Terror on the planes

I may watch too many spy shows, read too many spy books, but how would we not know that this wasn't some kind of a test run? Or that it is not a a feint or misdirection to make us take the eye off the ball somewhere else? Think about it this way. They send out a piece of "converted" equipment with a couple of wires and then throw in some white powder. Might as well throw in the "kitchen sink" of terrorist tools too as an inside joke on their part. That should get us going in circles. And then they watch what we do and look for the weak spots. The information came from an ally. How did that information get passed on? Is there a mole? Did the plans include a snitch? Is someone looking out for us? Still the last few "terrorist" boobs failed. So has this. But is this just another failure or is this a test and we can expect something elsewhere? Are we giving them too much credit or not enough? Of course with the elections a few days off that is an advantage for causing fear to expand.