-Caveat Lector- New radar data revives missile theory in TWA Flight 800 crash: groups WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (AFP) - Two groups that claim a missile brought down TWA Flight 800 in July 1996 said Friday that just-released radar data showing an unidentified ship near the blast back their theory. Officials have stated that mechanical failure, not a terrorist attack, brought down the Paris-bound Boeing 747 off New York's Long Island, killing all 230 people aboard. The data, obtained in June from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), show many ships in the area, including one five kilometers (2.9 nautical miles) from where the plane went down. "There were 30 surface vessels in the area. Only one, the closest, has not been identified," Tom Stalcup, the director of the Flight 800 Independent Research Organization (FIRO), told a press conference. "After the explosion that everyone could see 20 miles (30 kilometers) around, the ship, about 2.9 nautical miles away, did not turn around," he said, showing an animated re-creation of ship and airplane travel when the Boeing crashed. Some 130 witnesses said they saw a glowing arc climb into the sky -- like a rocket or a missile -- seconds before the aircraft exploded, he added. NTSB investigators explained that phenomenon by saying that part of the Boeing's fuselage had broken off and briefly climbed before slowing down and falling. But Stalcup said the radar data contradict the NTSB because they show acceleration, which corresponds with a rapid fall towards the ocean, adding "the plane did not climb after the explosion." The aircraft went down near a military warning area, in which military exercises such as missile and artillery fire are undertaken. The radar data also show an unidentified airplane flying back and forth over the warning area. Commander William Donaldson, a former US Navy fighter pilot and crash investigator who heads the Associated Retired Aviation Professionals (ARAP), said he believed the US government was covering up the true cause of the accident. "The plane was shot down by a short-range shoulder-fired kind of Stinger missile, from the surface," he said. "We've tried to get these radar data for two years. It's a cover-up." ARAP and FIRO called on the US Congress to open an inquiry into the crash. According to the NTSB, which has yet to render its final report, kerosene fumes in the airplane's central fuel tank ignited, causing an explosion. The Federal Bureau of Investigation pulled out of the investigation in November 1997, ending a probe into whether Flight 800 was brought down by a terrorist. -- ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
