Samantha Smith

[FarinaforBrkfast]

For some reason, the thought that this could actually happen seemed remotely plausible.
I'm pretty sure it was an accident.....but it does make one think.

[Necco]

If Reagan was going to take her out, wouldn't he have done it much sooner?

Sometimes a plane crash is just a plane crash. The more a person travels, the more likely they are to be involved in a crash. Small commuter airlines at this time were far less regulated than they are now. There's no conspiracy here, just the tragic death of a child who, as we all were as children in the early 80s, was worried about nuclear annihilation.

[wiseguy182]

The original post belongs over at Democratic Underground. I'm sure the people over at that cesspool would eat it up with a spoon.

[egswanso]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

Do I believe that Ronald Reagan, the most respected President in modern times, a man who SAVED 77 lives in his youth as a lifeguard (also documunted in the first link given in the OP's post), orchestrated the murder of not only a peace-keeping, innocent girl but also the lives of several other people completely unconnected to the situation?

Answer: No.

There is simply no evidence to suggest the crash was anything but a result from bad weather and inexperienced pilots.

If you have some evidence otherwise, then we could discuss that. Otherwise this accustion is an EPIC FAIL!

I have little respect for Reagan and believe strongly that his policies harmed this country greatly in the long-term.

That said, I wholly agree with wiseguy's conclusion. There is no evidence to suggest Reagan or anyone in his administration had anything to do with this accident. Let's stop with conspiracy theories and actually use our brains for a moment. What benefit would a President receive from killing a little girl? Funding terrorists to keep the Soviets busy - sure, he did that. Murdering children to avoid a little positive PR? Come on.

[Steve W.]

I was very compelled and saddened when I first learned about Samantha Reed Smith and her short life last year. It made me want to find out everything about the plane crash.

I know it was off-topic (not a UM segment), so I apologize for that but I don't see why this was bumped back up almost a year later just to bash me (particularly from wiseguy) because I think that it's possible (not probable, but possible) that some tampering could have occurred involving the plane crash and her, her father, and six other people's deaths. I don't appreciate that.

[egswanso]

Originally Posted by Steve W.

I was very compelled and saddened when I first learned about Samantha Reed Smith and her short life last year. It made me want to find out everything about the plane crash.

I know it was off-topic (not a UM segment), so I apologize for that but I don't see why this was bumped back up almost a year later just to bash me (particularly from wiseguy) because I think that it's possible (not probable, but possible) that some tampering could have occurred involving the plane crash and her, her father, and six other people's deaths. I don't appreciate that.

The problem is that anything's "possible" and conspiracy thinking is, frankly, a poison that effects too many. The lack of critical thinking skills is one of the biggest problems facing this country and conspiracy theories just feed into this - some, harmless, for sure; others causing needless death (look at vaccine or hiv deniers) or leading to war/bloodshed.

Being saddened by the Smith story (which I remember from my childhood) is fine, but a much better way to honor her legacy is to work for the things she believed in, like world peace and shared humanity, not to suggest she was murdered because we didn't want to humanize dirty commies.

[Steve W.]

I understand that, but there were things that could be questioned regarding the crash such as: why was the plane supposedly to the east/to the right of the runway as it was landing when 3 minutes earlier it was supposedly lined up correctly? Why were the altimeter settings off by 2 when they were found? Was it because of the sharp turn the ATC instructed the pilot to make while in the landing process? Why were they directed to try and land at runway 4 at Auburn/Lewiston airport, the least visible runway at that airport at night, especially when it's foggy?

We have the freedom to question things when there are not definitive answers in the details of something.

[egswanso]

Originally Posted by Steve W.

I understand that, but there were things that could be questioned regarding the crash such as: why was the plane supposedly to the east/to the right of the runway as it was landing when 3 minutes earlier it was supposedly lined up correctly? Why were the altimeter settings off by 2 when they were found? Was it because of the sharp turn the ATC instructed the pilot to make while in the landing process? Why were they directed to try and land at runway 4 at Auburn/Lewiston airport, the least visible runway at that airport at night, especially when it's foggy?

We have the freedom to question things when there are not definitive answers in the details of something.

Sure, you have the freedom to do whatever you please and believe what-ever you please, although the cynical among us (not I, of course might say that this freedom often does more harm than good to the country as a whole when it allows patently absurd, if not downright harmful, ideas to survive as "equally valid" in the court of public opinion, at least.

But non-experts "questioning" things is silly and usually counter-productive, until and unless you educate yourself on the subject matter (and I am not proffering an opinion as to what you've done in this regard one way or the other).

So, certainly, you'd start with the NTSB report(s) and depending on your existing knowledge and background, books and classes on aeronautics, physics, weather, etc. You'd talk to pilots, or take flight lessons yourself to understand the conditions, etc. If after that, there were still issues that seemed unanswered, you'd have both the expertise and/or knowledge to understand the issue and the credibility to present it.

Jumping right into conspiracy theories based on nothing more then conjecture and assumption, as you've seen from this post, is more likely to render you subject to attack and belie any attempts, however well-meaning, to understand or create dialogue because of the natural blow-back they create.

[scc1222]

I don't think even most Democrats would think this was anything other than an unfortunate accident.

[RKORadio]

My favorite "cheesy" moment of Lime Street is this "solidly dated to 1985" blue satin dress that Samantha is wearing in this screencap. My niece looked at it and asked "How can she move her torso in that thing?"