This is a misrepresentation. I don't know how many people reported seeing the explosion in the sky but I do not believe over 100 people reported seeing a "missle" hit TWA Flight 800.
I believe some people believed they saw some sort of streak ascending into the sky, which could be very different then what you have stated.
A friend of mine saw a missile; he was fishing on the beach.
Two National Guard pilots claimed to see a missile from their helicopter. One, a decorated Viet Nam veteran, said the initial explosion was an "ordinace" explosion, which was followed by a fireball from the jet fuel.
OK, I accept that, but it seems to me you are spliting hairs. So your take is one heck of a lot of people saw a streak that went from the ground (ocean) to the plane, then the plance crashed.
If it wasn't a missile, what was it?
There was a photo of the "streak". Several witnesses in a military helicopter had flown in Viet Nam, had seen and been under missile attack and identified the streak as a missile!
There was a video tape made of a missile shot but it was stored in the WTC and destroyed on Sept 11th.
Love,
Nelson DeMille