[Darksheare]

A helicopter unit training that night got a presidential "shut up" order from Bubba about it as well.
They have Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE) that detects missile launches and warns the pilot over the "Bitchin' Betty".
Not sure exactly how it works, I was artillery not a heckabug driver, but I remember a news interview with a pilot type and he said he thought the missile was coming at him.
After that, that unit was told to shut up, and the newsies seemed to expunge the tapeof the broadcast.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

One of the most damning pieces of information that the true cause was an accidental shoot-down of TWA 800 is the Navy lied for several months they had no ships in the vicinity that night. Later, they admitted they did have ships present but they steamed away.

If a civilian airliner accidentally crashed in the ocean, why wouldn't U.S. Navy ships assist in searching rather than quickly bugging out?

What was the point of the Navy's initial deception of their presence that night?