Today, Profesor Langholz at MIIS (Monterey Institute for International Studies) said that there is evidence to suggest, fairly conclusively, that TWA flight 800 was brought down by a missile (this during a discussion about the recent events in NY and Washington). I was unable to speak with him personally.
That along with a ‘slip’ by George Stephanopolus about the “missile attack” on flight 800 a while back causes me to start to believe. Has anyone heard any thing new about this? Does the government know more than they are saying? Do the Taliban have missiles?
I thought the missle theory was totally and completely (excuse the pun) shot down by the Navy, AF, Coast Guard, FBI, CIA and Santa Claus. The centre fuel tank going fits the bill quite nicely from everything I have heard about the incident.
If there is new evidence, I’d be curious to hear it but it sounds a lot like a crack-pot to me.
Any better “cites” on this?
Where did the prof. make his announcement? What are his credentials?
Can you link to the “‘slip’ by George Stephanopolus about the “missile attack” on flight 800 a while back?” At least from a printed source?
Oh, yeah. I believe it was reliably reported that the Taliban may have 100 Stinger missiles. But that is only my memory of a news article. I can’t give a cite.
I realize that the agencies you mentioned “shot down” the missile theory. The point of the OP is, given what I believe to be two fairly credible sources, could they have been covering it up?
I’m no CT, I just want to know if anyone else has heard anything or has acess to this kind of info.
CNN reported today that the US gave out 1000 Stinger missiles back in the 80s, and the Taliban probably still has 100-200 of them left.
Of course, that’s far cry from saying that they were able to smuggle one back into the US and then use it to shoot down a passenger jet without the neighbors noticing.
A ‘slip’ is a credible source? Maybe he simply misspoke. And what makes Profesor Langholz a credible source?
The NTSB has made a final determination.
Here is the whole NTSB report (pdf file) on flight 800. Section 2.2.1.2 may be of special interest, it covers the consideration of the missile theory.
Those FBI agents are both evil AND stupid. That’s why they were able to completely hush up a terrorist attack on TWA flight 800, but were then stupid enough to tell George Stephanapolous about it.
Little did they know he’d spill the beans on ABC News! That’s the problem with conspirators- they keep blabbing!
From The Monterey Institute’s biography of Langholz
How exactly that qualifies him to make conclusions about airline disasters is beyond me.
biliophage - What, you never heard of a biological weapon?
I heard that Lee Harvey Oswald shot the plane down with Exocet missiles after a Jimmy Hendrix concert. He was so upset after Elvis sat in front of him, he had Hitler sell him a few. They originally targetted Emelia Ehrhart (god I spelled that wrong).
Ok, ok…just asking, I know you guys keep your ears to the ground.
But for the record:
- I believe Langholz teaches classes in nuclear non-proliferation and related subjects.
- A ‘slip’ is not credible, but I believe GS to be. If he misspoke, it was a pretty large error for someone used to speaking with the press.
- I didn’t say Langholz was an expert, I said I considered him ‘fairly’ reliable.
I didn’t say I believed it, I ask if anyone else had heard anything about it. It just shocked me that someone in his position would say something like that.
And what the hell was Elvis doing at a Hendrix concert? I thought he worked for the DEA. Shouldn’t he be out pulling up poppy fields somewhere?
Did the Taliban ever take credit for it?
Even after Osama denied involvement in the African Embassy bombings he used pictures of their aftermath in his recruiting videos. Do they also contain clips of 800’s wreckage?
What interest would the government have in hiding the fact that Flight 800 was shot down by a missile fired off a ship off Long Island by terrorists of unknown origin? Even if the FBI couldn’t identify who these people were I don’t think they wouldn’t be so afraid of the embarrassment that they’d plant the story of the center fuel tank explosion to hide it. The FBI tried real hard to pin the cause on terrorists in the early stages of the investigation, but once they got most of the plane out of hte ocean the evidence just didn’t support it.
warmgun A few pointed questions.
l. What is your connection with Langholz? Why would you think you could “speak with him personally?” Did you call him?
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WHERE did you hear/read Langholz’s comments? You still haven’t told us that. I am probably the most interested in your answer to this question.
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Can you give any cite for GS’s “slip?” Even if it is just a memory you have.
So far, all you have done is blow smoke.
So the Taliban may have 100 Stinger missiles. They’re probably all unoperable. They haven’t got the parts to keep them up and I’m sure their maintenance is not up to snuff, esp. when they can’t replace parts.
I’m not a missle expert in any semblance. Maybe someone who used to maintain them in the military can dispute this, but golly, how much maintenance does a missile need? They’re like Q-Tips: you only use them once. 
It’s not like you can use them for target practice one day, and an attack the next.
They’re solid fuel rockets, right? So I would imagine that corrosiveness may not even be a problem.
My WAG is that if shelf-life is a problem, they have enough “technical consultants” from nearby universities to remanufacture them to original specs.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if several were pre-positioned here in the U.S. for Phase II.
Well, they stingers are heaters so I suspect they have some kind of fancy-dandy cooling system that would need some maintenance if not used shortly.
Just a guess.
Good luck smuggling that one in!