Feds probe SAM fired at airliner report

United Press International ^ | 12/2/2005 | United Press International

[MineralMan]

Well, that's not much distance for an airliner to gain much altitude. I've flown out of LAX many dozens of times. You're always pretty close to the water shortly after takeoff.

I've always thought that was a risky thing, given the ease with which a SAM launched from a boat could be used. Very worrisome, this report.

[Jigsaw John]

Yes, close, but I would estimate by the time most aircraft reaches the actual waterline, they are only at an altitude of 500 to 700 feet or so.

[Jigsaw John]

I couldn't agree more with your last sentence. Even more worrisome in my opinion is the approach. Spectacle ratings shoot through the roof as opposed to departure.

[Fruitbat]

That would be a heckuva bottlerocket!

Yeah, really! Things gotta 5-gallon pail as it's booster. LOL

[adamsjas]

Outbound departures take off much lower than that, and hit the shoreline at an altitude of about 500-700 feet. From the runway to the actual waterline is about a half a mile,

You need to go out to an airport sometime. Half a mile past the end of a runway most airliners are pushing through 2500 or better. Nobody is flying at 700 feet half a mile past the runway. Most exceed that before even getting to the end of the runway.

757s rotate about 1700 feet down the runway and climb out at about 15 degrees.

So you can see that by the time it traveled the length of the runway (guesstimating 10,000ft) it would be way higher than 700 feet.

[Jigsaw John]

OK, so a half a mile past lift off, crossing the water line, with no big worries about noise abatement, what would their altitude be? I'm no expert here.

[tortoise]

The bigger question is does anyone believe a SAM would miss at that distance?

Far more likely to miss than not, given the probable scenario. And even if it hit, it is pretty unlikely to take down a plane that large.

The ever common SA-7 has a difficult time hitting anything but air when staring into the ass-end of a military jet. For shooting a commercial passenger aircraft, a crusty old SA-7 comes pretty damn close to being effectively unguided. It was a pretty poor MANPADS even in its day. Fortunately, it is by far the most common portable SAM one has any chance of being able to buy off the back of a truck. Most advanced MANPADS have a short shelf due to the use of cryogenics in the system design -- it requires factory service to replace the cryogenic component after several years in storage.

[Steelerfan]

From the LGF website:

UPDATE at 12/2/05 1:09:18 pm:

From Bill Quick:

I just talked with an FBI spokesman from the Los Angeles bureau who told me that the sighting was of “a contrail.” The spokesman added that “all investigative leads were vetted and the results were negative.” The investigation is now closed.

Here is the link

http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/

I guess this means there is nothing to worry about, right?

[ßuddaßudd]

Close to 6K as he saw the exhaust trail heading up...

[Jigsaw John]

I just talked with an FBI spokesman from the Los Angeles bureau who told me that the sighting was of “a contrail.”

Well sure. Could have been a meteor too. The pilots must of thought the meteor was ascending, when in reality it was descending. Bottle rocket...FBI says contrail...Next Superman!

[WestCoastGal]

Did you catch this story?