On Thu, 05 May 2005 21:17:24 -0400, NOYB wrote:
Are there other shoulder-fired systems that could have hit the plane?
Possibly. I know that there are plenty of mobile Surface-to-Air missiles
that could easily reach that altitude (PL-9D, etc).
Could have? Yes. Did? I very much doubt it. Remember, Flight 800 came
down 8 miles of the coast. If you were trying to bring down a plane,
would you be sitting in a boat, at sea, waiting for a plane that would
pass overhead at the very limits of your weapons range? It would seem
there would be easier pickings, and more escape routes on land.
Anyway, if you are interested a link to the NTSB crash report:
http://www.cnn.com/US/9707/twa.800/reports/
Personally, I've always been impressed by their work. They seem to find
that needle in the haystack over and over again.
Can you think of a motive why the government wouldn't admit that it was a
terrorist attack on an airplane? I can. Especially in 1996...just 4
months before a Presidential election.
Sure, but then there is a double edge. An attack could be used to
political advantage.