WHO can ever forget that July day, 10 ½ years ago, when we all woke up to the news that Flight 800, a TWA 747 bound to Paris, had crashed within minutes of taking off from JFK, killing all 230 people on-board?
What most of us may not recall, what with all the speculation, explanations and conspiracy theories that abounded, is that after thousands of man-hours of investigation by both the National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI, the actual cause still remains a mystery.
The investigators know that the plane’s center fuel tank exploded. They are also sure that it was caused by the scarcity of fuel in the tank (only 50 gallons) which left a tremendous amount of space for vapors to heat up while the plane sat on the ground for three hours before takeoff.
What they still don’t know, and probably will never know, is what ignited those vapors. They simply could not explode without a spark, a fire, something.
Tonight’s “The Final Report: Investigation of TWA Flight 800” on National Geographic Channel presents a brilliant, well-researched look into what the investigators found – and what they didn’t find.
The show details the animosity that existed from day one between the NTSB and the FBI.
The NTSB is usually the final word in all air crashes. But because a number of eyewitnesses on the ground saw streaks flying towards the aircraft right before it exploded, and air traffic controllers reporting blips around the aircraft, the FBI came in and took over the investigation, calling it a possible crime.
There were immediately three prevailing theories. One was friendly fire. The US Navy runs weapons training exercises in a 300-mile-wide swath near the flight path.
The second held that it could have been terrorists with ground-to-air missiles.
The third was that there had been a bomb on board.
The producers interview most of the players in the investigation including eyewitnesses; Robert Francis, the former chairman of the NTSB who was not happy to have the FBI crawling over his investigation; James Kallstrom of the FBI, who knew that 747s just don’t randomly blow up; Leon Panetta, then-White House Chief of Staff; as well as cops who dove for the wreckage, like Vincente Termine.
After this show, you may trust the government even less than you do now. Or you may think they are as honest as they possibly could be in simply admitting that they just don’t know.
Whatever you conclude, you won’t conclude that National Geographic didn’t do a very thorough job. Great reporting.
“The Final Report:
Investigation of TWA
Flight 800″
Tonight at 8 on National Geographic Channel