[doug from upland]

OK. At the time I remember someone talking about a two stage missile with an increased range.

[Pelham]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3437887/posts?page=100#100

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3437887/posts?page=153#153

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3437887/posts?page=170#170

[Jeff Chandler]

I'm not aware of any two stage shoulder mounted missiles. If the authorities lied about Flight 800's altitude, then a MANPAD would make sense.

It would be interesting to look at the location of the explosion and compare it with the altitudes of similar airlines taking off from JFK.