Don't put words in my mouth Corsair. I never said McElwain's account took precedent over anything. I simply said it should be investigated by the authorities.
A couple of practical notes.
Ms McElwain says that the craft passed right overhead, so low that she was about to duck and that she could
positively see that there were
no rivets in it. She also remarks that it oddly didn't make any noise and that there was no air disturbance. She describes a white cigar shape, no wings, some tail arrangement, including tailmounted engine(s?). Oh, and based on her estimate of its distance she says its the size of a van.
Those are her
observations.
Let's see how that fits the possible realities:
1) AAM (Air-to-Air Missile): Too small (unless it was Phoenix), VERY noisy, trails white smoke, and is supersonic (in fact they go over MACH2). What she would have seen and heard was nothing but a streak and a sonic boom. AAM is ruled out.
2) SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile): Apart from size (they are indeed van-sized), the same as for AAM. A SAM passing low overhead would have knocked her teeth loose. SAM is ruled out.
3) Cruise missile: Size fits. Shape fits, except for the fact that cruise missiles have wings, but they are so thin she might have overlooked them. Cruise missiles are just subsonic, but that would still leave her only a fraction of a second to view it, and they are quite noisy. She would still just see a streak and hear a roar. Cruise missile is extremely unlikely.
4) Unmanned plane: Size fits. Speed would give her a shance for fairly close look (they're generally rather slow). Shape does not fit; there is no way she could overlook its wings. Sound does not. Depending on type, they are jet powered or propeller powered, and they are noisy. Unmanned plane is ruled out.
5) Executive jet: Size does not fit. Speed does not fit. Shape does not fit. Noise does not fit. An executive jet passing low overhead is not an experience to forget. However, if she estimated the distance wrong, and the angle was somehow sugh that she didn't notice the wings, then maybe the shape can fit. The lack of noise could be due to it flying at low throttle. Executive jet circling the site to investigate is possible.
6) Flight 93: Size, distance, speed, and noise don't fit, of course. However, if the distance was throughly underestimated, and the plane was in an unusual attitude, like rolling inverted and diving for the ground, She might have seen it in way that made her unable to recognize it. If the plane had the side turned towards her, she would not see the wings. and if it was upside down, the tail arrangement could have looked confusing. Due to the distance, she would not hear the sound before it blended in with the sound of the crash. It is actually not implausible that she saw flight 93.
Hans