[eclectic]

Videotape showed a large piece of something coming off the orbiter immediately prior to its mid-air breakup

Gimme a break

[Arkinsaw]

Gimme a break

Yeah, it broke apart immediately before it broke apart.

[_Jim]

Gimme a break

Just *prior* to the big break-up, there were several larger 'somethings' that came off the shuttle and dropped back (slowed down) markedly from the shutle ... this is EASILY viewable on the video taken by WFAA CH 8 in Dallas.

One of their crews was preparing to tape a segment for another show out at Fair Park and shot some video of the SS coming over the Dallas area ...

[Alberta's Child]

I think this comment was correct. If you look at the video that was playing all day on FOX and look carefully at the very beginning (when the shuttle looked like a large, diamond-shaped thing because of the lens distortion), there is clearly something flying at the same speed as the shuttle below it and to the right. This is before any of the debris contrails appear, so it is likely that something large broke off very early on.

I also suspect that communication and data were cut off to the ground at least several seconds before those video clips were recorded.