Retired Airline Pilot sues NTSB for "Zoom-climb" data

http://www.twa800.com/lahr/lahr-amended.htm ^ | 7/27/02 | John Fiorentino

[JohnFiorentino]

Retired airline Pilot Capt. Ray Lahr has brought suit against the NTSB for release of the data pertaining to the alleged "zoom-climb" by TWA800. NTSB has stated that this event was what the hundreds of witnesses observed prior to the TWA800 explosion.

You can view the amended complaint in it's entirety here:

http://www.twa800.com/lahr/lahr-amended.htm

[Free the USA]

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[EggsAckley]

I'm not sure I understand what a "zoom climb" implies. Can you enlighten me? I think I was on a plane once in the USSR that did that. Not sure. Thanks.

[lsee]

Does this man need a bodyguard now?

[ErnBatavia]

Does this man need a bodyguard now?

Probably not - but I'd say he needs a "hat"

[Fabozz]

"I'm not sure I understand what a 'zoom climb' implies."

According to the NTSB, once the center fuel tank exploded on TWA800 and blew off a wing, the remaining parts of the plane, shed of all that unnecessary weight, zoomed up into the sky. Presumably if both wings had blown off the fuselage would have actually reached orbit.

[Clive]

Capt. Lahr is questioning CIA and TSB simulations in which TWA Flight 800 is purported to have lost its whole nose section then climbed 3000 feet.

[Clive]

Sorry, typo
TSB should be NTSB

[supercat]

According to the NTSB, once the center fuel tank exploded on TWA800 and blew off a wing, the remaining parts of the plane, shed of all that unnecessary weight, zoomed up into the sky.

Of course, even with both wings attached the loss of the front of the aircraft would have caused the tail of the plane to fall so quickly as to put the wings nearly vertical in short order. No airframe is going to be designed to survive that without the wings coming off.

[kylaka]

The gubment claims TWA 800 climbed some 2800 feet AFTER the nose separated from the rest of the aircraft. That possibility is something akin to pigs flying, but they continue to make that assertion with a straight face.

[FormerLurker]

You people never fail to amuse.

[stlrocket]

Actually, the mystery has been solved:

TWA FLIGHT 800 - SECRET REVEALED

[timestax]

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[jlogajan]

The center of gravity (center of mass) of the entire airframe is vital in aircraft control. That's because there is also something know as the center of lift. The center of lift can be moved a bit back and forth by the position of the control surfaces. It has a limited range o movement -- sufficent for normal flight. Normally for level flight, the center of lift is positioned on top of the center of gravity.

When the center tank exploded, the front section of the airplane detached. That altered the center of gravity backward on the remaining winged section of the aircraft. Now the COG was behind the COL -- so it would naturally nose up and begin climbing. There would be some climb just from momentum as the aircraft traded altitude for speed. If the engines were still under power, then they'd help add altitude as well as their thrust vectored upward along with general climb angle of the rest of the craft.

Eventually this climb would stall out. The craft would then begin to fall -- the exact behavior at the point of stall is hard to predict -- depending upon which wing stalled first, etc. But it would probably lead to several violent twists and turns with the aircraft beginning to break up from the various flutters and motions, etc.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

The NTSB would never lie to cover up terrorism. /sarcasm

[Steve Eisenberg]

The NTSB would never lie to cover up terrorism. /sarcasm

Why the sarcasm? What would be their motive for risking firing and public humiliation with a coverup? To get payoffs from the terrorists? Come on. To get promoted? Why would there be a culture that causes people to get promoted for screwing up airframe loss investigations? If the only way to make the case that the NTSB people were wrong is to insult them, count me and most other Americans out on this one.

In reality, the whistleblower laws create a tremendous incentive for any NTSB employee who is not getting regular promotions to complain that such a cover-up occurred. So how many people on the NTSB team are saying it was a missile?

If the NTSB likes to cover things up, then why did they ignore political pressures from Egypt and report that EgyptAir 990 was deliberately flown into the ocean?

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Sure, the military has all kinds of movies showing target drones climbing 4000 feet after being blown up.

[habaes corpussel]

After 911 and after all that has been found out about the FBI's bunglings I think another Congressional Investigation of 800 by an Independent Committee is now in order. Was this a terrorist shoot down in reality? Was the Investigation really carried out properly? I think the Administration owes all of us another look. But I will bet that no one on the Hill will have the guts to even ask for one.