[quote=mdk]
The pilot in the room says: hold off on judging this one. Radars are strange. If the fighter wasn't blasting an IFF signal (and why would it be, while engaging a target?) there's not going to be anything conclusive from ATC or radar. That's just not how the technology works. Anyway the Kremlin is being a lot more forthcoming than the white house right now. This seems like a cosmic fuck-up, not a conspiracy. Somebody pushed the wrong button (or pushed the right one, but targeted the wrong plane). I really doubt that any part of this was orchestrated -- of course, some Bombar Al-Suicidinn might claim credit and prove me wrong, who knows. POINT IS -- wait. Miss Information will be along shortly to tell you all about what happened.
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One of the numbers of non-pilots in the room also adds that the media tries to jump to conclusions because they're trolling for the angle that is the right scoop, but in the process tends to air out a lot of conjecture. So the process of watching the media 'develop' the story should be watched with a fair amount of skepticism. A lot of the reporters are wedded to statements from the various ministries involved in various nations these days. Maybe that's a history major thing; you should assume bias in your sources. Uncertainty is nothing to be ashamed of, in my mind.