I remember it too. Everybody on Long Island saw that missile going up.
Wasn’t it the press sec to JFK that said it was friendly fire???
That was actually part of the back of the plane propelling upward as it was on fire as it broke apart. Another commercial pilot was right there when 800 exploded. He was giving the ‘okay’ for 800 to move up as he moved down and as he flashed his lights 800 blew up in front of his eyes.