TWA Flight 800 Disaster

TWA 800 was a 25-year-old Boeing 747-131 (registration number N93119) owned and operated by Trans World Airlines. On July 17, 1996, TWA 800 left JFK Airport on its way to Paris, France. Approximately 13 minutes after take off, Flight 800 exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. All 230 passengers and crew were killed.Following the crash of TWA 800, several theories arose as to what brought down the jumbo jet. At the time, the public and investigators believed that a terrorist bomb had brought down the plane, but as the investigation progressed, a new theory developed. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interviewed over 500 witnesses who claim they saw an object in the sky streaking up towards the plane. Many believed that perhaps a terrorist missile brought down the plane. As the investigation continued, rumors spread that the object the witnesses saw was actually a U.S. Navy missile. The TWA 800 conspiracy was born.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) had a different theory, however. After examining much of the plane and conducting several experiments, the NTSB published its report, blaming the disaster on a spark that ignited jet fuel vapors in the center wing tank, causing a catastrophic explosion that ultimately destroyed the plane.Prior to its departure, TWA 800 was delayed while waiting for ground personnel to locate a "missing" passenger. While the plane sat on the hot tarmac, the air conditioning units kept the passengers cool, but at the same time they were generated tremendous heat. Because the A/C units are located directly underneath the center wing tank, the heat they generated heated the fuel in the center tank. As a liquid, JET A-1 fuel is difficult to ignite, but as a vapor it is highly explosive.Eventually the ground personnel found the "missing" passenger (was already onboard) and TWA 800 left JFK over an hour late. The delay had allowed the fuel in the center wing tank to be heat up to its flash point.As the 747 climbed past 13,000 feet, a short circuit in the plane's tangled and corroded wiring sent high voltage electricity through the fuel probe wires and into the center wing tank. Here the high voltage electricity jumped from a wire on the fuel probe to another metal surface, creating an electrical arc which ignited the fuel vapor. The resulting explosion blew out the front of the tank, then it blew a hole on the bottom of the plane. Unable to cope with the structural damage, the plane's nose broke off. As the nose fell towards the ocean, the rest of the plane (unbalanced by the shift in the center of gravity) pitched up and climbed several thousand feet before stalling and falling back down to earth. Despite the NTSB publishing its report, many still believed that a missile was involved. To this day, the debate as to what brought down TWA Flight 800 rages on.Video from National Geographic's Seconds From Disaster TV series

Channel: Howto & Style
Uploaded: February 9, 2007 at 10:28 pm
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