[PghBaldy]

I’ve always had trouble believing our military accidentally shot it down, but terrorism seems more plausible. It also was an Iraqi national holiday on 17 July.

[Alberta's Child]

Terrorism is unlikely IF the aircraft was really shot down. I’ve pointed this out a number of times over the years …

1. A terrorist looking to shoot down a civilian aircraft flying eastbound out of JFK International Airport never would have been positioned so far east where the flight would normally be flying at an altitude of 30,000+ feet.

2. From what I’ve seen, TWA Flight 800 was flying far below its normal altitude at that point in its flight that night — to make way for a northbound flight into Providence, Rhode Island that was running behind schedule. A terrorist wouldn’t have known this in advance when plotting an attack using a surface-to-air missile.

[Alberta's Child]

The USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner in July 1988 — allegedly by mistake.

So it’s not as if the U.S. Navy shooting down a passenger jet is an outlandish possibility.