My condolences to everyone involved.
Is it possible that some members of the media "implant" ideas into the eyewitnesses memories? Could it sometimes be the power of suggestion?
True, that most seem to remember flames first. But on a very different note, almost nobody remembers a missile first, unless this was the likely/possible cause, i.e. TWA flight 800, the 747 tragedy near NYC. How about the Italian DC-9 which was shot down in the 80s near Italy? One of our Navy skippers (USS Vicennes?) was awarded some citation after the Iranian A-300 was shot down, by mistake. What was the citation for?