It certainly looks that way to me.
My father was at Pan Am for thirty years, he ended his career as a Safety Engineer. He was involved with the investigation into the Pan Am Boing 377 Stratocrusier that disapeared on its way to Hawaii.
I have long been interested in this sort of thing and followed this investigation closely.
They had litterally hundreds of investigators, people with no axe to grind. People who do this for a living, looked into this, over several years...........
Most, but not all agree with the Fuel tank scenario.
Plus, wouldn't a Government Conspiracy have gotten rid of the evidence?
They recovered most of the aircraft and it is still sitting in a hanger. If they were trying to hide evidence of a missile strike, or bomb residue, would the aircraft still be there?
Remeber OCCAM'S RAZOR.............
Occam's razor is more commonly described as 'the simplest answer is most often correct,' although this is an oversimplification. The 'correct' interpretation is that entities should not be multiplied needlessly.
Researchers should avoid 'stacking' information to prove a theory if a simpler explanation fits the observations. Occam's razor is the process of paring down information to make finding the
truth easier.
One famous example of Occam's razor in action is found in conspiracy theories surrounding the NASA moon landings.
Many conspiracy theorists believe that the first Moon Landing was staged and filmed in a studio, part of an elaborate hoax. Their justification relies upon many twisted and convoluted theories, whereas the NASA argument is fairly straightforward.
The conspiracy line of reasoning contains too many suppositions: "If this happened, then this may have happened." Too many 'ifs' is a sign that a statement needs 'Occamizing' and clarifying.
Therefore, using Occam's razor, the NASA argument should be regarded as correct. This is not the same as saying that it is proved, only that it is best to investigate the simplest theory first.
Read more:
Occam's Razor - The Simplest Answer is Usually Correct