more fun.

All these "security rules" are mostly there to feed paranoia and line the pockets of the (in)security industry. They only have hope to stop amateurish efforts but they inconvenience millions of people. Meanwhile, governments love this stuff because it allows them to introduce dodgy laws, new, far reaching controls and invade your privacy. All of this just to protect you, of course.

I have to mess with and forgo my favourite liquids, dig out my laptop and cables, use plastic cutlery, take off my shoes etc., and pay extra $$ for having all this. Does this make me feel any safer? No. Only annoyed. 

The futility of all this is also shown how inconsistent the rules are in different countries. E.g. last time I travelled, the same airline offered full metal cutlery, metal cutlery with plastic knife or all plastic, depending on the travel destination. WTF?

one of australian airways was forced to an emergency landing in thailand last week.

the cause, a big hole in the left side of the body, where the baggages were supposed to store.

it is still under investigation what cause the hole.

maybe, a bad laptop goes wild.....

I believe the INQ were the very ones who demonsrated how a laptop could blow up a plane, the Dell battery exploding fiasco should have been enough, no?

How to make a laptop bomb:
1) Find a second hand laptop with faulty battery
2) Take laptop on plane
3) Turn it on and enjoy the firework