I wonder where these people got rockets? Any ideas Hillary? McCain, how about you?
unguided rocket, miss by 300 meters = low aircraft, probably on final landing approach or had just taken off.
Kinda dubious that a pilot could jink a huge commercial transport WITHOUT THE PASSENGERS KNOWING....
Same group as the Russia tragedy at 31,000 feet..?
Possibly, but did they use the same WEAPON..?
NOT IN A MILLION YEARS.
It was a “technical issue”!!
A few thoughts: first, if the pilot was able to “dodge” the “rocket” by maneuvering, he had visual on the weapon, indicating it was a front-quarter attack. Many of the shoulder-fired SAMs stolen from Libyan armories (and other locations) are older Russian SA-7/14s (or their Chinese-made clones) and cannot engage front-aspect targets. From that angle, the seeker could not gain/maintain lock, so it would fly ballistically, rather than guide on the target. May explain how the jet managed to dodge the weapon—and why it didn’t strike the airliner.
Secondly, no mention of the jet’s location or altitude at the time of the attack. There are peaks as high as 7,000 feet on the Sinai, and firing a MANPAD from an elevated position can extend the envelope. However, the INN account suggests that the aircraft was at a much lower altitude, perhaps on final when the attack occurred. If that’s accurate, it’s an indicator that ISIS is operating literally outside the wire of the airport, and it may be just a matter of time before the terrorists get lucky with a MANPAD, or smuggle another bomber on board.
from the ‘thanks for telling us now’ department....
This took place in August. Here’s the takeaway from a piece in the Guardian: “The Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed that the incident took place but said it did not believe the missile was an attempt to target the British plane, instead ascribing the missile seen by the Thomson pilots to Egyptian military manoeuvres.”