> Witnesses saw an explosion on board one of the
> planes just before it crashed ...
This is more credible than usual, because it was at night.
However, if the a/c controls were being fought over, an
overstress airframe failure could result in breakup, fire
and fuel ignition at altitude.
> The Russians are not playing around when a jetliner
> squawks a hijack - better to lose 40 than thousands!
Given the state of the Russian airforce, I tend to
doubt they could have scrambled an intercept in time.
This is more likely a "let's roll" scenario, but if
it was an authorized shootdown, I don't expect we'll
ever learn it.
Sounds like a mini "Operation Bojinka."
Multiple bombs set on multiple planes with timers which work the same way.