Ukrainian 752 Shoot-Down Mirrors Fate of TWA 800

American Thinker.com ^ | January 10, 2020 | Jack Cashill

[Kaslin]

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is saying out loud what others have been thinking since the news broke that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed soon after taking off from the airport in Tehran — namely, that "the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," likely unintentionally.

According to the New York Times, American officials also had a "high level of confidence" that the Iranians destroyed the airliner by mistake. One official specifically cited two SA-15 missiles fired from an Iranian air defense system.

If Trudeau proves right, this will not be the first time an anxious military accidentally shot down a non-threatening commercial aircraft. On July 17, 1996, a comparable missile strike destroyed TWA 800 off the coast of Long Island shortly after the Boeing 747 took off from JFK.

We know why the Iranians were antsy earlier this week. Their military fired off multiple missiles late Tuesday night at American targets and were likely expecting retaliation. On July 17, 1996, the American military had reason to be on edge as well.

Two days before the start of the Atlanta Olympics, the Clinton administration had the U.S. Navy on the highest state of alert since the Cuban Missile crisis. In this hair-trigger environment, accidents could happen.

Accidents had happened before in such an environment. On July 3, 1988, at the tail end of the Iran-Iraq War, an Aegis cruiser in the Persian Gulf, the USS Vincennes, fired two Standard Missiles at a commercial Iranian Airbus, IR 655.

[dfwgator]

When will they release the passenger list?

[Ozymandias Ghost]

Why were there so many Canadians onboard?
_________________

Reported as Iranian ex-pats living in Canada; apparently there are many

[Carriage Hill]

I remember it too, back in the late-50s and early-60, wearing suits and having a real experience w/ fresh made food and unsurly attendants.

[ALASKA]

Maybe not, but another shoot down would. If not the end, it would lead to draconian measures to keep flights safe. I’ve thought since TWA 800 that taking out two passenger planes, one on each coast, at the same time, would shut down the airlines. I hope we get the truth about TWA 800 someday.

A friend of mine worked for TWA at the time of the downing. A colleague of his worked in the hanger where the parts of the plane were reassembled as they were found. My friend asked his hanger friend months later what he thought. All he would say is “WE fuvked up”. Third hand, but I totally trust my friend.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We flew on AreoMexico DC-10 on New Years eve or NY day (can’t recall) years ago.

The ladies and one gentleman staff opened champaign bottles by fireing the corks down the isles.

Unlimited beverages for everyone aboard.

[Carriage Hill]

LOL! I love it!

[yldstrk]

Yeah I think the Navy f8cked up

[Western Phil]

newrep in post 43 of http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3807057/posts?page=43#43 says they were mostly profs & grad students in science, engineering & math from numerous universities in Canada. Don’t know the source of the information, but they were most likely headed back to school after semester break.