10 SEPTEMBER 2019ÇPlane&Pilot
BACKGROUND
On July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747-
with 230 passengers and crew on board, exploded
mid-air shortly after takeoff. Th e fl ight was sched-
uled to depart JFK International Airport for Paris’
Charles de Gaulle Airport at 7 p.m. EDT but was
delayed by over an hour due to issues with ground
equipment and a problem that gate agents had
in matching luggage to one of the passengers. It
eventually departed in dusk conditions at 8:
p.m. Weather in the area was calm, with light
wind, scattered clouds and visibility greater than
10 nm, so it's safe to assume that weather wasn't
a factor. After takeoff from Kennedy, the pilots
were issued a series of altitude and directional
changes by ATC. Th e pilots' last communication
with ATC was with Boston Center, at 8:30 p.m.,
confi rming a climb to one-fi ve-thousand. Less
than a minute later, the plane exploded. Its fi ery
debris rained down into the Atlantic Ocean, justoutside East Moriches, New York. Th ere were
no survivors.NTSB FINDINGS
Despite initial concerns, on November 18, 1997,
the FBI concluded that the incident wasn’t a
result of terrorist activity. Th e investigation was
then continued by the NTSB, which released its
fi ndings on August 23, 2000. According to the
report, the most probable cause was ignition of
a fl ammable fuel/air mixture in the center wing
fuel tank. Th e energy source of the spark ignit-
ing the explosion was never able to be conclu-
sively determined, but according to the report, a
short circuit outside the tank most likely allowed
infi ltration of voltage through wiring of the fuel
quantity indication system. Several indicators of
electrical anomalies were noted prior to the explo-
sion, backing the NTSB’s fi ndings. For example,
about 10 minutes after takeoff , the cockpit voiceMYSTERIES OF FLIGHT
BY DESIREE KOCISTWA Flight 800
What caused the 747 to explode mid-air in 1996?
Over the course
of many months,
investigators
painstakingly
reassembled the
recovered debris
from the Boeing 747,
TWA Flight 800, that
exploded over the
Atlantic Ocean
in 1996.