| Date: Friday, 25-Aug-00 06:18 PM
From: Concerned Citizen
Subject: A Disgraceful Performance NTSB TWA Flight 800 Hearing, August 23, 2000 Dr. David Mayer shamed the NTSB, the Flight 800 families, TWA, Boeing,
the witnesses, the independent investigators, and the flying public with
a disgraceful demonstration of disinformation tactics during his "Witness"
presentation at the NTSB's TWA Flight 800 Hearing on August 23.
Let me remind all of you that the American public paid for this outrageous demonstration and deserved better than this. As one who has plowed through thousands of pages of NTSB exhibits, including all of the witness reports, I can tell you with confidence that there were MANY witnesses who were NOT looking at TWA Flight 800 when they observed a rapidly rising flame end in an explosion with the B747-100. We know they were NOT looking at Flight 800 because radar proves that Flight 800 was NOT where they were looking. The physical proof of this simple fact could have easily been demonstrated by any of the dedicated researchers who have been pouring through the data, talking to witnesses, and taking bearing lines. Unfortunately those dedicated researchers were not allowed to be heard. Instead, Dr. Mayer chose to take advantage of the situation by mainly ignoring these witnesses and keying on those whom he knew had only witnessed the stricken aircraft as it exploded into a large fireball. Yes, Dr. Mayer, I know that a large number of witnesses only saw the fireball and descent, and this is precisely why I, as a researcher, do NOT reply upon those reports in trying to correlate witness accounts with radar, debris field, ATC, systems information, and forensics, to find out what really happened to this aircraft. Everyone agrees that the CWT exploded, but no one in the investigation, after four years of trying, has been able to tell us what caused the explosion. Anyone can speculate that there may have been some electrical short. Speculation is not resolution. Dr. Mayer, Dr. Loeb, and others stated there was no evidence a missile struck the airplane. A missile does not have to strike an airplane. Many of them are proximity-fuse types which explode near the target. Furthermore , with the FBI having carted off so many pieces of debris without logging them out, how can the NTSB say with any confidence that there is no evidence of a missile having hit the airplane, or near the airplane? Why didn't the NTSB ask the FBI to account for all those pieces and return them? If there was "no criminal act," the FBI has no jurisdiction, so what is their excuse for concealing them? As the government agency entrusted with the job of investigating all aircraft accidents, it is the NTSB's responsibility to make sure they know where every piece of recovered wreckage has gone, and who logged it out. I suggest you begin tracking them down now, because you are going to be asked to do so, anyway. Dr. Mayer attempted to discredit three important witnesses. The fact that the streak Mr. Weir sighted (traveling NE to SW) ended on a line with the alleged CWT explosion was somehow twisted to try to indicate that he never saw the streak headed out to the plane, but just saw the explosion. This made no sense, especially since Dr. Mayer, himself, had already made the point that the CWT explosion had probably not been visible to witnesses. The area the witness saw the streak coming from matched other witnesses' observations, such as Tom Dougherty who was to the east at Dockers Restaurant, and Richard Goss to the west at the Westhampton Yacht Club, both of whom saw the streak rising from the area Weir placed it. Furthermore, Weir reported the 70-ton bridge shook. How much TNT do you suppose it would take to shake a 70-ton bridge, 11 NM from an accident site? Other people on the mainland reported their houses shook, as well. Dr. Mayer totally ignored the fact that USAir Fl. 217 witness, Dwight Brumley, saw a rising streak of light emanating from SE of his position, and instead tried to say that because Fl 800 was not in view of Brumley at the time of the CWT explosion, anything Brumley saw subsequently could not be anything but the plane exploding on its own. He neglected to mention the fact that the streak came from a position Fl. 800 was never in and overtook USAir Fl. 217 in 7-10 seconds. According to Dr. Mayer, this event did not happen even if the witness saw it happen. The fact is that Brumley's testimony dovetails with that of Christian
Baur, the ANG pilot (with 20/10 vision) who also reported a bright white
light coming from SE, colliding with another object. Dr. Mayer chose to
quote ANG Maj. Fritz Meyer, who saw something coming from west (the same
direction from which TWA Fl. 800 was coming), drop down like a shooting
star before
Mr. Weir and the ANG were working and were surely not drinking, and Dwight Brumley also reported he had consumed no alcohol that evening. Many of the witnesses saw both TWA Flight 800 and an ascending object. Below are two: Witness No. 88 (Interviewed 7/27/96)
"All of a sudden (witness) heard an explosion. He glanced over to the southeast and observed what he thought was a firework ascending into the sky . He stated he originally felt this firework emanated from the shoreline on the other side of the jetty to the east. (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. He felt that this bright red flame was at the top of the device. He stated that he now thought it was some type of boating distress flare. All of a sudden, it apparently reached the top of its flight. He stated that the red fireball then arched from the east to the west. 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 and upon doing
so both the plane and the object turned a real bright red then exploded
into a huge plume of flame. (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 toward the cockpit area.
This plume separated into two sections which spiraled to the ground and
left a white cloud of smoke in the sky. He states he did not hear
any further explosions and did not see flames once the plane fell into
the ocean.
On 7/17/96 at approximately 8:37 PM, (witness) was on the Mobay [Moriches Bay] section of Long Island beach, NY when she observed an aircraft climbing in the sky traveling from her right to her left. (Witness) advised that the sun was setting behind her. While keeping her eyes on the aircraft, she observed a "red streak" moving up from the ground toward the aircraft at an approximately 45 degree angle. The "red streak" was leaving a light gray colored smoke trail. The "red streak" went passed the right side and above the aircraft before arcing back toward the aircraft's right wing. (Witness) described the arc's shape as resembling an upside down Nike swoosh logo. The smoke trail, which was light gray in color was narrow initially and widened as it approached the aircraft. (Witness) initially thought someone had set off a flare and commented same to her friends Scott and Pauline of Long Island. (Witness never took her eyes off the aircraft during this time. 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. Then observed fire at the aircraft followed by one or two secondary explosions which had a deeper sound. (Witness) then observed the front of the aircraft separate from the
back. (Witness) then observed burning pieces of debris falling from
the aircraft.
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