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Home Front: WoT
TWA Flight 800 Investigators Break Silence
2013-06-19
Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC

#9  Reminds me of old dreams/visions I had back in the day, which I believe to be directly related to the later TWA 800 event, I.E. ABOUT A MAN IN A ROWBOAT ON THE OCEAN AS A SOMETHING SHOOTS UP INTO THE SKY. The latter reminded me more of a SMALL SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSLE [SAM] THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2013-06-19 23:11  

#8  Completely impossible for a stinger or any other MANPAD to do that. There are radar homing military missiles that could easily do that.

So it could have been a missile, if the Vincennes was patrolling New York sound. But it wasn't. So forgetaboutit.
Posted by: rammer   2013-06-19 22:45  

#7  Consider that it is unlikely the seeker could acquire such a "cool" target and the fact that at that altitude the rocket motor propellant would be exhausted, with the missile gliding, the probability of a successful intercept is small......very, very small. I officially throw the bullshit flag based on this alone.
Posted by: Tzsenator   2013-06-19 21:31  

#6  Maximum range does not equal maximum altitude. Per http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/stinger.htm the maximum altitude of a Stinger is 10,000 feet
(and I made the above post about MANPADS, forgot to use my screenname)
Posted by: Chantry   2013-06-19 19:08  

#5  Wrong

NTSB says initiating event was 13,800 altitude and the Stinger, fielded in 1974 has this performance data according to the FAS:
The Stinger is similar in capabilities to the Russian Igla series. More recent versions are equipped with a cooled two-color, infrared-ultraviolet detector that discriminates between flares and the target. Stingers are able to effectively engage targets head-on, from behind and from the side. The missile's maximum range is 4800 meters......
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2013-06-19 18:56  

#4  Based on open source information, there were no known MANPADS with the capabilty to reach TWA 800 at the 15-16,000 it was reported to be at when it exploded. Additionally MANPADS are heat seekers so they would likely have impacted in one of the engines and they do not have warheads large enough to cause the plane to explode in the manner it did.
Posted by: Jatle Ulusogum4830   2013-06-19 18:20  

#3  TIMING when was this plane downed exactly.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2013-06-19 15:31  

#2  And how much money has been blown, since the official conclusion was announced, on installing inert gas systems in aircraft fuel tanks? This will turn into another "Who shot JFK?" episode as the years go by with no conclusive answer.
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper   2013-06-19 13:31  

#1  MANPAD/Grail-7/Stinger-Iran-USS Vincennes-small craft or submarine launched-causis belli

Do these dots look familiar? Just asking if anyone else smelled cover-up way back when.
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2013-06-19 13:04  

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