[Swordmaker]

Why, Thank you, Asmodeus.

It looks like my timeline coincides quite nicely with the one calculated by Cmd. Donaldson. There are some differences, of course. He did not allow for any rise in altitude at all after the IE while I did. This makes my calculated ballistic fall start slightly later (about 3-4 seconds) and slightly higher (about 125 feet) than his.

One proof of this, I believe, is that Cmd. Donaldson shows the last radar hit being return when the aircraft was only 40 feet above the Atlantic. I do not belive this is possible as the radar horizon would not permit it. One figure I have seen (I have not calculated it myself) is that the radar horizon for that distance would be about 200 feet above the ocean. Another report says that the aircraft radar systems are deliberately aimed above the surface to preclude spurious data from buildings, vehicles, etc. My figure puts the plane at 2800ft which, I believe, more closely fits the observed facts.