Local Aviation Expert: Terrorism A Possibility

CBS KYW ^ | 02/01/03 | NA

[Freedom of Speech Wins]

Local Aviation Expert: Terrorism A Possibility

CBS

Print This Story Feb 1, 2003 10:58 pm US/Eastern (KYW) (PHILADELPHIA) While leading theories are emerging about what exactly happened to Space Shuttle Columbia on Saturday, Eyewitness News spoke with nationally-renowned aviation expert Arthur Wolk about what may have caused the disaster. While Wolk says technical or structural problems are at the top of his list, he won't rule out terrorism.

"Well, perhaps the leading theory is that a very large piece of insulation came off that orange fuel tank and struck the left wing. Of course no one would know how much damage it did. But if there were damage to any of the critical tiles, there are some more critical than others, when the shuttle reached this high-pressure point in its high speed descent, it could tear some of those critical tiles off and then the whole shuttle would be torn apart," Wolk explained. Wolk also said that other possibilities include structural failure, a computer failure or multiple computer failures that would have caused the shuttle to make a movement that structurally it couldn't take. While U.S. officials have said terrorism doesn't seem to play a role, Wolk said he wasn't so sure: "Then of course finally there is always the possibility that some terrorist on the inside, during one of the inspections of the shuttle, may have sabotaged it. To me, it's simply too coincidental that the shuttle was lost when an Israeli astronaut was aboard. It's very sad indeed."

Finally, Wolk thinks investigators will also focus on the fact that Columbia was not only the heaviest of the shuttles, but also the oldest in NASA's fleet. "It's certainly a possibility. Remember that aging aircraft, just like aging space shuttles, present specific and unique problems."

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[Freedom of Speech Wins]

Though I believe that it looks like an accident here, Wolk didn't rule anything out.

[Eala]

Though I believe that it looks like an accident here, Wolk didn't rule anything out.

Got it. The Israeli planted a (suicide) bomb to advance the Palestinian cause.

[nhoward14]

I find it really hard to take this argument about a mole seriously. From what I have heard about NASA, it would have to be a vast conspiracy because they don't change the toilet paper without committee approval.

[mostlyundecided]

I did some quick research and found that there is a big Balloon launching facility in Palestine TX - the web sites below, could it have been terrible coincidence that shuttle happens to hit balloon from this facility? They aren't supposed to fly that high, it was a nice day, could it be a freak occurance?

palestine TX, ballon website: nsbf balloon launching facility

click link for map showing sample July2002 payload right near disaster area.payload position

here is a plot of a recent/current? balloon: link

[Texasforever]

Wolk didn't rule anything out.

I guess anything is possible BUT the evidence of damage on take-off is a more compelling cause. I know that by tomorrow there will be a full-blown conspiracy and "cover-up" allegations all over the place. Hell every train wreck and car crash since 911 has been a terrorist action so why should this be any different.

[coloradan]

On the other hand, more than one of Indira Ghandi's bodyguards were Sikh separatists, and one day they emptied their MP5s into her. They somehow made it past the vetting process, to become her bodyguards. Is it impossible to imagine a sleeper agent within the vast beauracracy that is NASA?

[coloradan]

Doubtful, there were already loss-of-telemetry troubles in the shuttle's left wing when it was over San Francisco.

[Wondervixen]

There was speculation on FOX News earlier this evening (Lt. Col. Bill Cowan was in on the discussion) that IF there was a terroristic act involved, the possibility would lean more to high tech terrorism (ie; someone tampering with NASA Spaceflight computers).

I believe the suspects mentioned, if in fact this WAS what happened, was the CHI-COMS.

Now, where do you suppose they could have gotten the technology to break the codes to get into NASA computers? Slick & the Witch

[mostlyundecided]

ah, I see.

- as for terrorism, conspiracies and tin foil - for example, the name of the town being Palestine, I guess after reading your reply you could also say it was a "left wing" conspiracy...amazing how one can pull what they need from any event and spin it.

[coloradan]

(The expression going around this website seems to be that failures originate in left wings and have catastrophic results.) But seriously, mission control knew that some signals, like tire pressure and hold temperature were lost well before the shuttle reached Texas; either the sensors were destroyed or the wires connecting them to the transponder. Either way, these events spelled serious trouble because those things are internal to the craft.

[mykdsmom]

[mostlyundecided]

I found some pictures of Columbia someone took while it was in for service at Boeing in 2000, go to this site and scroll halfway down the page - and you can doubleclick the shuttle pictures for a closer look - one is of tiles being replaced on one of the wings.

[mostlyundecided]

Here is the picture of the Columbia wing being worked on at Boeing in 2000

[mostlyundecided]

...or maybe it is the underbelly?

[mostlyundecided]

mission control knew that some signals, like tire pressure and hold temperature were lost well before the shuttle reached Texas; either the sensors were destroyed or the wires connecting them to the transponder. Either way, these events spelled serious trouble because those things are internal to the craft.

What is in the hold? Could something have caught fire inside and that been the cause of fire and not re-entry heat? It has happened on aircraft.

[right way right]

Are we not above this type of speculative guessing.

are we to be the National Enquirer of the Internet?

[amom]

http://www.airlaw.com/bio-wolk.html

The expert just might have a vested interest in continuing this viewpoint?

[The Great Satan]

Sounds like a reasonable and judicious assessment here, as opposed to the candied, feel-good fluff peddled by the major media bulletins. Basically, it looks like what we have here is most likely a burn-through caused by insulating tiles ripping off of the left wing of the orbiter. The incident with the foam hitting that wing on lift-off certainly seems like a good candidate for damaging those tiles. OTOH, for the second time in eighteen months, a dismal morning in America is an evening of high-fives and Havanas in Baghdad. Probably, we just just got unlucky, and Saddam got lucky. (He does have a way of getting lucky, over and over, doesn't he?) Taking out a shuttle with the first Israeli astronaut, one of the airmen who took out the Osirak reactor, would just be too sweet for Saddam, if he could manage it. One would like to think the security involved in the preparation of that heat shield would be lock-tight, especially under the circumstances, but one can never disregard the observation of Michael Corleone in The Godfather: "If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it's that you can kill anyone." No rush to judgment is warranted at this point.

[Texasforever]

are we to be the National Enquirer of the Internet?

LOL. You may as well accept it. This is good for at least a month's worth of conspiracy fodder.

[coloradan]

I think this was the compartment that held the tires. I don't know what else is there, but you make a good point, perhaps the fire started there and not from a hole to the outside. Could something bad have been slipped in intentionally? Possibly, though I think loss of a few tiles from the launch impact is more likely, followed by burn-through upon re-entry. I'm sort of thinking that even if the shuttle didn't break up as it did, it would still have been short some tires and such and the landing would have been very, very rough.