C onspiracy theorists who believe that a missile shot down TWA Flight 800 ten years ago off Long Island are hoping a recent ruling by a U.S. District Court in California will give them the proof that they need. Ray Lahr, a retired United Airlines pilot, brought a Freedom of Information Act suit against the CIA, the NSA, and the National Transportation Safety Board to get access to the records they used to conclude that no missile was involved in the crash. The judge ordered the release of further technical details and the identities of the eyewitnesses the government interviewed, says John Clarke, Lahr’s attorney. “We had made a sufficient showing of government impropriety, or at least of gross negligence, to override the exemptions” to the FOIA, Clarke says. He expects appeals: “We’re not looking at having the records in our hands real soon.”

Have good intel? Send tips to intel@nymag.com.

Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Table of Contents: Oct 9, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!