1997 Cable News Network, Inc. I worked on a ground crew at JFK that day and watched Flight 800 take off while on a rest break. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting. At 8:31 PM and 11 miles south of Long Island, NY, the CWT exploded while the 747 was climbing towards its assigned 15,000 foot altitude. They also essentially pieced 95% of the plane back together over a 30-month span. The 230 people on board Trans World Airlines Flight 800 perished. 2012 Apr;83(4):412-7. doi: 10.3357/asem.3155.2012. Investigators were focusing. The airplanes oddly stained upholstery brought to light by TWAs chief 747 pilot Robert Terrell Stacey also proved to have a less than salacious origin. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/re-open-investigation-twa-800-plane-crash/L57zGrMM. Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited. Governmentsare commontargets for conspiracy theories, according to Goertzel. He turned to Borjesson, whom hed met about a year after the crash. During the investigation, FBI officials demanded full control over photographsand were inconsistently inventorying, handling and analyzingaircraft components, NTSB officials said. made public Sunday on the Web. Passenger List: TWA Flight 800 - The Washington Post But it is all that remains of Trans World Airlines' Flight 800, the Paris-bound jetliner that crashed shortly after takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport 25 years ago . In the early days it seemed very likely that a terrorist bomb was responsible. External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. Kallstrom said that three cargo bays have been located about 12 miles from the Long Island shore. Careers. He says fatal incidents tend to occur when an airplane is unintentionally flown into violent weather, usually a thunderstorm or, very rarely, some form of severe clear air turbulence (CAT). Then the NTSBs Final Report stated there was No evidence of any engine uncontainment. The tragedy would remain part of Borjessons life for the next 17 years, the subject of her own on-again, off-again investigation. May 1st National College Baseball Rankings, LSU Report, LSU Centerfielder Dylan Crews Named SEC Player Of The Week, Video: Introducing 2023 SI Swimsuit Model Olivia Dunne, No. They really did create a perception that nobody had a clue of what had happened, Miller said. With only 50 gallons inside the nearly 13,000 gallon tank, the NTSB knew there were fewer fuel molecules in the air than would be ideal for ignition. The material's Both camps agreed on a government coverup. On July 17,1996, a Boeing 747 exploded in midair off the coast of Long Island. My position is very vulnerable, she says. EVEN AFTER THE MYSTERY OF what happened to TWA Flight 800 is eventually solved, images of the 230 passengers who died . Unfortunately, no one seems to have interviewed these pilots; including FAA, FBI, media, etc. "We want to know the ignition source on TWA In the Voice I reported on a naval warship seen off Long Island earlier that afternoon that the Navy, FBI and National Transportation Safety Board all declined to comment on. CIA Report-What Really Happened to TWA Flight 800 Families of victims, along with members of the FBI and National Transportation Safety Board, gathered at the . I saw none, and the real experts, who were much better at it than I, saw nothing either. A while later, the guys came out and said: go into the break room; a T-Way (TWA) 747 crashed off Long Island. Witnesses in the area of the crash reported seeing an explosion in the night sky, followed by a shower of flaming debris. Coughlin has said. It ended upa topic of discussion at a Sept. 16 NTSB news briefing on Long Island after media outlets began to investigate. In 1998, Borjesson was invited to produce a segment on TWA Flight 800 for the pilot program of a new television series called Declassified, to be hosted by Oliver Stone. The finger-pointing and varyinginterpretations of the data between officials at the federal agencies added to the uncertainty, Miller said. The two camps agreed on a government cover-up. Purported evidence of a missile strike dried up. Still, doubt lingered. Ted Goertzel, emeritus professor of sociology at Rutgers Universitysaid the internethas beena game changer for conspiracy theory consumption and evolution. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Following its final report on the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board issued several safety recommendations including regular maintenance programs and design standards for fuel tanks. Bookshelf One such missile, it is contended, struck TWA Flight 800, causing it to break apart and crash into the Atlantic Ocean, killing everyone aboard. A new documentary featuring former investigators from several organizations is calling for the National Transportation Safety Board to reopen the investigation into why TWA Flight 800 exploded . 47 of the 230 people on board the 747 may not have been Ultimately,NTSB officials provedthat an electrical short could have sparked flammable vapor trappedin a nearly empty fuel tank and concluded that it was the likely cause of Flight 800's demise. Theflight from New York City to Rome with a stop inParis broke apart and fell into the ocean below. TWA 800 investigators stand their ground | CNN Results: If you look at the history of my career, you can see just how vulnerable I am. Stalcup is a bit less cautious. Russell's messagewasmeant for an inner circle of aviation experts but wasleaked online. Someone says, 'I wonder if X happened,' "Goertzel said. Russellfollowed up his claimwith a radar tapehe said amounted to proof of a rocket strike. Please sign and share! By Marc Peyser On 7/28/96 at 8:00 PM EDT. The NTSB conducted simulations trying to recreate the TWA Flight 800 Investigators Claim the Official Crash Story Is a Lie It was like hot oil was poured on my brain. They are expected to last about a week. 1 LSU Sweeps Alabama With 13-11 Sunday Victory, Tigers Clinch Alabama Series With 12-8 Victory, Golfer Paige Spiranac Is Looking For A Date, Lame Golf Course Fight Between Some Pace Of Play Hardos and Group They Kept Hitting Into, MMA Fighter Sammy-Jo Luxton Shows Us Her Non-Fighting Side, 'Top Chef' Host Padma Lakshmi Poses For Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, J.J. Watt and His Wife Release Video Announcement About Their New Project/Investment, Nick Saban Throws Shade At Nate Oats While Announcing The Suspension Of DB Tony Mitchell, Eight SEC Teams Make NCAA Tournament, Here's The Seedings & Schedules, Chris Beard Officially Named Head Coach At Ole Miss, Former Texas Coach Chris Beard Emerges As A Top Candidate For The Ole Miss Job, SI Predicts Three Permanent Opponents For Each SEC Team If League Moves To Nine-Game Model, Olivia Dunne Talks About Her Relationship With Paige Spiranac, Georgia Player Makes Racist Comments During NFL Draft. The U.S Navy is always believed to be the . Henry Hughes, a senior accident investigator with the NTSB,was among the group that in 2013 unsuccessfully petitioned the NTSB to reinvestigate the crash. Petitioners from a high-profile group called The TWA 800 Project claimed a detonation or high-velocity explosion caused the crash. NTSB created a special Web site to disseminate the data. Michael Barkun, professor emeritus of political science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School, saidinternet forums and social media platforms have served asmass media outlets withoutgatekeepers. Thank you four your courage and determined research. Below is a list of those on board, according to family, friends or officials . So the appearance of a missile was basically an optical illusion.. never pinpointed, what they have learned can make air travel CIA Report-What Really Happened to TWA Flight 800 (44) 14min 2017 ALL On July 17th, 1996, The U.S had one of its most deadly aviation accidents in history when Trans World Airlines Flight 800 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Hundreds of victims' families, journalists and lawyers are CNN - What happened to Flight 800? - July 19, 1996 The investigation of the crash of T.W.A. listen and learn about the most expensive and extensive air America's first mass shooting:70 years ago, an NJ WWII veteran killed 13 of his neighbors. Investigators say the plane broke. I also reported on a piece of the leading edge of one wing with a series of holes punched in it, damage that the NTSB never explained. Among the dead were 18 crew members and 212 passengers, including 16 students and five chaperones from Pennsylvania's Montoursville Area High School French Club. Although the cause could not be established, it said, it was most likely the result of a short circuit in the electrical wiring outside the tank. The purpose of the present study, which represents the first analysis of aviation injuries incurred during a midflight incident, was to examine the injuries sustained by the victims of the TWA Flight 800 disaster and to determine any correlation of injuries with structural . The cargo area has been the site of explosives in past bombings, including that of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. What caused it, we don't know.". experiments conducted to test explosion theories that the alsifying TWA Flight 800 Missile Theory.docx - Surname 1 But there was no mention by the pilots of any missile smoke trail coming up and only two going down. On July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747-131 with 230 passengers and crew on board, exploded mid-air shortly after takeoff. In the NTSBs and FAAs archives of civilian aircraft fuel tank explosions or fires since the 1950s, the agencies blame only one crash on an electrical spark in a fuel tank TWA Flight 800. In 2000, following what the NTSB described as the most extensive and complex probe in its history, the safety board de- termined that TWA Flight 800 was brought down by an explosion of the center wing fuel tank. NTSB officials quickly said the initial evidence surrounding the crash of Flight 800 did notpoint to an outside explosive device. Another photo that appeared to show an object near the airplaneshowed debris on the film surface,FBI officials said. Those who challenge government actions for the right reasons could be forever barred from political office unjustly by this law. investigators who suspect that volatile vapors collecting in Almost immediately there was speculation that the plane had been the target of a terrorist attack, with many claiming theyd spotted what appeared to be a missile heading toward the plane just before it exploded. Saturday Marks 25th Anniversary Of TWA Flight 800 Crash That, he says, is much faster than if there had been a fuel tank explosion. TWA Flight 800 conspiracy theories are discredited alternative explanations of the crash of Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA 800) in 1996. Twenty-five years later, the questions and conspiracies live on. "Two things are driving our investigation," NTSB Chairman The electrical resistance inside the tank would likely have stopped any stray voltage in its tracks. 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The personal investment involved in accepting or progressing conspiracy theories can make them tough to dismiss, said Barkun, of Syracuse. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Critical analysis of injuries sustained in the TWA flight 800 midair It is the first film, she says, to focus entirely on the forensic evidence, and it disputes the conclusions of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which spent four years investigating the accident. "It's like a car smashing into a brick wall at 400 m.p.h.," said Suffolk County Medical Examiner Charles Wetli. I reported on the crash and investigation for the Fairfield County Weekly and then for the Village Voice. What Caused TWA Flight 800 To Explode Mid-Air? WHO can ever forget that July day, 10 years ago, when we all woke up to the news that Flight 800, a TWA 747 bound to Paris, had crashed within minutes . Lesley Kennedy is a features writer and editor living in Denver. This was an investigation that was corrupted and undermined, says Borjesson. The aim, according to Francis, is to raise two of the four engines by the end of the week. TWA Flight 800 conspiracy theories linger 25 years later Background: Previous reports of commercial airline disasters have reviewed incidents occurring at takeoff and landing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation considered potential terrorist links and began a criminal investigation. The descending streak of light and smaller smoke trail seen by pilots and other witnesses on land, was most likely engine #3 (right inboard, next to CWT) after it separated from the aircraft and fell, burning, rearward into the sea, miles short of the main debris field. No shrapnel damage or other evidence of external sourced fuselage penetration. Wreckage from TWA Flight 800 to be destroyed 25 years after crash Analysis of injuries following the crash of Avianca Flight 52. The autopsies had not found any physical or chemical evidence on the victims' bodies that proved that a bomb brought down the jumbo jet with 230 people aboard, Wetli said. And it really tore my guts out, because I was so happy at CBS. The Federal Bureau of Investigation considered potential terrorist links and began a criminal investigation. and four passengers definitely weren't killed by the The animated simulations are based on the best guesses of the The NTSB's probe has already cost more than Several people then claimed these witness reports were evidence of Friendly Fire by a missile from a Navy vessel or a terrorist attack. It was the first to be picked up and widely circulated online.. $27 million, and the investigation is expected to last well The way the theoriesgerminate nonetheless remainsrelatively standard. This is called a lean mixture. Later I interviewed Tom Dougherty, a retired supervisor for Suffolk County, who said he had heard two explosions, then seen a streak of light like a flare or fireworks shoot up to the south as he left a restaurant close to the ocean in East Quogue. In addition, other witnesses reported they only saw flaming objects falling from the sky and most only after hearing the sound of an explosion; more than one minute after the event. In contrast to injuries incurred during crashes at takeoff and landing, these midflight injuries were too extreme to warrant a reappraisal of current passenger protective safety measures or standards. CORONER: TWA VICTIMS DIED AT ONCE - Chicago Tribune Related stories became national, even international news, resulting in TV shows and books. However, the eyewitness accounts of something fired toward the plane are out there. Initially, I was sure the NTSB investigators interviewed these pilots and came to the same conclusion. On July 7, 2021, 25 years following the crash, the NTSB will decommission the wreckage, which will be destroyed by the end of 2022. Id just won an Emmy for investigative reporting, and I was on a roll.. The data, released on the eve of public hearings on the That has eroded what was once a firm boundary between the fringe and the mainstream., Accidents that changed aviation: Controlling in-flight fires and more. Investigators say the plane broke up at 13,700 feet, then burst into flames at 9,000 feet, falling into the Atlantic just east of Long Island. Borjesson, who holds a masters from Columbia Universitys School of Journalism, has produced for networks such as CBS, CNN, PBS, and Arte in France. They showed that temperatures in the center fuel tank of the It is the first film, she says, to focus entirely on the forensic evidence, and it disputes the conclusions of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which spent four years investigating the accident. Why are TWA Flight 800 conspiracies still around 25 years later? Moreover, contrary evidence can easily be dismissed as another stage in the alleged conspiracy'scoverup. Also in the plane's forward section was its center fuel tank, which was nearly empty, according to James Kallstrom, the assistant director of the FBI. The video was used to explain eyewitness accounts of the explosion, which killed all 230 people aboard. Moreover, contrary evidence can easily be dismissed as another stage in the alleged conspiracy'scoverup. Corroborating evidence is nice but not necessary. . In-depth: How the FBI played a role in the capture of Princess Latifa of Dubai. . That was by design. They allowunconventionalideas toquickly become mainstream. time after the explosion. In an effort to test the mechanical failure scenario, NTSB investigators will examine the area around the tank, where fumes could have ignited and exploded during flight, according to officials. Twenty-five years later some conspiracies still linger. As long as there is ambiguity surrounding the crash, conspiracy theories will remain, Barkun said. Four unidentified surface vessels were picked up on aircraft radar, suggesting the vessels were large. Shane Miller, a professor at St. Johns University in Minnesota who researched the conspiracy theories surrounding the crash, said the Flight 800 conspirators used the web in novel ways. NEW YORK (CNN) -- Officials repeatedly warned Thursday against speculating on the cause of the crash of TWA Flight 800 -- but people asked the question, anyway. Today's breaking news and more in your inbox. . Governmentsare commontargets for conspiracy theories, Goertzel said. They also rely on an inherently implausible claim of a coverupby government agencies that don't really have a very good record of covering things up.. In this case, Russellsaid a longtime friend said he had radar footage that showed a missile traveling toward the plane just before the crash. Following the NTSB's ruling, the plane was used in training plane crash investigators and families of the victims were allowed to visit it, although it was never opened to the public. I created a petition to see about opening this investigation back up. During the investigation, FBI officials demanded full control over photographsand were inconsistently inventorying, handling and analyzingaircraft components, NTSB officials said. explosion. Shortly after that, two men visited me one night and told me to cease my unqualified efforts as it might prove harmful. I did till now. The film stops short of theorizing about the source of the streaking objects seen by eyewitnesses. The material's status changed two weeks ago when the FBI announced it had found no evidence that a bomb or missile brought down the plane. The film says the plane was brought down not by a fuel tank explosion,. During the NTSB's four-year investigation, federal officialsobtained signed certifications from U.S. military chains of command running crash area assets, training exercises and armaments capable of reaching the aircraft. Michael Barkun, professor emeritus of political science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School, saidinternet forums and social media platforms have served asmass media outlets withoutgatekeepers. Victim fragmentation patterns and seat location supplements crash data: American Airlines flight 587. Families file suit against government claiming TWA Flight 800 was TWA 800: The Crash, the Cover-Up, and the Conspiracy The FBI checked out hundreds of boats, yet wasnt able to identify those four? There are so many papers "it would take a moving van" to get As quickly as the wreckage plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, questions arose. As recently as July 2014, NTSB officials had to publicly respond to requests to reconsider its findings in the investigation of the 1996 crash. A private memorial service for the families of the victims of the 1996 TWA Flight 800 explosion is being held on Saturday, 25 years after the disaster that killed 230 people and just before. One early version posted online alleged that the crash resulted from an attack designed to killHenry Kissinger, who was not on board. Here are some top priorities, What CT colleges could do in response to state budget shortfalls. ABC canceled the show. The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Haar: Lamont deflects demands to spend CT surplus on education, Why a New York business wants to move its headquarters to CT, The CT legislature has 500 bills. Former Obama pilot: TWA Flight 800 was not blown up by a faulty fuel It was a watershed moment for me, as I have never looked at another news story the same way since. Although the source that led to the explosion was never discovered, the investigation concluded the crashs cause was not a terrorist attack, but an electrical failure that ignited a nearly empty center wing fuel tank in the 25-year-old aircraft. Michael Marx, a former metallurgist with the NTSB, saidFBI personnel unreasonably pushed thesabotage theories, even after a January 1997 report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms pegged the cause as a mechanical failure. Of the accidents that have occurred, spontaneous explosions in mid-air have always been responsible for a very small percentage of the total.. Borjesson says her documentary is the first film to focus entirely on the forensics of the plane crash, and it disputes the NTSBs conclusions. Russellfollowed up his claimwith a radar tapehe said amounted to proof of a rocket strike. On the dayof the crash, witnesses said they saw astreakof light near the plane and one or more explosions near the aircraft. Read selected portions of the NTSB report, TWA Flight 800: The Crash and Investigation, FBI concludes no criminal evidence in TWA 800 crash, FBI previews TWA Flight 800 evidence with families, Nose gear doors baffle TWA crash investigators, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). TWA Flight 800 victims' families still hurt 25 years after explosion One allegedthe plane may have been struck by fragments of a meteor that broke up as it entered the Earths atmosphere. The one that took off was anAugust 1996 America Online postclaiming the airplane was shot down by a U.S. Navy guided-missile ship.The information came from Richard Russell, a 66-year-old former United Airlines pilot and safety representativefor theAir Line Pilots Association. The plane, en route to France from New York, crashed shortly after takeoff, claiming the lives of all those aboard, including Montoursville Area High School students and their chaperones. It was really the first conspiracy of the internet age, Miller said. "@EricRWeinstein What about all the witnesses that swore they saw a missile hit TWA flight 800? Pilot interviews should have been standard procedure for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Purported evidence of a missile strike dried up. According to Oakley, the 25 years following the tragic Flight 800 crash have included the safest years in U.S. commercial aviation history. She won Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Awards in 1995 for investigative reporting for the documentary Legacy of Shame, about migrant farmworkers in the United States, and she was nominated for an Emmy for the Castro documentary, The Last Revolutionary. Ultimately, NTSB officials proved that an electrical short could have sparked flammable vapor trapped in a nearly empty fuel tank and concluded that was the likely cause of Flight 800's demise.. plane. He believes he uncovered the smoking gun: Federal Aviation Administration radar data showing unexplained debris flying away from the plane at four times the speed of sound. TWA flight 800: Plane's reconstructed wreckage to be destroyed 25 years She says she felt a responsibility to the retired investigators and the eyewitnesses who participated in the documentary, as well as to the flying public and the victims families. The reconstructed wreckage of TWA Flight 800, painstakingly reassembled as part of the investigation into what happened to the Boeing 747, is set to be destroyed following the 25th anniversary of . All 230 aboard were killed. The documentary features several members of the original investigation team, along with eyewitnesses to the crash. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. "That center part of the aircraft is of interest," said Francis. National Library of Medicine NTSB officials had to publicly respond to requests to reconsider its findings in the investigation, WCBS interviews Mike Kelly about the 25th anniversary of TWA Flight 800, A final, up-close look at the wreckage of TWA Flight 800, 70 years ago, an NJ WWII veteran killed 13 of his neighbors, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. It was the first to be picked up and widely circulated online.. Watch the trailer of Kristina Borjesson's documentary TWA Flight 800. NTSB officials said any internal speculation into bomb and missile theories dried up within months. Analysis of the data revealed no global correlation between seat position and pattern of injury. The NTSB was never able to pin-point the precise cause, but it was clear that it was from within the tank.. plane. I think it was the CWT explosion. A U.S. government inquiry determined that a mixture of fuel and air had ignited accidentally within a fuel tank . Baggage and other items normally stored in the front section of the plane have been discovered in a debris field closest to John F. Kennedy International Airport, from where the Paris-bound jet departed, further buttressing investigators' belief that the explosion was in that part of the plane. Soon EPIX was on board, agreeing to fund and broadcast the documentary. NTSB officials said any internal speculation on bomb and missile theories dried up within months.