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And what type of missile would that be?

It was too high for a MANPAD and the damage was in the wrong area for an IR missile anyway. Additionally, too much damage was done for the typical MANPAD warhead.

Did the USN shoot it with an SM2? That would be fascinating, as they got an entire crew to keep the secret, as well as the fellows on shore that had to account for a missing missile. And why would we shoot one of our own airliners? The area is no where near any warning areas, and no missile ops were NOTAMed.

For unexplained reasons, eyewitness accounts of plane crashes are notoriously unreliable, even among knowledgeable witnesses.

Any conspiracy is possible if you accept the idea that you can get 500 otherwise disinterested people to keep silent.

And what type of missile would that be?

It was too high for a MANPAD and the damage was in the wrong area for an IR missile anyway. Additionally, too much damage was done for the typical MANPAD warhead.

Good questions. The FBI/FAA investigation only released radar data showing ship traffic within a five or 10 mile radius of the explosion. I can't remember the radius, however, all of the ships shown on the radar -- about seven of them -- were accounted for. Non-government investigators looked at a five or 10 mile larger radius radar pic and found dozens of unaccounted for vessels. So the missile could've been something larger than a MANPAD, launched from a ship. That would answer your questions about altitude and amount of damage.

As to your question about where the damage occured, I've read that Soviet heat seeking missiles are programmed to turn 90 degrees towards the heat source if they overtake it and detonate on impact/proximity, giving them a second chance. That may or may not be true, but, it makes a lot of sense when you consider how many U.S. air-to-air missiles used in Vietnam simply flew by their targets when they lost track.

A 3,000 ft. zoom climb, wings level, with no pilot, no autopilot, jammed hydraulics, streaming burning fuel from a gaping, assymetrical opening...

I just can't believe that.

There was several hundred witnesses to the missle strike as well as FAA video tapes. The early reports even carried som eof this information. There is a website about this event supported and controlled by professional airline pilots.

Thjere are several ongoing lawsuits attempting to get the FAA to release the FAA video recording of the rader images just prior to the crash.

There is even a thread here somewhere.