[GOPGuide]

The 20 km fuel slick indicates NO BOMB. The weather tore this airbus apart.

Are we sure about that? Any experts here want to comment on the fuel slick?

[GRANGER]

It’s too easy...if it were a bomb they would have known right away from the debris...and we have heard nothing of burn marks, etc. The airbus broke apart and came down in several pieces.

[Straight Vermonter]

I’m not an expert but see my post #45.

[Technical Editor]

You don’t have to be an expert to know that in a high-altitude explosion the fuel burns up and/or dissipates in the air and you would not have an easily visible (even on TV) oil slick many miles long!

[WaterBoard]

The 20 km fuel slick indicates NO BOMB. The weather tore this airbus apart.

The presense of an oil slick does not mean that there was no bomb. Do you expect an in air explosion from a bomb to completely 100% consume all on board fuel as in the movies?

A small explosion could weaken the air frame and allow for rapid decompression and fuel spilling into the ocean.

There is historic precident for oil slicks after explosions on board aircraft. But, lets not let facts get into the way.

TWA Flight 800 which exploded off the coast of Long Island produced a fuel slick.

Read the US Coast Guard report:

"There were several hot spots still burning from the jet fuel, and the fuel slick shimmered endlessly. ... The ocean was smooth as silk, except for the jet fuel that continued to shimmer on its surface ... We moved forward deeper into one of the debris areas, the water was thick with jet fuel"

Does the description sound familiar?

http://www.uscg.mil/history/weboralhistory/TWA_Flight_800_Pat_Golden.pdf

[varyouga]

Any experts here want to comment on the fuel slick?

I'm not an accident expert but I'm an engineer with some design experience. Mostly with the mechanical systems though. I'll have a chat with an old friend from Boeing tonight. He's a structural expert.

A small bomb can cause structural failure with very little "burn". The fuel tanks are fairly resilient so they could have remained intact after a small explosion.

It only takes a well-placed bomb the size of a whiteout bottle to take a plane down. With weaker security and corruption in South America, it's a pretty good possibility.

I believe this is more likely to be a political/business "hit" than a terrorist attack.