TWA Flight 800 had no blast, no bomb, but explosions yes. No blast or bomb
in baggage compartment. Explosion when decompression occurred after cargo
door opened and wind tore off nose at 13500 feet.Explosion when 40000 gallons
of jet fuel from disintegrating wings ignited at 7500 feet.
UAL Flight 811 had no blast, no bomb, but explosion yes. Explosion when
decompression occurred after cargo door opened and wind tore off side of
nose at 22000 feet. Crew erroneously thought and reported bomb to explain
explosion. Correct evaluation made after safe landing.
Pan Am Flight 103 had blast, no bomb and explosion. Eight by 50 inch directional
blast hole possibly from "rather as if a very large shotgun had been
fired at the inner surface of the fuselage at close range." Page 19-20
Pan Am 103 accident report. Bombs are omni directional. Explosion when decompression
occurred after cargo door opened and wind tore off nose at 31000 feet. Explosion
when remaining disintegrating structure strikes ground. Report refers to
specific blast areas in fuselage as 'soot' and explosive residue found.
The residue is specifically not named. Elsewhere in the report items are
referred to as "exhibiting positive evidence of a detonating high performance
plastic explosive" yet the items are never named, a curious omission
for the specific hard evidence that would link the blast to a bomb. All
other referfences to the blast are to a "improvised explosive device"
a general ambigous term.
Unlikely that different bombers with different bombs attack random US airlines
years apart and manage to place small device at same location in same baggage
compartment of same type aircraft to provide similar destruction pattern
when detonated at approximately the same time leaving similar evidence.
Likely that a similar defect in a similar type aircraft malfunctions under
similar circumstances resulting in similar destruction patterns leaving
similar evidence.
Comment: Bombs are exciting, strange and make good stories. Door openings
are usual, embarrassing, and boring. In this case truth is not strange but
ordinary.
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barry@corazon.com