Letter to the NTSB Board
August 9, 2000
Dear Members of the NTSB:
We have arrived at the fourth anniversary of the crash of TWA flight
800
without any of the 755 eyewitnesses to this event having been invited
by the
NTSB to tell their stories in a public hearing. The official version,
presented in a CIA video, depicts a center wing tank explosion by a
spark
from an unknown source that caused the front section of the aircraft
forward
of the wings to separate. The noseless aircraft then climbed for several
thousands of feet trailing flame interpreted by eyewitnesses as a 'streak'
in
the sky.
Having read the recently released eyewitness transcripts from the FBI
and the
NTSB I trust that the NTSB in its final meeting on this incident, scheduled
to be held this August, will explain the numerous discrepancies between
the
eyewitness accounts and its official version of these events. Let us
take a
look at what some of the eyewitnesses say and how their testimony directly
conflicts with the NTSB's official version of the events.
Major Fritz Meyer piloted the first helicopter to arrive over the crash
scene. In an interview with the NTSB on January 11, 1997 (NTSB Docket
No.SA-516 Appendix O) Meyer stated:
"I saw in front of me and slightly to my left of dead front I saw a
streak of
light in the sky. I observed it for somewhere in approximately three
to five
seconds moving in a gradually descending arc - sort of a gentle descending
trajectory. Similar to that which you would observe that night if you
observed a shooting star. The difference is that it was red-orange
in color
and it was broad daylight. I observed a streak of light for 3 to 5
seconds.
And then I saw an explosion. And about one to two seconds after that
I saw a
second, and possibly a third, explosion. Now, these were hard explosions.
This looked like flak. It's a hard explosion. It's like an HPX explosion,
as
opposed to a soft explosion like gasoline, or something. .... And then
from
that approximate position emanated this fireball, which was a soft
explosion.
And it was definitely petroleum."
The initial explosions described by Meyer as "flak" or "hard" explosions
were
described by other witnesses as sounding like gunshots or M-80 fireworks
while the "soft" fuel explosion he saw was described by witnesses as
a "pop"
or a "boom". The difference in color of the explosion is also significant.
The "hard" explosions were bright white (indicative of high explosives)
while
the "soft" explosions were yellow/orange (indicative of petroleum).
Witness 484 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix F Witness
stated she saw a
streak rising into the sky at an angle curving a little to the west.
She saw
it rise for about two seconds. It made a slight arc then she lost sight
for
about one second, then saw an explosion. The streak was the color of
a match
flame. Witness stated the explosion sounded like a loud firework, almost
as
loud as an M-80 going off. Witness heard one boom sound. The explosion
was a
huge ball that dropped down to the horizon.
Witness 630 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix I Witness
heard two loud
noises. He described the noises as something between fireworks and
gunshots.
About 15 seconds later, he heard a third sound that he described as
a loud
pop.
Following the sharp, gunshot-like explosions the damaged aircraft began
to
fall and a period of about 15 seconds elapsed before the "loud pop"
was
heard. Witnesses 63 and 280 are clear on the point that the airplane
did not
climb.
Witness 63 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix B Witness
glanced to his left
a second time and, on this location, observed a bright flash of white
light
on the rear portion of the airplane. Witness described the white flash
as
small, similar to a firework, circular in shape and of a size which
did not
obstruct the view of the airplane. Witness indicated that the airplane
appeared to be flying through the white flash. Immediately thereafter,
the
airplane dipped at a slight angle before stopping and bursting into
orange
flames.
Witness 280 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix D
Witness saw a red dot
traveling from west to east, parallel to the horizon. It was like the
red
object pushed what ever it hit forward, causing it to explode and dive
downward.
The CIA and the NTSB would have us believe that the aircraft's Center
Wing
Tank exploded at an altitude of 13,000 feet at 8:31:12 p.m. and that
the
noseless aircraft then climbed several thousand feet before falling
into the
ocean. All the while the aircraft was trailing flames which fooled
the
eyewitnesses into thinking they were seeing streaks, rockets, or missiles
going upwards in the sky.
Well, as the elderly lady once asked in a TV commercial: "Where is the
beef?", the NTSB should answer the question: "Where was the smoke from
the
center wing tank explosion?".
The smoke was not at 13,000 feet, where the NTSB and CIA say it must
have
been. It was observed several thousands of feet lower. It was there
that the
aircraft's center wing tank exploded with a "loud pop" after the aircraft
had
fallen for many seconds as a result of the "flak", gunshot-like, explosions
and the loss of its nose. The smoke cloud was overflown by several
witnesses
who fixed its maximum height with their altimeters.
Witness 702 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix I
Witness was flying in a
private plane cruising at 8,500 feet over Riverhead, Long Island, heading
eastbound. Witness stated that the object definitely exploded below
his plane
because the smoke trail after the explosion was at 7,500 feet. Witness
emphatically stated the explosion took place at about 7,500 feet.
Witness 441- NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix F
Witness was Captain of
Piedmont Flight 3112 at 11,000 feet. Witness saw a bright orange flash
of
light forward and to the right of his plane. The flash appeared to
be below
his altitude. Witness described it as an intense bright flash which
then
separated into two bright lights. He turned the MD-80 left to avoid
the
fumes. At the time of his turning, the column of smoke rose to 11,000
feet.
Witness 475- NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix F
Witness was flying as
first officer on Flight 3112. The bright flash occurred at a two o'clock
position below his altitude. Witness estimated it as approximately
5,000 to
6,000 feet.
May I suggest that the NTSB invite Richard Goss to testify at its August
meeting and explain how he was able to see the 'streak' climb and turn
prior
to any explosion on the aircraft? A tape-recorded interview of Mr.
Goss was
played at the Accuracy in Media conference held on October 18, 1997
in which
Goss stated:
"That evening I was just finishing up a sunfish race at West Hampton
Yachts
club. It was a Wednesday night and that particular night every week
we have
an informal sunfish race and then it's followed by a 'bring your own'
barbecue dinner on the back porch of the yacht club. That porch faces
south
and my position at the table that I was sitting at I was looking right
out at
Moriches Bay and you know just leaning back, resting, just enjoying
the
moment of that part of the evening. It was near dusk and it was then
that I
saw a flare-type object go up and feeling that someone along Dune Road
has
fireworks and other members of the club saw it also and said "hey look
at the
firework". And everybody turned to look and we all watched it climb.
And I
particularly watched it and it was bright, very bright, and you know
that
almost bright pink you know and orange glow around it and it traveled
up. It
looked to go straight up from the area that I was observing it and
then it
reached it's peak and it seemed to go away in the distance towards
the south
and that's when I saw it veer left which would bring it out east.
It was a
sharp left and then it did not disappear. From my vantage point there
was a
direct explosion that followed and then after that there was a second
explosion that was off to the east a little farther that was much larger.
It
was like something broke off whatever that was and caught on fire.
The smoke
was black. It was obviously some petroleum. I knew it was an airplane
or
aircraft of some sort and I didn't realize what size it was. And then
it took
some time to come down, probably three or four seconds and there was
just a
stream of black and white smoke and then when it hit the horizon over
the
barrier beach, Dune Road, there was a bright flash."
Mr. Goss has seen the official CIA version of the event and commented
on the
Art Bell radio show where he appeared on November 24, 1997:
"I saw a flare coming up toward the barrier beach area. It was definitely
going up, definitely going up! As it reached its peak, it took a sharp
veer
left, it moved horizontal at that point".
Bell asked Goss about the FBI's conclusion that he was actually seeing
"fuel
trailing from the explosion of flight 800 and it was not going up,
but coming
down, and it was an optical illusion." Goss replied: "One hell
of an optical
illusion. I can't see that's possible at all." When asked about
his reaction
to the CIA video Goss stated: "Best described, I looked down
at the ground
and shook my head. It was a joke."
The NTSB should invite Witness 73 to testify at its forthcoming hearing
and
explain how she too was able to see the undamaged aircraft and a separate
"streak" at the same time.
Witness 73 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix B
She noticed an aircraft
climbing in the sky traveling from her right to her left. Witness noticed
that the aircraft appeared to level off. Witness thought that the aircraft
was too low of an altitude to be leveling off at the time. While keeping
her
eyes on the aircraft, witness observed a red streak moving up from
the ground
toward the aircraft at an approximate 45-degree angle. The red streak
was
leaving a light gray colored smoke trail. The red streak went past
the right
side and above the aircraft before arcing back toward the aircraft's
right
wing. At the instant the smoke trail ended at the aircraft's right
wing,
witness heard a loud sharp noise which sounded like a firecracker had
just
exploded at her feet. Witness then observed a fire at the aircraft
followed
by one or two secondary explosions which had a deeper sound. Witness
observed
the front of the aircraft separate from the back.
No climb of several thousands of feet were seen by this witness and
yet her
testimony is very strong as proved by her acute observation about the
aircraft flying level "at too low of an altitude". TWA 800 had
been told to
hold at 13,000 feet by the air traffic controller.
2026: 24 CTR: TWA eight hundred amend the altitude maintain
ah one three
thousand thirteen thousand only for now.
2026: 29 TWA 800 CAM- 1: Thirteen thousand.
2026: 30.3 RDO- 2: TWA eight hundred heavy okay stop climb at
one three
thousand.
2026: 35 TWA 800 CAM- 1: Stop climb at one three thousand.
Physical evidence supports Witness 73's testimony. PETN and RDX
were found
in the aircraft and explosive residues were found on the right wing.
The
right wing also had holes punched in it indicating travel of an object
transiting the right wing. The right inboard engine was fodded with
debris
from the forward fuselage.
August 23, 1996 NY Times Chemists at the
FBI crime laboratory have found
traces of PETN between rows 17 and 27 senior investigators said. Five
days
after the crash, a chemical test indicated a trace of PETN on the right
wing
where it met the fuselage.
The Village Voice February 24 - March 2, 1999
"You ever shot a .22
through a tin can? You know how the holes look where it punctures the
metal
and it rolls the metal back and tears it as it stretches?" the veteran
pilot
asked. "Well that's what these holes looked like, except they were
oval-shaped." He was recalling three holes- each at least six
inches long by
around three inches high, he said- which had been punched through the
thin
aluminum paneling of a structural piece from inside the right wing
of the
747. The holes were punched out "from the airplane toward the wing
tip," he
added. The piece, called a rib, came from within the wing's leading
edge
about five feet out from the fuselage, he said, where the landing lights
would be. The pilot said, "Look, I think that these holes were caused
by a
high explosion." There is an apparent exit (sic) hole in the
aircraft
fuselage just forward of the right wing and a red residue, consistent
with
missile fuel, was found on seats in the aircraft in this same location.
Further, it has been admitted that Federal officials were baffled by
impact
damage on the doors that close over the front landing gear. The nose
gear
doors were blasted inward and whatever caused this damage happened
before the
plane's center fuel tank exploded since these nose gear doors were
among the
first things on the airplane to have come off in flight.
The FBI's explanation for the finding of explosive residues inside the
aircraft was that they came from a "dog sniffing" exercise. This explanation
raises a very simple question for the NTSB: Was the dog walking along
the
right wing?
In addition to Richard Goss, numerous eyewitnesses observed an object
making
a sharp turn.
Witness 153 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix C The
object then reached
its highest point in the sky and stopped for approximately half a second,
and
then moved in a sharp horseshoe turn downward.
This testimony about an object that struck TWA 800 making a tight turn
was
discussed by a Pentagon intelligence official.
July 19, 1996 http://cnn.com/US/9607/19/twa.update/
There was some
speculation that a surface-to-air missile, perhaps fired from a boat
off the
coast of Long Island, could have brought the plane down. A top Pentagon
intelligence official told CNN such a possibility has been ruled out.
The
reason: a Stinger missile is heat seeking, and analysts concluded it
would
have had to make too sharp a turn to hit the TWA flight.
Perhaps the NTSB will explain why a Pentagon intelligence official was
talking to CNN about "too sharp a turn" and what the object was that
was
making this "sharp turn'? A noseless, climbing 747 streaking
flames is not
capable of this feat.
Will the NTSB explain why the London Times reported on July 23, 1996:
"An American spy satellite positioned over the Brookhaven National Laboratory
on Long Island is said to have yielded important information about
the crash.
A law enforcement official told the New York Post that the satellite
pictures
show an object racing up to the TWA jet, passing it, then changing
course and
smashing into it."
And can the NTSB explain why radar data apparently confirmed the information
from both the spy satellite and the observations of several eyewitnesses?
March 16, 1997 International News The Telegraph (U.K. Electronic
Edition)
Issue 660 An internal memo from the National
Transportation Safety Board,
dated November 15, complains that sensitive radar tapes were given
to the
White House before they were provided to crash investigators. According
to
the document, the radar data indicated that a missile was converging
on the
Boeing 747 seconds before the aircraft broke up off the coast of Long
Island.
I would like to request that the NTSB obtain and present at its August
hearing the radar data seized by the FBI from the Sikorsky facility
on Long
Island that has been withheld for 4 years. In a speech to the Granada
Forum
Major Meyer stated that shortly after he appeared on television he
received a
phone call one night from an individual who worked for Sikorsky. He
told
Meyer there is a tape or digital disk of the Sikorsky radar which shows
two
targets approaching TWA Flight 800 before the impact -- one a high
speed
supersonic target and the other subsonic. Sikorsky has very sophisticated
radar that the Navy uses it in watching its helicopters. When Meyer
went to
talk to his congressman in Washington, an assistant showed him a list
of all
the data that the FBI said they were holding. Meyer looked for this
particular tape on the list of records the FBI had taken from Sikorsky.
The
tape was not on that list and so in Meyer told Congressman Traficant
that he
didn't see this radar tape on the list that the FBI had given to Congressman
Forbes. Congressman Duncan subsequently sent a letter to the FBI specifically
asking for this tape. Even though it wasn't on the inventory
that the FBI
presented to Congress, the FBI admitted that the radar data was in
its
possession. Congressman Duncan was told that it didn't show anything
unusual
-- but the FBI refused to release it.
I would also invite the NTSB to explain how an airplane in "various
stages of
crippled flight", according to the CIA explanation, can be seen to
hit itself
or run into itself?
Witness 145 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix C Witness
stated that she
saw a plane and noticed an object spiraling towards the plane. The
object,
which she saw for about one second, had a glow at the end of it and
a
gray-white smoke trail. Witness stated she saw the object hit the plane
and
then the object headed down toward the ocean.
Witness 88 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix B Witness
stated that he
continued to watch the firework ascend, expecting to view the explosion
in
the sky. He stated this object which was ascending left a wispy white
smoke
trail. About midway through its flight, the smoke trail stopped and
the
object turned a bright red in color. At this point he observed an airplane
come into the field of view. He stated this airplane was very
high up and
many miles from his location. He stated that the bright red object
ran into
the airplane. Witness noted that he felt that either the bright red
object
pushed the nose cone of the plane up or the plane was slightly angled
upward
when the strike occurred. He stated he felt the bright red object struck
the
plane towards the cockpit area.
The NTSB should also invite several airborne witnesses to explain why
they
are in disagreement with the noseless zoom theory. The following
witnesses
saw no climb of several thousands of feet. Indeed they state that the
plane
stopped in mid air and fell straight down.
Witness 139 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix C Witness
was the pilot of
Virgin Atlantic Flight 009. Witness believes that what he saw was not
a plane
malfunction because there was no horizontal component to the fire.
He felt
that it was a catastrophic occasion in the extreme to make a plane
stop in
mid air and fall straight down.
Witness 551- NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix G
Witness was aboard USAir
Flight 217. As he observed it the aircraft exploded and a large round
orange
fireball appeared which seemed to emanate from the front area of the
plane.
The plane seemed to stop in mid air "like a bus running into a stone
wall -
no forward motion".
I hope the NTSB is prepared to call the following witnesses and explore
the
differences that they perceive between, fireworks, rockets and missiles.
September 22, 1996 The New York Post Struck
by the number and confidence
of the witnesses, the FBI sat down many of the witnesses with U.S.
military
experts, who debriefed them and independently confirmed for the FBI
that
their descriptions matched surface-to-air missile attacks. "The military
experts told us that what the witnesses were describing was consistent
with a
missile," a federal official acknowledged. "They told us, 'You know
what they
are describing is a missile' "
Witness 144 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix C
Witness saw an object
angle to the right with a bright orange glow with a white streak behind
it.
She described this streak as "taking off like a rocket".
She thought at
first that she saw fireworks, but then changed her mind and said, "No
way, it
was a missile!".
Paul Runyan N.Y. Daily News, 11/09/96
"It looked like a big skyrocket
going up". The flash looked "like a rocket launch at a fireworks display".
Witness 174 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix C
Witness 174 is a retired
naval officer. He saw a skyrocket-type object streak up into the night
sky.
The skyrocket had an orange contrail which had a continuous brightness.
He
was questioned whether he might have actually seen something going
down
instead of up. He insisted that his skyrocket went up.
Witness 493- NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix F
Witness said he was
driving south on Rogers Road and saw a firework/rocket go up from his
car.
Witness said the rocket was orange in color and had fire coming from
its
tail. He realized it was not a firework but a rocket.
Witness 746 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix I
Witness observed, to his
right, an object similar to a rocket, which appeared to have come from
the
ground, moving straight up in the air.
Witness 166 - NTSB Docket No. SA-516 Appendix C
He was facing the bay and
noticed a large commercial plane flying east. Looking southeast he
noticed
something ascending which looked like white yellow fire trailed by
black
smoke. It ascended in a straight line at an angle of 7 to 10 degrees
away
from a vertical 90 degree. It arched slightly at the top. He could
not
observe exactly were the object originated, but believed it was from
the
water. The ascension lasted 10 seconds. He stated he thought he had
observed
faulty fireworks. After hearing the news of the crash, he concluded
that he
had seen a missile. He stated he was in the Polish army in 1974 and
has
experience with missiles.
Lisa Perry, had a very good view of a missile - Dan's Papers, Long Island,
May 15, 1998: I saw the missile. I was facing eastward,
toward the
Hamptons, the ocean on my right, the deck of the house on my left.
The deck
is about 22 feet above the beach. On a clear day, as you look straight
down
the beach along the line of the shore, you can see the parking lot
at Smith's
Point Beach, 12 miles away. There was a plane in the sky. Out from
the left,
from the North, something was moving North to South over the dunes
from the
direction of the Great South Bay. The object came over the dunes of
Fire
Island. It was shiny, like a new dime; it looked like a plane without
wings.
It had no windows. It was as if there was a flame at the back of it,
like a
Bunsen burner. It was like a silver bullet. It was moving much faster
than
the plane. The silver object took a left turn, and went up to
the plane. The
plane stopped for an instant, as something would when it had suffered
an
impact, not just an explosion. Then it began to fracture - as if you
had
slammed a frozen candy bar down onto a table. I told the FBI the nose
of the
plane had come off; and I told them this before the Navy pulled it
out of the
water.
Clearly, the NTSB explanation that the streak observed by eyewitnesses
was
the aircraft in "various stages of crippled flight" is shown to be
false by
Perry's observation of the undamaged aircraft and the bullet-like object
which was heading towards it.
Is the NTSB prepared to question William Gallagher at its August hearing?
In
an interview with The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, CA. on October 20,
1997
Gallagher stated:
"I'll lay my ass on the table and tell the president or the FBI, and
someone
can hypnotize me: There was no way that red light was descending. It
was
ascending. It made contact with what turned out to be that airplane
and made
a white bright light and then split in two. I saw something hit the
right
side of the plane. My opinion was it blew the wing off on impact. I
assumed
something went through the airplane, like behind first class and into
the
wing."
Gallagher saw something going through the airplane behind "first class"
and
investigators reconstructing the debris appear to back him up.
September 23, 1996 Associated Press
Investigators reconstructing the
debris say there is a hole going into the plane and a hole going out
of the
plane. "There's metal bent in, metal bent out. Metal you can't tell.
I see a
hole going in and a hole going out".
November 9, 1996 St. Louis Post Dispatch Post Dispatch and Pulitzer
Technologies Inc. The TWA veteran of almost 20 years said
a source on the
(crash investigation) committee had told him investigators had found
a hole
in the center of the aircraft they believed was caused by a missile.
Further, what is the NTSB explanation for the fist-sized holes that
were
found in the backs of several seats? How does an exploding center
wing tank
pierce seats from the rear in a deck above the tank?
August 30, 1996 NY Times An aviation expert
and a law enforcement
official who is an explosives specialist both said they saw several
fist-size
holes that had been punched through the backs of two seats on the far
right
side of row 23. The holes in the sheet metal on the seat back are pushed
through from the rear and row 24, the seats just behind them is missing.
Traces of PETN were also found in this general area.
And why was the NTSB astonished to find a beam from the rear portion
of the
plane embedded in the cockpit? The beam came from the rear of
the aircraft.
Yet the CIA story is that the rear of the aircraft was undamaged and
continued to fly upwards. Could the NTSB explain how a center
wing tank
explosion would drive a beam from behind the tank forward into the
cockpit of
the aircraft? On the other hand if the NTSB believes that the
nose struck
the rear of the aircraft after it had folded upwards and broken off
thus
leaving a beam from the rear embedded in the cockpit, how does it explain
that the aircraft could continue to fly upwards with both a damaged
rear
section and a missing nose?
Does the NTSB have a position on the hydraulic ram damage to the upper
skin
of the left wing of the aircraft that is different from the one proposed
by
military experts? Expert military opinion on this indicates
that it can
only have been caused by a high intensity explosion.
The Village Voice February 24 - March 2, 1999 Noting that
the "severe
shattering of the left wing upper skin" had puzzled investigators,
military
expert Richard Bott speculated in the report, obtained by the Voice,
that a
missile striking the inboard left wing fuel tank would create "a significant
hydrodynamic ram event" that would account for the wing's peculiar
fragmentation. Some wing pieces were recovered near JFK, suggesting
that they
fell from the aircraft in the first moments after the plane exploded.
Or is the NTSB's position the same as that of James Kallstrom who commented
in the Village Voice article: "You know, there are some things you
can't
explain."
Finally, I would urge the NTSB to invite Fritz Meyer, to testify at
its
August hearing where he will probably repeat what he said to the Granada
Forum on March 12, 1998:
"I went out to give aid as I told you and found no survivors and went
back to
my unit and went home that night. The next day at 4:00 p.m. we gave
a press
conference and some reporters came to base and we sat in an auditorium
on the
base and I came down from my office to participate in this press conference
in which the crew of the C130 and the rest or my crew and two para
rescue men
who had seen a light in the sky were all called in to tell what we
saw to the
news media. When I went into that press conference the public affairs
officer
from my unit gave me three criteria - he said "Do not speculate" -
"Do not
give your opinion" - and "Do not discuss the condition of the bodies.
So
those were the conditions under which we held that press conference.
I
described my streak of light and everything to the people there. I
walked out
of that room about an hour and fifteen minutes later and a fellow was
watching a television in a room across the hall from the briefing room
and he
said: "Hey, I just saw you on television - Peter Jennings says you
said it
was a missile". Well all hell broke loose because I had apparently
violated
the parameters of the press conference. The AJ of the NY State Air
Guard was
on the phone with me and wanted to know why I did that. I told him:
"General
the entire press conference was videotaped - look at the videotape
- I never
said it was a missile". Well the media had picked it up as a missile
and
therefore I was given the task to then go back to the media and tell
them "I
didn't say it was a missile". So I went back - at that time the next
day -
two days later - the Friday after the accident - I went back to the
coast
guard station at East Moriches where I gave in excess of 40 interviews
to
news media crews in which I told them that I did not say it was a missile.
They, of course, reported 'Pilot on the scene says it was not a missile'
(Laughter). There came a period in here where we decided - and it was
a
mutual decision - it was not an order - that we were just going to
stop
talking to the media because no matter what we told them they screwed
it up.
We stopped talking to the media (applause). We also decided that there
were
pros in the NTSB who were going to come in and do a first rate job."
"And we waited for a year for those pros to do a first rate job and
we don't
believe they did."
Sincerely,
Michael N. Hull
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