Originally Posted by
SLFinAZ
According to the Reuters report 4 witnesses were specific to sound which is historically much more accurate and telling than sight. Not with regard to specifics but abnormality. It's common for individuals to do a "double take" specific to visual clues since you tend to need to
process and double check an anomaly but we respond much more decisively to aural clues.
I agree, while others have already doubted some eyewitnesses (who can be notoriously unreliable, especially about flames) I can personally attest to different sounds as being a real trigger, with my best personal example being the sound of a major compressor stall on a Continental DC-10 as I was enjoying the sun on Waikiki. Here you would see and hear planes all day long, but even 25+ years later I can clearly recall the major whomping noise that alerted everyone on the beach that something was amiss. All heads turned toward the plane slower and lower, and closer to shore that the regular traffic (normal right turn away from the beach- but she was straight an level close to shore) and most impressive whoomps, fire and smoke belching from both ends of the port engine. A real attention getter.