Posted by Michael Hull on September 13, 19100 at 17:21:57:
In Reply to: TWA 800 Disaster Witness posted by Garry Grofcsik on September 13, 19100 at 16:28:29:
: What happened to the AF Major, a C-130 pilot, who was in the air near the scene of the TWA 800 explosion, and was interviewed on TV (I saw the interview) within a day or two after the accident claiming to have seen something streaking toward the 747? Anyone know his name and whether or not his statement is available for review. He certainly appeared to be a completely credible witness.
Military people have to follow orders from their superiors. The media apparently hasn't figured this out ....
Col. William Stratemeier - Pilot of the C-130
People have claimed they saw an interview right after the crash of an Air National Guard pilot as he stood on a tarmac in front of an aircraft where the pilot said the jet was hit with a missile and that Navy-missile exercises were being conducted at the time. Consistent with such an interview, the Long Island paper Suffolk Life [SUFFOLK LIFE: "Flight 800: Accident Or Terrorist Attack? - Part 4 Was There A Cover-up?" By Joey Mac Lellan. December 17, 1998] reports:
"Long Island's Channel 55 cameraman James Hughes, said during an interview that he and another camera crew from one of the networks were at the airport when the C130 landed. The crew, he said, stated they saw a missile heading toward FL800 just before they witnessed the explosion. The C130 crew members were pulled away from the two camera crews by what Hughes said appeared to be their superiors and came back claiming they had seen nothing." The C-130 was piloted by Col. William Stratemeier.
The sudden change of the pilots story is consistent with a report from Aviation Week & Space Technology [AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY: Terrorist Fears Deepen With 747's Destruction. E.Phillips, P. Mann (7/22/96) p.20.] that the ANG C-130 pilot "said he had seen what appeared to be the trail of a shoulder-fired SAM ending in a flash on the 747," and then in the next issue, Aviation Week reports that the pilot had a sudden change of mind, now saying: "We did not see smoke trails [from a missile], any ignition source from the tail end of a rocket nor anything..." [AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY: ANG Eyewitnesses Reject Missile Theory. By David Fulghum, July 29, 1996, page 32.]
Stratemeier said He had not seen anything before the fireball and so the above AWST item is strictly correct. He may have said that a missile brought down the aircraft without saying that it was he who saw the missile. The key to understanding the apparent conflict is the flight engineer, who was sitting between the pilots and one pace behind their seats.
For further eyewitness details see "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" on my website.
Regards
Michael