That, I don’t know. I was on three different submarines during my time in the navy, not a surface ship. You can tell when a torpedo is launched anywhere on a 688 boat, but I have no idea about how much racket a rocket engine makes on a surface ship when launching a missile.
However, it’s implausible that hundreds of sailors would join a criminal conspiracy to cover up shooting down an airliner. I was in the navy at that exact time. I sure as hell wouldn’t have kept my mouth shut, and neither would any of my buddies on the boat.
Plus you would have to start asking how are missiles launched from a ship. This isn’t something I know about as I was one of the guys in the engine room. I don’t think they just launch them and let them find their own targets.
So basically a surface ship wandered into one of the busiest air spaces on the planet, purposely targeted an airliner, shot a live warhead at it, downed it, had every single sailor (including the disgruntled ones) go along with a cover up, and then both the FBI and NTSB were unable or unwilling to figure out how the airplane was destroyed.
A sailor directly involved in shooting a warhead would have a strong incentive to keep quiet about it. I agree that the rest of the crew would be unlikely to keep quiet, assuming they knew, particularly as it is now 25 years since then.
The Normandy and three subs were in the immediate vicinity at the time.
We have hundreds of witnesses of varying reliability saying missile.
We have Stephanopoulus and Kerry saying the plane was shot down.
In a coincidence paralleling Epstein’s demise, “Family members were told that all three satellites were malfunctioning on July 17.”
https://www.cashill.com/archive/twa800/10th_anny_10of10.htm
Navy and fuel tank both seem unlikely, but something happened. FBI, CIA and NTSB behavior seem suspicious.