Brand-New Analysis of TWA 800 Radar Data

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 14, 1999--A group known as the Flight 800 Independent Researchers Organization (FIRO), will hold a press conference at the Long Island Marriott in Uniondale, Long Island, NY, on the afternoon of Friday, 16 July 1999, immediately after the sentencing hearing of James and Elizabeth Sanders. That hearing is
scheduled to begin at 1pm EDT (1700 GMT). James Sanders is the author of the book ``The Downing of TWA Flight 800''. The Sanders couple were both convicted on federal conspiracy charges, in connection with the removal of a small piece of seat material from the (Calverton) Long Island hangar where the wreckage was stored and examined. This Saturday, 7/17, marks the three year anniversary of the still unsolved tragedy. 

FIRO includes in its 44 members, substantial professional, technical, aeronautical, engineering, radar and scientific expertise. Most members have been actively involved in investigating the crash of TWA Flight 800 for over two years. In May they presented written testimony at the House Aviation Subcommittee NTSB Reauthorization Hearing. SEE TESTIMONY at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/2639/sub_rep.htm 

At the press conference, Tom Stalcup, chairman of FIRO, will release a brand-new analysis of the FAA radar data which contradicts the official theory that Flight 800 climbed after initial distress. 

This analysis clearly shows that the airliner's movement was radically different from the movements depicted in an animation produced by the CIA, and declared to be the official version of what happened. Although FIRO's analysis has not yet determined what caused these movements, it can now be safely stated that the CIA animation blatantly conflicts with the raw radar evidence and the eyewitness evidence it claimed to portray. 

Mr. Stalcup will also present information supporting the contention that the FBI selectively prosecuted the Sanders, ignoring similar, well-documented actions, by FBI agents. The Sanders prosecution is consistent with FBI efforts to suppress evidence of an external explosion as the cause of the crash. Indeed, an FBI letter dated two days prior to the Sanderses being charged, effectively banned from the only public hearing on the tragedy, 96 eyewitnesses who reported an object rise from the surface, explode, and cause the crash. Also banned were explosive residue test results. The FBI continues to suppress this and similarly anomalous evidence, while maintaining that eyewitnesses saw the plane rise in the sky, not a second object. 

FIRO is dedicated to the establishment of an independent review of all aspects of the official investigation and dissemination/public access to both the process and its findings. The American Public has a right to know all of the facts.