WII-6 TWA Flight 800 - Plane Crash Sites on Waymarking.com

    On July 17, 1996, at about 8:31 p.m. eastern daylight time, Trans World Airlines, Inc. (TWA) flight 800, a Boeing 747-131, aircraft registration number N93119, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean about eight miles from East Moriches, New York. TWA flight 800 was traveling from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York, New York, to Charles DeGaulle International Airport, Paris, France. The flight departed JFK at about 8:19 p.m., with 2 pilots, 2 flight engineers, 14 flight attendants, and 212 passengers on board. All 230 people on board were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan.

I didn't take this, but its pretty much what we saw when we arrived on site.

    Witnesses saw an explosion and then debris descending to the ocean. The flight crew did not report a problem to air traffic control before the explosion. The airplane was manufactured in November 1971. It had accumulated about 93,303 flight hours and 16,869 cycles.

    The investigation into the explosion of TWA Flight 800 was the longest and most expensive accident investigation in American history. The investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the crash occurred as the result of an explosion of the center wing fuel tank (CWT), resulting from ignition of the flammable fuel/air mixture in the tank. The source of ignition energy for the explosion could not be determined with certainty, but, of the sources evaluated by the investigation, the NTSB concluded that the most likely source was a short circuit outside of the CWT that allowed excessive voltage to enter it through electrical wiring associated with the fuel quantity indication system. The NTSB found that contributing factors to the explosion of TWA Flight 800 were the design and certification concept that fuel tank explosions could be prevented solely by precluding all ignition sources. The NTSB also pointed to the design of the Boeing 747, with heat sources located beneath the CWT with no means to reduce the heat transferred into the CWT or to render the fuel vapor in the tank nonflammable. Due to the recommendations made by the NTSB concerning possible causes of the explosion of TWA Flight 800, the FAA in February 2004 began the process of ordering airlines to install a fuel tank inerting system in most of their aircraft.

    The NTSB concluded that there was no evidence of a missile or bomb detonation. The FBI agreed that there had been no criminal act after examining all the plane's wreckage that had been recovered and interviewing thousands of individuals.

    Some people do not agree with the conclusions drawn by the NTSB. Partly influenced by the fact that the explosion took place two days before the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, where a bomb exploded ten days later, many thought that the explosion was an act of terrorism. Many witnesses reported seeing something ascend into the sky, which some find consistent with a missile. Others have come to believe that a United States Navy vessel operating in the region was responsible for damaging the plane. Other have given theories pertaining to electromagnetic interference.

To log this one, visit the Moriches Bay Flight #800 Memorial Park at:
N40°48.0265
W72°46.512
There's even a playground for the kids.

(Coords for the main crash site, are extrapolated from radar returns from the FAA ISP radar site at Islip, NY, as being roughly 7.75 miles south & 21.5 miles east.)