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(meteorobs) TWA Flt 800

Group:
I am becoming more involved in the TWA Flt 800 accident. According to USA
Today of July 11-12,1997 the FBI still has total control of the aircraft
because of the criminal investigation i.e. a bomb or a missile. I never did
believe the missile theory. With the FBI in total control everybody is sworn
to secrecy. According to USA Today The Boeing Company cannot even take a
photo of the mocked up aircraft. My TWA friends ( I am retired) cannot tell
me anything because they are also  sworn to secrecy. Part of article
following is on  <www.icstars.com >

Lloyd Mielke, Kansas City, MO

                  A  METEOR DOWNED TWA FLIGHT 800
                                                By:       Lloyd L. Mielke
 6/22/97
On July 17,1996 a TWA 747, Flight. 800 left New York City for Paris as it had
done every day for 27 years. Off the coast of Long Island, New York while
only eleven minutes into the flight the plane suddenly exploded and 230
people lost their lives.

This terrible tragedy began the most extensive investigation of any accident
since the Challenger. It has  been conducted by Trans World Airlines (TWA),
 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and  National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) and many other groups and  dedicated people. All are to be
congratulated for their dedication and the immense effort they have spent in
this investigation. 

Several theories have been explored. Over 100 witnesses stated they saw a
streak of light heading for the aircraft.This led many to believe that a
missile was accidentally fired at the aircraft. Some had expressed a belief
that a meteor had hit the aircraft. The belief that a terrorist bomb was
certainly high on the list of possibilities. Another was that the center wing
fuel tank exploded. 

The fuel tank explosion was quickly discounted by TWA retired engineering and
maintenance personnel. The most common remark was that there was no source of
ignition.

It is obvious then that the other causes should be reviewed. In discussing
the accident with various witnesses and others who have studied the accident
one can only concur with the findings of the FBI and NTSB that a missile or
bomb was not the cause.

Since so many people sighted a streak of light in the vicinity of the
aircraft and it was not a missile, then what could it be? 

With experts carefully analyzing these streaks of light it was possible to
determine the path of a meteor. Experts could then determine its size, speed
and its flight path. In this case the meteor approached the aircraft from the
south west. These meteors are normally called stony meteors (chondrites)
because they are approximately 75% stone the balance is iron or nickel.

When meteors enter the earth atmosphere the speed of some is approximately
Mach 4 ( four times the speed of sound).  At this speed the force of air
pressure on the meteor could be about 200 g's, a force great  enough to
shatter the meteor. This point is referred to as the bolide. In this case it
is estimated the bolide occurred at an altitude of approximately 9 miles
which was approximately six miles above and 10 miles southwest of the
aircraft. This fragmentation delivers a spray of objects, one or several
could have hit the aircraft. Other fragments may have landed in the water
closer to the Long Island shore and in more shallow water. The sonic booms
heard on shore were caused by these fragments.
 
Very extensive data on the meteor was developed  by Michael E. Davias of
Milford, Connecticut.  < mike@cintos.com >. For myself I am a retired
structural engineer. I was trained by TWA for 39 years to consider all the
data. Also being somewhat of an amateur astronomer gave me some knowledge of
meteors.

When the NTSB accepts the premise it can obtain sufficient data to prove it
was a meteor that brought down Flight 800.

While the theory of a meteor hitting an aircraft is incomprehensible to most
people, we have had many cases of meteors hitting various objects such as
cars, trucks, dogs, mailboxes and people. Substantial size meteors hit the
earth at a rate of approximately 3,000 a month.







































                                                                             
A 27 lb meteorite hit and destroyed a car of two 18 year old youths in
Peekskill, NY on October 9, 1993. They sold the meteor for $69,000. 

While there are reported cases in China of meteors hitting and killing
people, in the United States we have only one documented case of a person
getting hit  by a meteorite. In 1954 a 9 lb meteorite went through the roof
of a house in Sylacauga, Alabama. A Mrs. Ann Elizabeth Hodges was lying on
her couch when the meteorite came through the roof. She received a bruised
hand and hip by the glancing blow of the meteorite.

The theory of the meteor hitting the aircraft  again proves that nature can
cause more damage to mankind and the earth than anything that man can do. 
 
People are being killed by earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes,
floods and now it appears the lives of a plane load of people has been lost
by an act of God.
End.