Posted on 04/30/2002 12:32:08 PM PDT by Asmodeus
Many have been led to suspect or believe the "missile witnesses" and "missile(s) shootdown" allegations published for years by Reed Irvine of Accuracy In Media, the Donaldson brothers and Ian Goddard, among others. The NTSB denies their allegations. It should go without saying that one side or the other is spreading misinformation.
The "Missile Witnesses" Myth is a detailed and documented rebuttal of the allegations that there were “missile witnesses”. None of those alleging there were "missile(s) witnesses" have been able todate to provide anything remotely resembling a meaningful rebuttal of it.
Similarly, none of those making the "missile(s) shootdown" or "bomb" allegations have been able todate to publicly present any physical evidence that a missile or bomb was involved in the disaster, much less anything remotely resembling a meaningful rebuttal of The Sworn Testimony of FBI Chief Metallurgist William Tobin that there was no physical evidence of either a missile or bomb in the wreckage.
September 1997
The American Spectator
Letter from John B. Roberts II in reply to an earlier one from James Hall - Chairman of the NTSB
Early this summer Hall testified before Congress that a meteorite may have blown up TWA, an event about as likely as an attack by a UFO. Apparently, Mr. Hall is prepared to got to any length to avoid confronting evidence of terrorism in the crash of TWA 800..... minute traces of PETN and RDX were found in TWA 800. Hall would have us believe they came from a bomb-sniffing dog test. But the St. Louis Police Department test record says only that a "wide-bodied jet" was used in the test, and provides no serial number for the aircraft......As TWA's 800's debris was being hauled ashore, it was being tested by the EGIS high-tech explosives detection system operated by FBI technicians and BATF bomb experts. Within five days of the crash, EGIS registered the first of more than a dozen "hits" for PETN on the aircraft. The FBI laboratory--whose work, even before it was subsequently criticized by the Justice Departments's inspector general, was questioned by FBI agents working on EGIS--confirmed only two findings. Do the EGIS findings mean that there was once much more explosive residue .... Whether there were two positive findings or a dozen, the dog-test explanation is almost as zany as Hall's meteorite theory..... Hall states that the U.S. lacks intelligence leads, but at least one terrorist has claimed credit for the TWA 800 bombing. World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Ahmed Yousef told authorities his group is responsible. Yousef's claim has not been made public, but it is in the FBI file.
TWA 800 - The Explosive Traces Line Up With The Hole In The Fuselage.
Witness Meyer did not and could not have seen a "flak" shootdown of the airliner at 13,800 feet at 8:31:11 only 3-4 seconds before he saw the reportedly 2000 feet in diameter Massive Fireball explosion fill the sky between 5500 and 7500 feet at approximately 8:31:47. And, of course, he indicates that he and his crewmates agreed at the time that only about 10 seconds elapsed between the time the Massive Fireball exploded and the splashdown of its flames.
My post 8 links to a presentation of physical evidence. Would you like to respond to the substance of this presentation?
From What Really Happened
As to the plane, it was not particularly old and certainly no more explosive than the average 747. If the NTSB had believed what Goelz has said, they would have recalled those planes quicker than you could say "Firestone." Ask the machinist's union. Ask any TWA pilot. Ask a Boeing engineer. After spending $40 million, the NTSB was unable to identify a scenario that would allow the plane to blow up.The potential damage caused by the truth about this appalling event coming out must be grave in the extreme. Just MHO.
Quote from your link The "Missile Witnesses" Myth
“Just after the initial explosion at 8:31.07.5 PM, the aircraft pitched up abruptly and climbed several thousand feet from its cruise altitude of 13,800 feet to a maximum altitude of about 17,000 feet. This is consistent with information provided by National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing engineeers indicating that the front third of the aircraft, including the cockpit, separated from the fuselage just two to four seconds after the initial explosion. This significant sudden loss of mass from the front of the aircraft caused the rapid pitch-up”.
This is the bases of the Zoom climb theory to explain (quote from The "Missile Witnesses" Myth) “The rising, burning aircraft is consistent with what some eyewitnesses described as "an ascending, bright white light resembling a flare or firework".
The "Missile Witnesses" Myth does no dispute what the eyewitnesses described as "an ascending bright white light but used the Zoom climb theory to explains what they say they saw
However the radar tract of TWA 800 (On public record and on the web)does not support the Zoom climb theory
The radar track is two dimensional just showing direction and forward ground speed and not altitude.
But you can deduce from it if an aircraft is climbing or diving from forward ground speed.
An aircraft going 500 mph in level flied, assuming 0 winds, would have a 500 mph forward ground speed and aircraft going strait up or down would have a 0 mph forward ground speed.
For any angle from level to strait up or down you would see a slowing of forward ground speed on the radar track
So if TWA 800 went in to a zoom climb after the it exploded what would the radar track show?
A steady forward airspeed before the explosion them a rapid slowing of forward ground speed as it goes in to a zoom climb.
However the climb must end and the aircraft stalls out or pitches over and starts to go down.
During that transition from going up to going down the radar track of forward ground speed should a change and show forward ground speed increase for a time… the track should have some what of an “S” curve
The radar track for TWA 800 does not show this “S” curve..
The track shows a simple curve (till just before impact) of and aircraft loosing forward ground speed going down only ..
There is no indication of a zoom climb in the radar track just an aircraft going down
I not sure on any else on TWA 800..may be the eyewitnesses did no see what they described.. But I am sure of one thing .. there was no zoom climb
I'd like to see that one.MR would make a con man look like a saint.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.