Explosive Proof: TWA Flight 800

Explosive Proof: TWA Flight 800

On July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800 took off from JFK Airport in New York, en route to Rome with a stopover in Paris. The Boeing 747 jumbo jet with 212 passengers and 18 crew members exploded shortly after takeoff, killing all on board. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Bureau of investigation launched simultaneous investigations into possible mechanical failure or terrorist attack. Following years of painstaking examination, which included reassembling many pieces of the heavily destroyed aircraft inside a hanger and following various theories, the cause was attributed to an explosion inside a fuel tank due to an electrical short circuit in wiring.