Originally Posted by pattern_is_full
Well, the white halo around the wings and fuselage doesn't belong there either. (Unless they encountered St. Elmo's Fire.)
Digital JPEG and video compression and sharpening can cause all kinds of shapes and artifacts to be added to an image.
Heck, there is a "notch" in the lower fuselage just ahead of the wings - is that "likely evidence" that the hull was cracked and the cockpit was about to fall off? There's another "notch" on the top of the fuselage just ahead of the Vstab. Maybe an MRAP went out the ceiling? (Sarcasm alert!)
I'm just saying, as a professional image editor (among other things) that there are no blobs (digital imaging artifacts) on the aft lower fuselage that aren't replicated all over this image. And they are indicators of precisely - nothing.
The white halo around the aircraft is a valid artifact of the Charge Couple Device camera and can be seen elsewhere in the same video. Look at the radio mast on the front of the vehicle for example. Where there is strong contrast, there is a white halo. (Use full screen mode).
This is not JPEG compression causing this effect, because it exists before the image was converted to a JPEG. I will agree that there is a significant likelihood that video processing within the camera has created some of the observed effects, but that does not mean that the entire picture is invald, it just needs interpreting.
The “notch” in the lower fuselage ahead of the wings appears to relate to the nose landing gear becoming visible. The “notch” on the top of the fuselage that you believe you observed is between two other unexplained bumps on the upper port quarter of the aft fuselage. You may even be correct in your sarcastic thought that an MRAP ruptured the overhead.
As one who has processed digital images for over a decade to produce artwork, I have learned that the boundary area of a digital feature contains much subtle information. I would not be so quick to throw the whole image in the dustbin.
Features are in the photo for a reason. You are free to discount or to contemplate what you see.