TWA Flight 800

Coordinates: 40°38'57"N 72°38'13"W

Trans World Airlines Flight 800

The reconstructed wreckage of TWA 800, formerly stored by the
NTSB at Calverton Executive Airpark prior to it being scrapped

Accident
Date: July 17, 1996
Summary: In-flight breakup due to explosion in centre wing fuel tank caused by short circuit
Site Atlantic Ocean, near East Moriches, New York, United States
40°38'57"N 72°38'13"W

Aircraft

N93119, the aircraft involved in the accident, in May 1995

Aircraft type: Boeing 747-131
Operator: Trans World Airlines
IATA flight No.: TW800
ICAO flight No.: TWA800
Call sign: TWA 800
Registration: N93119
Flight origin: John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport, New York City, United States
Stopover: Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
Destination: Leonardo da Vinci Airport, Rome, Italy
Occupants: 230
Passengers: 212
Crew: 18
Fatalities: 230
Survivors: 0

Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (known as TW800 or TWA800) was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United States, to Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, with a stopover at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. On July 17, 1996, at approximately 8:31 p.m. EDT, twelve minutes after takeoff, the Boeing 747-100 exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, United States. 

All 230 people on board died in the crash; it is the third-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history. Accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) traveled to the scene, arriving the following morning  amid speculation that a terrorist attack was the cause of the crash. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and New York Police Department Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) initiated a parallel criminal investigation. Sixteen months later, the JTTF announced that no evidence of a criminal act had been found 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 up to that time. The report's conclusion was that the probable cause of the accident was the explosion of flammable fuel vapors in the center fuel tank. Although it could not be determined with certainty, the likely ignition source was a short circuit.  Problems with the aircraft's wiring were found, including evidence of arcing in the fuel quantity indication system (FQIS) wiring that enters the tank. The FQIS on Flight 800 is known to have been malfunctioning; the captain remarked about "crazy" readings from the system about two minutes and 30 seconds before the aircraft exploded. As a result of the investigation, new requirements were developed for aircraft to prevent future fuel-tank explosions.

{snip}