TWA 800, 11 Years Ago Today

[RDU-JFK]

Hard to believe it's been 11 years since the July 17, 1996 crash.

What a tragedy. Are the conspiracy theories still going with the missile?

[moose135]

Yes...sorry Fred.

Time does fly, I still remember it like it was yesterday.

[Speedbird1]

I remember it well. A terrible tragedy for all. Many young college students were heading for fun in Paris. I have 3 questions. I forgot what happened to the retrieved airframe. I think it was re-constructed in a hangar. Was it disassembled later? What was the exact cause? Was it an explosion of a fuel tank?

[Delta777LR]

From what I understand, its still unknown what coursed the explosin of TWA800, N93119. I was 14 years old when it went down the Atlantic Ocean and i have just came back from Switzerland on a Swissair flight a week before the crash and i still think of what is as e blew the plane up. Heres a drawing I did last year on the computer about TWA800

[AirtrafficController]

Hard to believe it's been 11 years since the July 17, 1996 crash.

What a tragedy. Are the conspiracy theories still going with the missile?

yep they are still alive as people still saw a trail of light heading toward the TWA 747 but the FBI says it says after the nose broke off, the rest of the plane made an almost vertical climb and this is what the FBI believes is the trail of light the people saw.

I remember it well. A terrible tragedy for all. Many young college students were heading for fun in Paris. I have 3 questions. I forgot what happened to the retrieved airframe. I think it was re-constructed in a hangar. Was it disassembled later? What was the exact cause? Was it an explosion of a fuel tank?

The exact cause believed is an explosion in the fuel tank. The TWA 747 Flight 800 was delayed and had to sit on the tarmac for about an hour or more. The AC kept the passengers cool on that hot day but heated up the fuel tanks. The fuel tanks had heated up so much that the fuel reached a flash point. After take off and climbing to its crusing altitude, one of the wires arched which provided the spark for the explosion.

A tragedy that could of been avoided.

[Nycfly75]

I remember it very well. In fact I left for Italy the very next day and my mom was so nervous that I was going. Two newlyweds from my town In Italy were returning home on Flight 800, it was a very sad scene once I got to Italy, the whole town was in mourning. In terms of the missile theories, many people on Eastern LI will swear to this day that they saw a missile going up. Although I think the fuel tank theory probably was the cause, I never fully trusted James Kalstrom of the FBI, he looked like a deceptive person and I still think to this day he hasnt been totally honest.

[AirtrafficController]

Here are some videos of TWA 800 if anyone is interested:

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[T-Bird76]

Well its certainly interesting that ten's of thousands of 747 flights before that one and never once the same incident...747's just don't blow up and TWA's mx was impeccable on the older birds. I've spoken to TWA tech's who worked on that bird and they swear it is was impossible for something like that to happen and these guys knew those planes in and out.

Regardless of what did take place over 200 ppl were lost for no reason. It serves as a reminder that sometimes technology, mistakes, or even extremism can play a role in everyone's life.

[T-Bird76]

From what I understand, its still unknown what coursed the explosin of TWA800, N93119. I was 14 years old when it went down the Atlantic Ocean and i have just came back from Switzerland on a Swissair flight a week before the crash and i still think of what is as e blew the plane up. Heres a drawing I did last year on the computer about TWA800

Oh Sergio btw it was 31 series 747 as she was orginally delivered to TWA fresh from Boeing, 31 was TWA's customer code from Boeing, 747-131.

[NIKV69]

I agree with Tommy, I think the people that designed the 747 didn't run wires in a place that if they frayed they could ignite vapors in the center fuel tank. I believe a missle took that plane down. Many saw it and it wasn't the trail after the nose broke off.

R.I.P.

[Derf]

I have seen the wreckage, the fuel tank tried to become round, then tore
like an overpressure balloon. There were no burn marks on the outside of the
fuel take like you would see from missile detonation, there were no inward
rips.

With as many people say different stories, my words will go unnoticed. I
stood there in front of people much smarter than me and found answers that
put to rest anyone who tells me their friend saw, or I know for fact.....

Thousands of people working on this aircraft were doing it for the good of all
of us and would love to uncover a so called conspiracy. I feel secure that we
know the truth..... well, that's me at least!

[hiss srq]

Having seen it from a distance on that night though I was 9 or 10 years old at the time, I never recalled a vapor streak which would be consistant with getting shot down. I beleive that it was infact the pack generated heat along with a spark from potentally frayed wires. I am not intimately familliar with the layout of the bundles for the various systems on the 747-100 series airplane but it is most feaseable and logical to me. The MOA was hot that night and a little known fact is there was a spooky bird in the area at the time along with a pair of Vipers running around the area from what I do understand. This goes along with the fact that the gaurd blackhawk was in the area and thios crew became mysteriously silent in the days after 800 took place. It it entirely possible that maybe the spooky bird or the viper fired a stray round and it did hit the plane from a few people know are familliar with the incident. Maybe the Vipers but again I do not think that anyone of us are qualified to truely say anything except for stick with the NTSP findings. I do recall being in the hottub at my biological dads house in Amityville which was on the bay with a very clear and unobstructed view though. All JFK eastbounders were climbing over his house that night.

[kc2aqg]

I also find it hard to believe it's been 11 years. I was 12 when it happened and I remember watching the news, my mom in tears, the images of the Atlantic ocean on fire and the almost instant conspiracy theories with witnesses seeing streaks of light. It's amazing how vivid the memories are from so long ago.

I have to agree with Tommy in the regard that 747 classics have been flying since 1969 and this has not been a wide-spread problem. If this was truly a design flaw with the wiring of the fuel tank in all of the 747-100 series, a bunch of which are still operating with cargo operators etc, then wouldn't it seem that there would be more incidents of this kind with these aircraft? I'm not a conspiracy theorist nor am I totally convinced by the evidence either way (missile vs. fuel tank explosion), but I do know for a fact that there aren't a huge number of 747's exploding in mid-air...

A very sad incident indeed, whatever the cause...

[hiss srq]

Flight 800's direct sister ship which was as a note also orig. for TWA crashed under similar circumstances if I am not mistaken though with the Iranian Air Force.

[kc2aqg]

I thought that I had read that too, but was never able to get anyone credible to confirm if the circumstances of the incident were the same...