TWA Flight 800
The reconstructed wreckage of TWA 800, stored by the NTSB, May 1997
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | July 17, 1996 |
| Summary | Fuel tank explosion |
| Site |
Moriches Inlet near East Moriches, New York |
| Passengers | 212 |
| Crew | 18 |
| Fatalities | 230 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-131 |
| Operator | Trans World Airlines |
| Registration | N93119 |
| Flight origin |
John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport New York City |
| Stopover |
Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris |
| Destination |
Leonardo da Vinci Airport Rome |
 Photos of N93119 at Airliners.net
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Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA 800) was a Boeing 747-100 which exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31 p.m. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport on a scheduled international passenger flight to Rome, with a stopover in Paris. All 230 people on board were killed in the third-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. territory.
Accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) traveled to the scene, arriving the following morning, and there was much initial speculation that a terrorist attack was the cause of the crash. Consequently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated a parallel criminal investigation. Sixteen months later, the FBI announced that no evidence had been found of a criminal act and closed its active investigation.
The four-year NTSB investigation concluded with the approval of the Aircraft Accident Report on August 23, 2000, ending the most extensive, complex, and costly air disaster investigation in U.S. history. The report's conclusion was that the probable cause of the accident was an explosion of flammable 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. As a result of the investigation, new requirements were developed for aircraft to prevent future fuel tank explosions.
TWA Flight 800 conspiracy theories exist, the most prevalent being that a missile strike from a terrorist or an accidental launch from a U.S. Navy vessel caused the crash, and is the subject of a government cover-up. However, no external explosion registered on cockpit voice recorder audio before power was cut by the exploding fuel tank.
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