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My thought on the question mark is, at a distance a flaming object seen at 1:30+AM their time would not be seen in detail. His judgement on distance,50-70 km, was also non- definitive.

For an observer, Mchael J. McKay was on an Oil Rig, standing on a hill or tower 100 feet (30 m) in height, the horizon is at a distance of 12.2 miles (19.6 km) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizon Any object at altitude, even above a few feet, past the horizon can be observed as long as it is bright enough and the sky is dark and clear.

A burning object at 35,000 feet can be seen from the surface at a radius of about 221 miles. But Mr McKay was 365 miles from the last transponder hit. And the airplane at that time, according to the Malay monkeys' military radar, turned away from Mr Fox and headed west by south back across the Malaysian island.

So, Mr McKay must have seen something else.