[toyg]

> Americans use a technique that involves 'ghosting' commercial airliner traffic

You mean flying under commercial traffic? That's what was likely the cause of French jets downing a civilian plane over Italy in 1980 - while trying to hit a Lybian MIG "hidden" under it. Reportedly, Lybian planes routinely did that in order to reach their servicing bases in Yugoslavia.

[sdinsn]

> That's what was likely the cause of French jets downing a civilian plane over Italy in 1980

Note that the event is heavily disputed. The British Air Accidents Investigation Board claims that a missile strike does not match the wreckage analysis; instead stating a explosive device in the rear bathroom was the only possible cause.

[modsiw]

It’s disputed, but shouldn’t be. The third investigation pretty conclusively showed it was a bomb placed under the wash basin in the rear lavatory.

The missing body parts near the front of the plane suspected to be the missile impact point were found.

[sdinsn]

It's highly disputed because the original allegation is not just France, but rather a French-led NATO joint force that included Britain. It's assumed that the British investigation can't be trusted.

The other investigations also doesn't explain the wreckage of a Libyan fighter jet, close to the wreckage of the airliner.

Multiple Italian soldiers were also found guilty of concealing evidence about the event, allegedly by the request of NATO.

[toyg]

Investigations from NATO sources simply cannot be trusted. They are not independent. The only supporters of the bomb scenario left, in Italy, are ultra-right-wing people who refuse to accept the fact that Italian autorities of the time lied.

It was even admitted by the Italian then-PM (later President) Francesco Cossiga, almost 30 years later, that he was told right away it had been a French jet. This was confirmed later by multiple sources, among them a retired US seaman who was stationed on the Saratoga and feared for his life (a lot of key witnesses have died in suspicious circumstances, including suicide). And the secret-war scenario is the only one that can explain a Lybian MIG crashing in the same area on the same day, which was kept hidden for weeks by Italian authorities.

The historical truth has basically been ascertained, it will simply never be admitted by the involved parties because it is still inconvenient (Lybia still being "in play" between France and Italy).

[Glawen]

I did not know about this case, but good luck to the justice to know the truth. It might be a french or american airplane according to wikipedia. The french army is called in France "la grande muette" for a reason: it never speaks or admits anything (e.g. Bugaled Breizh ship).

American also used this technique to fly military aircraft above french airspace while France was not part of NATO, it is only in 2007 with Sarkozy that France entered NATO (one of his many stupid move if you ask me)

[greatpatton]

France was always a member state of NATO since 1949. France was just not taking part in the integrated military command between the mid-60's to 2007, but did participate in all NATO mission (for instance Afghanistan, Bosnia, Serbia, etc.).

[toyg]

Indeed French authorities actively obstructed the search for truth over the decades, but to be fair, Italian and American authorities did exactly the same (or worse). Nobody wants to admit letting it happen, even if it was a mistake.

[sam_lowry_]

MH-17, anyone?