Aviation has fascinated me from an early age. I have always yearned to fly.
I study pictures of airplanes, I read stories of heroes like the Wrights, Wiley Post, Buzz Aldrin, and others.
Interestingly, it is the difference in pressure pushing on the top of a wing, versus the bottom that causes a definite force away from the pull of gravity. This opposition of low-pressure air over the wing and the higher pressure pushing on the bottom causes lift, supporting even heavy metal aircraft on thin air.
What an amazing achievement to fly through the air in machines by carefully controlling the flow of air over and under wings. How beautiful!
Unfortunately, not all goes to plan. Moving at speed, high above the earth, creates the possibility of falling.
In my learning, I've come across some compelling stories. The triumphs of early pioneers and those who've stood on their shoulders contrast with the devastating tragedies of accidents and other mishaps.
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TWA Flight 800
In the summer of 1996, a Boeing 747 took off across the Atlantic into the night, bound for Paris.
It lifted two hundred and thirty passengers and crew and climbed away from New York, following the southern coast of Long Island.
Just twelve minutes into the flight, the airplane was shattered by a series of explosions, which ended in great fiery plumes falling down to the sea.
No survivors were found among the debris scattered over and under the 120 feet (37 m) of water.
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Many eyewitnesses recall seeing rising streaks of light and smoke which ended at or near the airplane at the time of the explosions.
None of these eyewitnesses were allowed to testify at hearings of the National Transportation Safety Board. Their statements had been taken and recorded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but they didn't fit the more politically convenient explanation of a mechanical failure, so they were dismissed.
Going even farther than merely dismissing these testimonies, the Central Intelligence Agency worked to create an explanation of their own to account for the unusual rising streaks of light and smoke. Their explanation violates the most basic physics that govern the movements of a 747 through the air, especially one that had been cleanly decapitated, as they claim it was. The agency took the position of telling eyewitnesses what they actually saw, instead of asking them to explain what they saw.
The investigation ultimately concluded that fuel vapors were ignited inside the aircraft as a spark of unknown origin caused an explosion of the center wing fuel tank.
Indeed, the center wing tank had exploded as part of the breakup. But this explosion was not the cause of the crash.
Evidence of high-speed detonations has been uncovered, including radar data indicating shrapnel sent away from a focused origin, located near the plane, at nearly 4 times the speed of sound.
Fragments traveling at this speed would not have been the result of a fuel vapor explosion which, though visually impressive, is a low-speed deflagration, not a high-speed detonation.
In addition, melted and congealed metal was found on the outside of the center wing tank, showing that a dramatic explosion had occurred outside the tank before it ruptured.
Damage to the victims' bodies include bones being reduced to small fragments, some of which had been propelled into aluminum parts of the aircraft with enough force to embed the bone fragments into the metal. Bodies showed a lack of burn injuries which are to be expected from a jet-fuel fire, but had traumatic shattering that is consistent with a high-speed explosion.
Further, there was no pattern of progression to indicate a fire propagating through the plane, as would be expected if a spreading fireball was indeed the cause of the destruction.
Some close to the investigation witnessed that pieces of evidence were being removed, altered, and destroyed. They believe parts of the aircraft showing damage from high-speed fragments or containing residues of high-explosive chemicals or rocket propellants were hidden.
The FBI seems to have muddied the waters for the sincere investigators that followed, pretending to rule out the possibility of a missile by a "lack of evidence."
The NTSB accepted this "lack of evidence" as positive proof of the spark in the center wing fuel tank, which they have no evidence to support.
Many today are frustrated by the continued dismissal of evidence, including the eyewitness testimonies and the radar and physical clues.
Officials continue to insist on the fuel vapor explanation, and easily invoke the possibility of further suffering to the victims' families as justification for refraining from entertaining any consideration of evidence. They claim that bringing truth to light will only dig up old feelings among the families, instead of offering closure and resolution.
Typically, any calls for further inquiry and discussion are dismissed as "conspiracy theories."
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What really happened?
Besides many sincere seekers knowing that some kind of high-speed explosion external to the aircraft caused it to break apart, the origin of the missile or missiles is known by only a few, who aren't saying anything.
Possibilities include a terrorist attack using a MANPAD (man-portable air-defense) system, such as a Stinger or similar missile.
A more likely scenario involves an accident during a test or other use of highly sophisticated air defense systems employed by the United States Navy, which was known to be operating in the area at the time of the destruction of Flight 800.
A mishap involving this same Aegis system was confirmed as the cause of the crash of Iran Air Flight 655, a passenger airliner which was mistaken for an attacking Iranian F-14 Tomcat in 1988.
Curiously, the crash of Flight 800 took place at a time of elevated tensions between the United States and Iran, leaving open the possibility that some terrorist attack was in progress or at least highly plausible to occur at the time, to which the U.S. Navy responded with an accidental lock upon Flight 800.
Perhaps there was another airplane in the immediate vicinity that they were targeting, and which was confused for Flight 800.
A target drone such as a Ryan Firebee may have been flying around, passing nearby, or slipping behind the far side of Flight 800, causing live missiles to intercept the 747 as it matched the profile of the intended target from the perspective of the ship.
All of these scenarios seem to be consistent with the following devastating possibility.
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The saddest consideration to me consists of the implications surrounding the U.S. presidential election of 1996.
If such a shocking mishap were to be revealed prior to the election, surely the political catastrophe could have been even more destructive to the career of an ambitious corrupt governmental megalomaniac than the explosions were to the victims aboard TWA 800.
The orchestration of a cover-up could have easily been justified by the demand for secrecy under the notion of the strictest "national security."
Such an order would have come from the top.
At that time, were any at the top of the U.S. government in a politically vulnerable position necessitating that a mechanical failure, and not a terrorist attack or Navy accident, be blamed for the deaths of 230 civilians?
I can think of one or two.
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Commonly, it is assumed that everyone involved in such a cover-up would have to be fully aware of the facts of the case, and willingly deceptive in their approach—that all investigators would have to be hiding evidence and nefariously working to create the false narrative to be presented to the world.
This is not true.
Only a few within the Navy and the FBI would need to have been in such a position. Once the decisions were made to conceal eyewitness statements and any apparent evidence of a high-speed explosion external to the aircraft, the remainder of the investigators were effectively blinded, their diligent sincerity notwithstanding.
Some feel that the coverup was perhaps even more effective than intended, and led to the unfortunate situation that any discussion of aviation terrorism in the United States was stifled to the point of the events of September 11, 2001 appearing "out of the blue."
The need to save an election for the sake of a U.S. president may have led to the devastation of 9/11, including the upheaval wrought by 20 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and all attending misfortunes, including the current brazenness we see in those bent on terror and mayhem in the world.
It is said that the gates of history turn on small hinges.
We deserve to know what really happened with TWA Flight 800.
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After reading a book detailing this crash and coverup, I once sat in somber reflection at the implied possibilities made plausible by a consideration of all available evidence.
I felt the frustrating despair of wanting to know what was to be done to correct this terrible injustice.
The plight of the grieving family members and victims whose lives were lost were at the top of my mind, owing to my desire to see them receive the peace and consolation they deserve.
In the midst of this sad revery, words came into my mind, offering me a portion of peace in this matter:
"Justice shall be accomplished, mercy extended, and love perfected."
By the power of the Savior's perfect Atonement, we will yet see many great and important issues resolved everlastingly to the eternal satisfaction of all involved.
See also:
TWA 800: The Crash, the Cover-Up, and the Conspiracy, by Jack Cashill
First Strike: Twa Flight 800 and the Attack on America, by Jack Cashill and James Sanders