TWA Flight 800

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For the 1964 crash of a TWA Boeing 707 in Rome, Italy, see TWA Flight 800 (1964).

TWA Flight 800

Reconstruction of TWA 800 wreckage in a hangar at Calverton Executive Airpark.
Accident summary
Date	20:31 EDT July 17, 1996 (00:31 on July 18 UTC)
Type	In-flight explosion
Site	Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York
Passengers	212
Crew	18
Fatalities	230
Survivors	0
Operator	Trans World Airlines (TWA)
Tail number	N93119
Flight origin	John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport
Stopover	Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport
Destination	Leonardo da Vinci Int'l Airport

Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA 800), a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT (00:31, July 18 UTC), 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 on board. TWA 800 was a scheduled international passenger flight from New York City, New York to Rome, Italy, with a stopover in Paris, France.^[1]

While accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) traveled to the scene, arriving the following morning,^[2] there was much initial speculation that a terrorist attack was the cause of the crash.^[3][4][5] Consequently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated a parallel criminal investigation.^[6] Sixteen months later the FBI announced that no evidence had been found of a criminal act, and closed its active investigation.^[7]

The four-year NTSB investigation ended with the adoption of its final report on August 23, 2000. The report's conclusion was that the probable cause of the accident was an explosion of inflammable fuel/air vapors in a fuel tank, and, although it could not be determined with certainty, the most likely cause of the explosion was a short circuit.^[8] As a result of the crash, new requirements were developed for aircraft to prevent future fuel tank explosions.^[9]

Many TWA Flight 800 alternative theories exist, the most prevalent being that a missile strike from a terrorist or U.S. Navy vessel caused the crash, and is the subject of a government coverup.^[10][11] The missile theory emerged because of eyewitnesses in the Long Island area who reported seeing something resembling a flare or firework ascend and explode. However, analysis by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) concluded that they saw only the burning aircraft, not a missile attack.^[12]

Contents [show] 1 Accident flight 1.1 Nationalities of passengers and crew 2 Initial investigation 2.1 Search and recovery operations 2.2 Tensions in the investigation 2.3 Witness interviews 3 Further investigation and analysis 3.1 Possible causes of the in-flight breakup 3.1.1 Structural failure and decompression 3.1.2 Live missile or bomb detonation 3.1.3 Fuel/air explosion in the center wing fuel tank 3.2 In-flight breakup sequence and crippled flight 3.2.1 Analysis of reported witness observations 3.3 Possible ignition sources of the center wing fuel tank 3.3.1 Missile fragment or small explosive charge 3.3.2 Other potential sources 3.3.3 Fuel quantity indication system 4 Conclusions 4.1 Alternative theories 5 Aftermath 6 International Memorial 7 Notable passengers 8 TWA 800 in the media 9 References 10 See also 11 External links

[edit] Accident flight

Flight path of TWA 800. The colored rectangles are areas from which wreckage was recovered.^[13]

All times in this article are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

The accident airplane, registration N93119, was manufactured by Boeing in July, 1971, and purchased new by TWA. The aircraft had completed 16,869 flights with 93,303 hours of operation.^[14] On the day of the accident the airplane departed Athens, Greece, as TWA Flight 881, and arrived at the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) about 16:38. The aircraft was refueled, and there was a crew change; the new flight crew consisted of Captain Ralph G. Kevorkian, Captain/Check Airman Steven E. Snyder and Flight Engineer/Check Airman Richard G. Campbell (all with more than 30 years employment at TWA), and Flight Engineer Trainee Oliver Krick, who was starting the sixth leg of his initial operating experience training.^[15][16]

TWA 800 was scheduled to depart JFK for Paris around 19:00, but the flight was delayed for just over an hour by a disabled piece of ground equipment and a passenger/baggage mismatch.^[1] After the owner of the baggage in question was confirmed to be on board, the flight crew prepared for departure, and the aircraft pushed back from gate 27 in the TWA Flight Center about 20:02 and took off from JFK's runway 22R at 20:19.^[17]

TWA 800 then received a series of heading changes and generally increasing altitude assignments as it climbed to its intended cruising altitude.^[17] Weather in the area was light winds with scattered clouds,^[18] and there were dusk lighting conditions.^[19] The last radio transmission from the airplane occurred at 20:30 when the flight crew received and then acknowledged instructions from Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) to climb to 15,000 feet (4,600 m).^[20] The last recorded radar transponder return from the airplane was recorded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar site at Trevose, Pennsylvania at 20:31:12.^[21]

Then, 38 seconds later, the captain of an Eastwind Airlines Boeing 737 first reported to Boston ARTCC that he "just saw an explosion out here," adding "we just saw an explosion up ahead of us here...about 16,000 feet [4,900m] or something like that, it just went down into the water." Subsequently, many air traffic controlLong Island area received reports of an explosion from other pilots operating in the area. Many witnesses in the vicinity of the crash when it occurred stated that they saw and/or heard explosions, accompanied by a large fireball or fireballs over the ocean, and observed debris, some of which was burning, falling into the water.^[21] facilities in the New York/

Although individuals in various civilian, military, and police vessels reached the crash site and initiated a search for survivors within minutes of the initial water impact, no survivors were found,^[22] making TWA 800 the second deadliest aircraft accident in the United States at that time.^[23]

	Air traffic control recording Eastwind Airlines Flight 507 The captain of Eastwind Airlines 507 further describes to air traffic control what he saw both after and prior to the explosion
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

[edit] Nationalities of passengers and crew

^{[citation needed]}

Nationality	Passengers	Crew	Total
Algeria	9	0	9
Belgium	4	0	4
Denmark	6	0	6
France	42	0	42
Germany	2	0	2
Ireland	4	0	4
Israel	1	0	1
Italy	8	1	9
Norway	2	0	2
Spain	1	0	1
Sweden	1	0	1
United Kingdom	7	0	7
United States	125	17	142
Total	212	18	230

[edit] Initial investigation

The NTSB was notified about 20:50 the day of the accident; a full go-team was assembled in Washington, D.C. and arrived on scene early the next morning.^[2] Meanwhile, initial witness descriptions led many to believe the cause of the crash was a bomb or missile attack.^[24][25][26] The NTSB does not investigate criminal activity, and in past investigations, once it was established that a crash was, in fact, a criminal act, the FBI had become the lead federal investigative body, with the NTSB providing any requested support.^[27] In the case of TWA 800, the FBI initiated a parallel criminal investigation alongside the NTSB's accident investigation.^[28]

[edit] Search and recovery operations

Search and recovery operations were conducted by federal, state, and local agencies, as well as government contractors.^[29] Remote-operated vehicles (ROVs), side-scan sonar, and laser line-scanning equipment were used to search for and investigate underwater debris fields. Victims and wreckage were recovered by Scubatrawlers were used to recover wreckage embedded in the ocean floor.^[30] In one of the largest diver-assisted salvage operations ever conducted, often working in very difficult and dangerous conditions, over 95% of the airplane wreckage was eventually recovered.^[28][31] The search and recovery effort identified three main areas of wreckage underwater.^[32] The yellow zone, red zone, and green zone contained wreckage from front, center, and rear sections of the airplane, respectively.^[33] The green zone with the aft portion of the aircraft was located the furthest along the flight path.^[34] divers and ROVs; later scallop

Wreckage recovery and debris fields

Wreckage recovered with tangled and damaged wires attached.[35]  Map showing the locations of the red, yellow, and green zones.[36]  Wreckage found in each zone corresponded to specific areas of the aircraft.[36]  The pathways the wreckage took as it fell to the ocean.[36]

Pieces of wreckage were transported by boat to shore and then by truck to leased hangar space at the former Grumman Aircraft facility in Calverton, New York for storage, examination, and reconstruction.^[30] This facility became the command center and headquarters for the investigation.^[29] NTSB and FBI personnel were present to observe all transfers to preserve the evidentiary value of the wreckage.^[37] The Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder were recovered by U.S. Navy divers a week after the accident; they were immediately shipped to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C., for readout.^[38] The victims were transported to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office in Hauppauge, New York.^[39]