TWA 800 FOIA Suit Yields Smoking Gun

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | August 30, 2007 | Jack Cashill

[neverdem]

More than six years after retired United Airline captain Ray Lahr launched his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) petition into the fate of TWA Flight 800, the FBI has shown him—likely by accident—one seriously smoking gun.

The Boeing 747 blew up off the coast of Long Island on July 17, 1996. One of the FBI documents received recently by Lahr and his attorney, John Clarke of Washington DC, details a communication that took place six days after the crash:

"On Tuesday, July 23, 1996, a representative from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) advised [the FBI] that after a visual analysis of both the videotape as well as a number of still photographs taken from various portions of the tape, the phenomenon captured by [name redacted] appeared to be consistent with the exhaust plume from a MANPAD [Man-portable air-defense] missile."

“The FBI guy who looked at this must not have read it, or not have realized what it would reveal,” says Lahr. “Otherwise he would have redacted most of it as before.”

Adding a new level of intrigue to the investigation is the fact that the video in question appears to have been shot on July 12, 1996, five days before the crash.

The earlier, unedited FBI document reports that a fellow and his friend on Long Island were attempting to videotape the sunrise when they saw and recorded “a grey trail of smoke ascending from the horizon at an angle of approximately 75 [degrees].”

So compelling was the visual that the fellow made a comment to his friend, heard on the tape, “They must be testing a rocket.” The fellow calculated that object was heading towards the Atlantic Ocean.

On the document Lahr first received, the story of the video ends right there. The next two paragraphs had...

[null and void]

This thing?

It protects against IR guided missles.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the links.

[the OlLine Rebel]

This is World Net Daily, so that in itself is a “grain of salt”.

I would say that this paragraph doesn’t mean much. Just because at 1 point (early) they said it looked like A, doesn’t mean they could not discredit A later with ALL the evidence and call it B.

This doesn’t mean I don’t believe something besides “faulty 747” happened there; just that this is not what I’d qualify as “smoking gun”. It’s not good evidence.

[raygunfan]

cashill scores another hit....

[toldyou]

Thank you.

[NY Attitude]

We should ask Jim Kalstrom, he will tell us the truth. Sarcasm on!

[neverdem]

This doesn’t mean I don’t believe something besides “faulty 747” happened there; just that this is not what I’d qualify as “smoking gun”. It’s not good evidence.

IMHO, it's more evidence that they tried to sell us a bill of goods. This was a flight to Paris and the fuel tank was supposed to be empty or almost empty. It doesn't pass the smell test, IMHO.

[gaijin]

He and his wife (I believe) somehow got ahold of a piece of seat fabric from the crash debris recovery hangar, did HPLC on it (or some assay) and the results were that the sample was covered with RDX or some chemical consistent with explosives, like from a missile.

And for THAT, the FBI basically put him and his wife in PRISON.

I can never trust the gov't again in the same way I did before.

[gaijin]

Fishing trawlers dragging the harbor also found the MANPADS ejector can —that’s the rapid-burn thing that boosts the missile out of the launcher in such a way to provide for a launch that doesn’t burn the terrorist.

[Perdogg]

I heard Jack Cashill on Coast-to-Coast live one saturday night. This was early september. I am not convinced a manpad was use.

Until better “evidence” is presented, I accept the fuel tank issue, which was corrected on Air Force one.

[ANGGAPO]

I have though from the beginning that FL800 was shot down by a hand launched missile of some type. Wing tanks do not explode on their own, except on B-24’s.

[Blue State Insurgent]

One thing is certain: There have been a lot less acts of terrorism perpetrated against us since W put Saddam out of the terrorism business.

[Uncle Hal]

The whole investigation into TWA Flight 800 is a sham. Crimes were committed both in the bringing down of the plane and the subsequent cover up. It is my belief this crime goes to the very top of the Clinton Administration. Hopefully someone will get to the bottom of this prior to next years elections.

[NY Attitude]

If I remember correctly, the FBI said that the aircraft was used to transport militery personnel and equipment to and from Gulf War 1. Hence the reason for the explosive residue.

[Stayfree]

Especially his conversation with Gorelick after which the FBI shut down all investigation into missile involvement.

[Perdogg]

The whole investigation into TWA Flight 800 is a sham.

prove it.

[Apercu]

Has the government ever explained why 747’s worldwide were not grounded immediately after the TWA flight 800 “crash” to implement a center fuel tank fix - including Air Force One? No.Because it is (was) not needed.The whole investigation left too many questions unanswered, especially with the Clintons in the White House at the time. Maybe Sandy Burglar knows.

[NY Attitude]

I also remember that a weekly news magazine (Time / US News and World Report or something similar) covered this story. It told of a P3 and a C-130 being in the area and cited that the explosion ocurred around 8,000 feet. 3 weeks later, the same magazine printed a different story saying that the aircraft was at more than 13,000 feet. Sort of saying that it was out of reach of a shoulder fired missile. When the second version came out, the government spin artists were hard at work.

[Churchillspirit]

Good question.

[Perdogg]

Air Force One has been fixed.
It was fixed by 1999.