But the FBI had the cart before the horse. You cannot start suppressing information when there is no crime. The vast majority of explosions like TWA are due to accidents, not to sabotage. For the FBI to assume first that an explosion is sabotage reveals its lack of experience in dealing with explosion incidents. Indeed, the FBI rarely investigates explosions and fires. Other law enforcement agencies, most notably the ATF, investigate many explosions and have lots of experience.
The proof is in the pudding. The ATF called the cause of the crash correctly, 10 months before the FBI did. In fact, it is fair to say that the FBI hindered the investigation and the public's and the families' right to know, and in the process, in my view, the FBI risked public safety."
The FBI's own Chief Forensic Metallurgist and other experts told Kallstrom the same thing less than 2 months after the crash:
GRASSLEY: When did you arrive at the hanger in Calverton, New York where the plane was being reconstructed?
TOBIN: I arrived on August 4th of 1996.
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GRASSLEY: Within 30 days of arriving at Calverton, what was your professional assessment of as to whether the cause of the crash was a bomb?
TOBIN: It progressed from an inclination of viewing the earmarks as possibly a bomb, but it changed rather quickly to confirmation within my mind that there was no indication of a bomb and unlikely to be that of a missile within the first 30 days.
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GRASSLEY: At some point, did the bomb techs agree with yours and the NTSB's assessment that the cause of the crash was not a bomb?
TOBIN: Yes, Senator. I would estimate that probably four to six weeks -- after about four to six weeks, we were all unanimously or near unanimously on the same page. And all being the bomb techs, the National Transportation Safety Board and the metallurgy or the material science interests in the FBI laboratory. We were all unanimously -- we were united in our observations and conclusions that there was no bomb or missile damage evident on those aircraft parts.
GRASSLEY: The term four to six weeks brings you to what date on the calendar approximately? Just approximately.
TOBIN: My guess would be mid September, early to mid September.
Having parlayed his unprofessional knee-jerk conclusion at the outset, that zoom+boom=missile shootdown, into authorization from Louis Freeh, Janet Reno and the White House to seize control of the investigation from the NTSB along with a blank check, James Kallstrom kept his cop mentality neck bowed and barged ahead with more futile wild goose chase efforts to prove he was right.
FBI Assistant Director Schiliro: "It should also be pointed out that the main 92 foot reconstruction project of the plane's fuselage was initiated at the insistence and urging of the FBI to identify possible patterns of damage or directional forces in a three-dimensional perspective, despite the repeated objection and reluctance of many NTSB senior managers to take on such an investigative project."
"It was also at the urging of the FBI that the evidence collection effort continued after the cessation of diving operations on November 3, 1996 due to weather conditions. The FBI contracted for the services of four (4) scallop trawlers to literally ``rake'' the ocean floor for aircraft debris from November 1996 until the end of April 1997. Each trawler operated 24 hours a day, weather permitting, and was staffed by two FBI Special Agents who painstakingly separated sea life from manmade objects and ensured a proper chain of custody."
"Through such arduous and thorough efforts, the FBI and the NTSB and its parties were afforded an unprecedented opportunity to conduct further forensic and engineering analyses which assisted in the overall decision making process."
Translation: Kallstrom fell on his face in his efforts to prove that zoom+boom=missile shootdown.
Click here for the sources of all the above quotes.
James Kallstrom's clones, the tinfoil hats, have continued his efforts to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear with more of his zoom+boom=missile shootdown.
Commander Donaldson: . . . . the loss of the aircraft was caused by an explosive event in the number two main tank. [Underlined emphasis added]
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Commander DONALDSON: I think a missile was fired, that we have dozens of people that agree with the flight time of the missile, where it came from and where it went. I think it steered for the center wing tank. I think it veered forward and entered the number two main. There is 45 square feet of front spar missing in front of that tank. [Underlined emphasis added]
But Donaldson made the same blunder James Kallstrom earlier did. He succumbed to his knee jerk reaction that zoom+boom=missile shootdown of Flight 800 at 13,800 feet at 8:31:12.
The "boom" is aka the Massive Fireball explosion. It was informally calculated to have been approximately 2000 feet in diamater. It was by far the most dramatic fiery event in the sky and seen by virtually all of the witnesses - including those airborne such as witnesses Faret & Wendell who saw it explode below their own flight altitude of 8500 feet, flew over to the smoke cloud it left and thereby determined that its clearly defined top was at 7700 feet. Source
Their report also includes the following interesting addendum:
Feb 97: Addendum:
Time has passed, the mystery of the downing of Flight 800 still eludes us. (probably not all of us). Until all data is evaluated, we’ll have to wait for the official facts. From an idealistic view, there is no reason to think otherwise. (what a perfect world we live in). Since Ken & Sven made this report public, we have heard many opinions on our sighting. We saw what we saw and report it as such. We have nothing to gain or loose. It is apparent that some aviation experience is required.
There is one fact that bothers us, however. No mention is ever made of the fact that the explosion was at 7500 feet! We do not dispute the fact that something happened at 13,800 feet, but what happened after that. There is 5000 feet unaccounted for.
We would like to emphasize:
We approached the black-gray smoke cloud on the west side. We were at 7700 feet and were at the top edge of the cloud. The cloud center was at 7500 feet. There were 2 small bumps atop it. There was no smoke or smoke trails above it. It was still lit up a little by the sun, clear above.
We don’t know why this has never been discussed in any scenarios.
Compare their report on the altitude of the Massive Fireball explosion with the following and note the Massive Fireball explosion altitude estimates of the other airborne witnesses:
You say:
"Now get this, the expert analyst Commander Donaldson found evidence of the FBI's search that was recommended based on the expert conclusion that the witness accounts support a missile strike. If the expert analysts and the FBI believed what Asmodeus believes they would never have recommended and conducted such a massive search of the ocean."
Expert witness report analysts don't succumb to knee-jerk reactions that zoom+zoom=missile shootdown.
Expert witness report analysts would determine the altitude of the boom.
The proof is in the pudding.