Lightbob said
<<Are you suggesting that the passengers on the flight were opposed to the peace process that was eventually hammered out?>>
Yes, but this is my conjecture only based on information in the public domain (such as newspapers at the time, a published book, etc).
What I have gathered over time is the following:
1. That the consensus within that group was that a military solution was possible (ie. The IRA terrorism could be fought and won against);
2. They had a major campaign in plan that would have considerably weakened the IRA had it been successfully carried out and consequently would have weakened the IRA’s bargaining position (generally and particularly in the upcoming peace process).
Point (1) above would have needed the will, cooperation, and support of the British institutions which Airey Neave, some years earlier, had questioned immediately before his assassination (he had gone so far as to name proposed new heads for MI5 & MI6 to improve matters). It is of note that specific technical evidence that survived suggested that the bomb that killed Airey Neave was at least in part American. I will not spend time here conjecturing on possible American agendas wrt NI but suggest reading some of the late Enoch Powell's opinions on the subject.
From discussions with people on both “sides”, my feeling is that the result of the crash was profound and opened the way for the American sponsored peace plan with the IRA ceasefire that followed so soon after the crash. Casual comments from others and my intuition suggest to me that one particular aspect of the peace process that this team would never have accepted was the involvement of the IRA whilst still being armed.
Your phrase “…the peace process that was eventually hammered out” – try getting a good deal without your champions present. The integrity of a corner (stone?) of the British nation is being weakened with the peace process as is.