"Pilot: We saw smoke trails"

[Archer]

TEL AVIV, Israel (CNN) -- The pilot of an Israeli airliner targeted in a missile attack spotted smoke trails following the plane seconds after liftoff from Mombasa, Kenya.

But Rafi Marek decided to continue to Tel Aviv, the scheduled destination, after checking that the aircraft was working properly.

Holidaymakers among the 261 passengers and crew sat back in their seats unaware the plane had been fired on. They were only told after the Arkia Airlines Boeing 757 entered Israeli airspace.

The attack coincided with a suicide bomb at the Israeli-owned Paradise hotel in Mombasa in which 11 people are reported to have died. (Full story)

The weekly charter flight landed safely at Tel Aviv at 1240 local time (1040 GMT) on Thursday.

Marek told CNN: "Immediately after we took off from Mombasa at a very low altitude, we felt a little blow to the plane. We saw two white stripes passing us by. I couldn't tell what it was.

"We saw two smoke trails following us and they vanished after a little bit, after a couple of seconds.

"The question was raised about an emergency landing. We checked all the systems. The plane behaved perfectly normally. We announced to Mombasa air control that we would continue as normal.

"Some of us in the crew did think that perhaps we had been shot at but we weren't sure. So having heard of the tragic incident that had occurred in a hotel in Mombasa we did think it was likely to be connected.

"Since some of the passengers had also heard and seen some of these white trails we talked to them, we reassured them according to the cabin crew's report.

"No one was particularly bothered or upset in the cabin, everyone understood, they took it in their stride. Everyone was very relaxed during the flight. In fact as far as we were concerned the whole flight till we landed back in Tel Aviv was absolutely routine."

At the airport waiting relatives hugged loved ones as they filed through the departure gate.

One woman passenger told CNN: "When we took off we heard a noise on the lefthand side of the plane and someone on the lefthand side said it was smoke.

"Everyone was like: 'No, it was nothing.' Only towards the end of the flight they told us what had happened."

Another woman tourist said: "We heard a bang. They told us they thought a bird had stuck in the engine. They knew from the start what had happened but they did not tell us."

She said after passengers were finally told, she saw an Israeli military plane flying as an escort.

Another woman said: "When the airplane started to leave we heard a boom. The staff didn't tell us anything until 10 or 15 minutes before we came to Israel." After that she saw a military plane flying alongside.

Ezra Gozlan, who was sitting at the back of the plane, told Israel Radio: "All the wheels were in the air and then we heard the explosion. It (the missile) went about one metre above the wing."

At least one missile, possibly two, were fired at the plane, said airline spokeswoman Magda Malikalanpar.

Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "If it was indeed missiles shot against civilian aviation this is a very dangerous escalation of terror.

"It means that terror organisations and those regimes that stand behind then are capable of acquiring weapons that can bring about mass casualties in every place in the world.

"Today they fired missiles at Israeli planes, tomorrow they'll fire missiles at U.S. planes, British planes, planes from every state."

 

[Archer]

What if a big piece of your wing was missing and one of your engines had fallen off?

 

[banned username 2]

What if a big piece of your wing was missing and one of your engines had fallen off?

Well... Then you crash....

Like they say "Life sucks and then you die"... Well getting hit by a missile constitutes the "Life Sucks" part... You figure out the rest...

 

[Draginass]

The terrorists, Al Qadea, Hamas, PLO, or whatever they want to call themselves have now raised the ante once again. Predict that the Arab nations, the muslim world, and the "Arab street" will be the architect of their own ruination though their tacit support of these scumbags.

 

[Archer]

Hey it's a viscious, endless cycle.

America gives Israel 1 billion Us tax-payer's $s so that the Israeli's can invade Palestinian towns and piss them off, so that Palestinians can get back at Israeli's with suicide bombers. Meanwhile islamic extremists get a good reason to wage their "jihad" on the West and crash planes into towers, try to shoot them down with shoulder mounted SAM's. So the West (America) get's pissed off, Bush iches to bomb Iraq, while UN inspectors are in it trying to prevent war, "terrorist" organizations warn that if US/Britain strike Iraq, they will strike back just as hard.

While all this is happening, Palestinian children grow to hate Israeli's, Israeli children grow to hate Palestinians, Americans live their life in their "safe luxurious bubble" with the Pacific ocean on the West separating them from Asian third world countries, and the Pacific Navy Fleet, the Atlantic Ocean on the East, seperating them from Africa's starved people and the MIddle East's wars. North there is friendly Canada and on the South poor mexico. IN this "isolated bubble" Americans watch College Football instead of CNN (which is full of crap a lot of the time anyways). American's don't really understand what's going on East and West of them, their government is light years away from their people.

In poor third world countries ignorance grows and hits everyone like a plague. Parents still bring to the world a doezen children, who they cannot afford to have. These children end up growing without an education, with their lives wasted by wrong teachings and suppressed lives. Their poetential is annihilated by medieval ideologies that keep them from getting out of their dark hole of ignorance and suffering.

The world is a messed up place. Sure there are lots of good things about it, but on the whole, who can say that we live in a decent world with billions of people who are below the poverty line, and live as people lived five centuries ago. Sure, the world is perfect for North American and Europe. But that's about it. South America, Asia, Africa (which account for the majority of the world population and surface area) are in misery.

We are in a world were a Nigerian citizen has trouble being proud of his country. Were a US citizen thinks they are the best, and don't give much of a d@mn of the rest of the world. It's a world that needs to be fixed, by the newer generations, which are the hope of the future of Earth...yet even that hope is like a candle about to go out...because a gust of ignorance is theatening to make it cease to be...

This entire post was an instinctive response to:

The terrorists, Al Qadea, Hamas, PLO, or whatever they want to call themselves have now raised the ante once again. Predict that the Arab nations, the muslim world, and the "Arab street" will be the architect of their own ruination though their tacit support of these scumbags.

Remember, "One country's Terrorist, is another country's freedom fighter".

To a lot of people the entire Israeli nation is a terrorist nation. To a lot of other people, it is a country like any other, trying to survive from "terrrorist attacks".

It's all a matter of perspective. And there is not one side that is right. It's a big mess, and everyone is part of it, and everyone has the responsability to change things for the better, by starting to gain knowledge, and be a critic of everything and everyone.

I'm not pro-wester or pro-eastern. I'm not pro anything, or trying to defend any point of view.

All I'm saying is that America is both right and wrong. The Palestinan actions are both right and wrong.

I'll leave this with a quote from an award-winning British journalist.


"September 11. Ask who, but for heaven's sake, do not ask why"


Archer

 

[2000flyer]

As much as I hate to think it, but maybe Gulfstream had the right idea installing anti-missle devices on the G400/500 (I can't remember the exact name they're using). Might be a good idea, albeit expensive, to install if you're making a living flying in some of these "hot spot" areas.

On another grim note, you can't tell me these extremist haven't give it some thought on doing this in the U.S.

2000Flyer

 

[nimtz]

I agree with alot of what Archer said. It has always troubled me that no matter what party controls DC, Israel recieves unquestioned and unconditional support from our government. Israel is an ally, but alot of their policies are flawed and are only serving to spread the flame of extremism.

 

[Archer]

Yes, it has been a rumor floating around that they might shoot down US airliners with shoulder launched SAMs...

It is very worrying and sad that they are thinking of doing such a thing. But as I said, it's part of the endless cycle of world events.

Terrorists are hard to deal with, and even a mighty power light the US couldn't prevent 9/11.

Let's just hope that the leader of powerful countries are the right ones, the ones that reflect the population's views, and that lead the world to a period of stability, if not peace...and that these terrorists realize they damage they do to humans.

 

[PilotoHalcon]

Let the Monday morning quarterbackin begin.... They all lived, they did well. End of story.
j

 

[Draginass]

Many arabs in the mideast are so stupid that they haven't figured out that when you wage a wars of anilation against the Israelis and . . . . . (drum roll, please) . . . LOSE, . . . . things don't necessarily go back to where they were . . . so they can take another crack and driving the Jews into the sea. And make so mistake about it . . . that is still the objective of these terrorists and their surrogates in Palestine. The Egyptians and Jordanians have figured it out, but the palestinians, Lebonese, and Syrians haven't. As far as the Saudi go . . . . well they're willing to fight to the last palestinian. As sad as it is, the wall is probably a good idea. The palestinians can go back to subsistance farming and begging off the world instead of relying on the Israelis for an economy and jobs.

The missile attack represents a huge escalation.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Yes Archer,


We give the Israelies, the only democracy in that region of the world alot of $$$ so that the "Israeli's can invade Palestinian towns and piss them"??? Please!!! For starters all of those towns are in Israel!! And the Israelies, as much ball-busters as they can be usually act in response and no to provoke. Everytime things calm down for a period of time, they only escalate after some moron blows himself and 10 people, including a few children up at a bus stop.

The Israelies don't do anything we wouldn't do. Do you really think George W. would refrain from kicking some serious a-s-s- if the same thing happened here and the source of the problem came from predominantly muslim neighborhoods???

Draginass is correct. The Israelies would beat the living daylights out of any or all of the muslim countries that mess with them. Take a look at their track record of chasing down terrorists who screw with them since 1947. They rarely take prisoners.

Post 9-11, we're playing the same game they are, and good riddance to those on the other side.


Mr. I.