TWA 800 'Missile' Theory Probed
Faced with nagging theories that TWA Flight 800 was brought down by a missile, federal investigators last month test-fired missiles to determine just what witnesses might have been able to see on the night of the crash.
The 1996 crash off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., that killed 230 people is believed to have resulted from an explosion of the Boeing 747's center fuel tank and no evidence of a missile has ever been found.
But eyewitness reports of streaks of light seen nearby on the night of the crash have continued to plague investigators and to feed ongoing conspiracy theories.
In an effort to determine what might have been visible, investigators arranged for the test firings of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles last month at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Paul Schlamm said Thursday.
A final report on the results won't be complete for a few weeks, he said, and any analysis will not be released until the board meets in August to analyze the crash and try to determine a final cause.
The tests have been described as "dotting the i's and crossing the t's and that's a good way of looking at it," Schlamm said. He quoted other board staff members as stressing that the tests should not be construed as indicating that there are any new findings in the investigation.
Schlamm said the test firings were done in similar weather and lighting conditions to those on July 17, 1996, when the disaster occurred just after the plane left New York.
Video cameras recorded the missile firings at various locations around the base, roughly at the same distances as the witnesses on Long Island. Observers were interviewed after each launch.
Numerous witnesses saw streaks of light in the sky the night of the crash, but investigators have said they have no physical evidence of a bomb or missile. Some investigators have speculated that the streaks might have been caused by burning debris from the plane itself.
Shortly after the crash, the board determined that the plane's nearly empty center fuel tank exploded, but they have not determined a source of ignition. One possibility that has been discussed is electrical wiring passing near or through the fuel tank.
Schlamm said that during the investigation, NTSB workers and others were going through summaries of witness statements provided by the FBI. The question arose as to what they could possibly have seen, he said, so the tests were done.
Investigators suspect an electrical fault ignited fuel vapors in the Boeing 747s nearly empty center fuel tank, breaking the plane apart and sending it into the sea.
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