1 00:00:05,375 --> 00:00:08,083 (intense music) 2 00:00:10,208 --> 00:00:13,125 - Tonight, one of the worst aviation disasters 3 00:00:13,208 --> 00:00:14,958 in American history. (explosion) 4 00:00:15,042 --> 00:00:17,500 - Planes don't just disappear from the air. 5 00:00:19,708 --> 00:00:23,833 - 230 people killed when their jetliner explodes off 6 00:00:23,875 --> 00:00:25,417 the Coast of Long Island. 7 00:00:25,500 --> 00:00:28,167 - Virtually, anything on the water in the vicinity is moving 8 00:00:28,333 --> 00:00:30,958 into the rescue area and they're there so quickly 9 00:00:31,042 --> 00:00:32,833 that there's actually falling wreckage 10 00:00:32,917 --> 00:00:34,500 still coming out of the sky. 11 00:00:34,583 --> 00:00:37,917 - We'll uncover the top theories for why the plane blew up. 12 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,542 - Maybe a bomb was placed on this airplane. 13 00:00:40,625 --> 00:00:41,708 - Aircraft fuel tanks are 14 00:00:41,792 --> 00:00:43,458 considered explosive environments 15 00:00:43,542 --> 00:00:46,250 and they have to be isolated from ignition sources. 16 00:00:46,333 --> 00:00:48,292 - Is the US Government engaged 17 00:00:48,375 --> 00:00:50,250 in an actual government coverup? 18 00:00:50,333 --> 00:00:54,167 - And explore new clues that might offer the answers? 19 00:00:54,250 --> 00:00:56,958 - Two missiles fired to hit another target, 20 00:00:57,042 --> 00:00:58,375 but they went awry. 21 00:00:58,500 --> 00:01:01,500 - What really happened to TWA Flight 800? 22 00:01:01,583 --> 00:01:04,208 (intense music) 23 00:01:17,208 --> 00:01:22,167 July 17th, 1996, JFK International Airport. 24 00:01:23,250 --> 00:01:25,583 It's a hot humid summer night in New York City. 25 00:01:25,667 --> 00:01:30,458 TWA Flight 800 sits at the gate awaiting departure. 26 00:01:30,542 --> 00:01:34,583 - TWA 800 had a flight plan to go from New York to Rome 27 00:01:34,708 --> 00:01:36,333 with a layover in Paris. 28 00:01:36,375 --> 00:01:37,833 Onboard the flight that day, 29 00:01:37,917 --> 00:01:40,333 there was a total of 230 people. 30 00:01:40,375 --> 00:01:44,000 There were 192 passengers, 18 crew members, 31 00:01:44,083 --> 00:01:46,250 and 20 off-duty employees. 32 00:01:46,333 --> 00:01:48,167 Most of them, they were there because they were working 33 00:01:48,208 --> 00:01:51,125 the second leg of the flight. (intense music) 34 00:01:51,208 --> 00:01:53,583 - The crew, they are by the book Professional. 35 00:01:53,667 --> 00:01:56,750 Chief Pilot Ralph Kevorkian is experienced 36 00:01:56,833 --> 00:02:00,042 on other aircraft, but he's moved into the biggest airplane 37 00:02:00,167 --> 00:02:03,542 in TWA's fleet the Boeing 747. 38 00:02:04,792 --> 00:02:06,500 - [Laurence] Flight engineer Richard Campbell is 39 00:02:06,583 --> 00:02:08,250 also well-trained. 40 00:02:08,333 --> 00:02:10,583 - Because Richard had reached the age of 60, 41 00:02:10,667 --> 00:02:14,125 which at the time, that was the pilot retirement age, 42 00:02:14,125 --> 00:02:18,458 he decided to stay on with the airline as a flight engineer. 43 00:02:18,542 --> 00:02:20,333 - [Laurence] The first leg of the flight from JFK 44 00:02:20,375 --> 00:02:24,458 to Paris is projected to last just over seven hours, 45 00:02:24,542 --> 00:02:28,625 but the flight is delayed for 62 minutes. 46 00:02:30,083 --> 00:02:32,625 - There was a baggage issue. (intense music) 47 00:02:32,708 --> 00:02:35,500 Apparently, the flight attendants had found a bag 48 00:02:35,625 --> 00:02:38,333 and they were not sure, who the baggage belonged to, 49 00:02:38,417 --> 00:02:41,458 so it took quite a while to match that piece of baggage 50 00:02:41,542 --> 00:02:44,375 to the appropriate passenger. 51 00:02:44,500 --> 00:02:47,500 As you can imagine, the passengers are getting restless. 52 00:02:47,542 --> 00:02:51,125 They're all sitting in the airplane ready to take off. 53 00:02:52,542 --> 00:02:56,333 - [Laurence] At 8:07 PM the crew fires up the engines, 54 00:02:56,417 --> 00:03:01,333 the plane taxis out to the runway, and at 8:19 PM, 55 00:03:02,542 --> 00:03:06,750 TWA Flight 800 takes off into mostly clear skies. 56 00:03:09,542 --> 00:03:11,875 - The air traffic controller is communicating directly 57 00:03:11,875 --> 00:03:12,833 with these airplanes. 58 00:03:12,917 --> 00:03:14,833 Each one has a call sign. 59 00:03:14,875 --> 00:03:18,417 Each one has a transponder, which tells the plane position 60 00:03:18,500 --> 00:03:20,667 to air traffic controllers. 61 00:03:20,708 --> 00:03:22,083 - [Laurence] At 8:30 PM, 62 00:03:22,208 --> 00:03:25,542 air traffic controllers give TWA 800 clearance 63 00:03:25,625 --> 00:03:29,250 to go from 13,000 to 15,000 feet. 64 00:03:29,333 --> 00:03:33,292 This is their last communication with the plane. 65 00:03:33,375 --> 00:03:35,125 - So, Flight Engineer Campbell goes ahead 66 00:03:35,208 --> 00:03:36,833 and adds climb thrust, 67 00:03:38,375 --> 00:03:41,167 and they start climbing up to 15,000 feet. 68 00:03:42,250 --> 00:03:43,833 - [Laurence] At 8:31 and 12 seconds, 69 00:03:43,917 --> 00:03:45,333 there's a transponder ping 70 00:03:45,417 --> 00:03:48,958 with a Pennsylvania Air Traffic Control Station. 71 00:03:48,958 --> 00:03:50,708 - Then, something strange happens. 72 00:03:51,833 --> 00:03:54,042 - [Laurence] Just 12 minutes after takeoff, 73 00:03:54,125 --> 00:03:57,667 Flight 800 disappears from radar. 74 00:03:57,750 --> 00:04:00,167 (brooding music) 75 00:04:00,250 --> 00:04:02,333 - A disappearing blip is pretty alarming 76 00:04:02,458 --> 00:04:04,083 for an air traffic controller. 77 00:04:04,167 --> 00:04:07,958 So, they tried to contact them but there was no response, 78 00:04:09,417 --> 00:04:11,500 and then, they were asking for nearby airplanes 79 00:04:11,583 --> 00:04:13,333 to tell us what was going on home. 80 00:04:16,167 --> 00:04:18,542 - This pilot flying over Long Island calls in 81 00:04:18,625 --> 00:04:21,208 and says he's seen an explosion in the air. 82 00:04:21,292 --> 00:04:24,125 The pilot reports that this explosion occurred 83 00:04:24,208 --> 00:04:27,958 at about 16,000 feet over Long Island Sound. 84 00:04:29,042 --> 00:04:30,500 - And suddenly, 85 00:04:30,583 --> 00:04:32,750 reports start coming in from pilots all over the area. 86 00:04:37,208 --> 00:04:39,042 - Something has exploded and the debris 87 00:04:39,125 --> 00:04:40,833 just rained down into the water. 88 00:04:44,583 --> 00:04:47,500 - And then, there's an outpouring of reports 89 00:04:47,542 --> 00:04:49,167 from people on the ground. 90 00:04:49,208 --> 00:04:51,333 They report seeing a big fireball, 91 00:04:51,458 --> 00:04:53,667 and also debris just raining out of the sky. 92 00:04:53,750 --> 00:04:54,833 (intense music) 93 00:04:54,875 --> 00:04:57,292 - [Laurence] Emergency radios sound the alert. 94 00:04:57,375 --> 00:04:59,667 There's a major plane crash into the ocean 95 00:04:59,750 --> 00:05:02,583 and the search is on for survivors. 96 00:05:02,792 --> 00:05:05,708 - Virtually, anything on the water in the vicinity is moving 97 00:05:05,792 --> 00:05:08,375 into the rescue area and they're there so quickly 98 00:05:08,458 --> 00:05:10,000 that there's actually falling wreckage 99 00:05:10,083 --> 00:05:11,583 still coming out of the sky. 100 00:05:11,708 --> 00:05:15,250 There's burning debris, it's mass chaos. 101 00:05:15,333 --> 00:05:17,250 - And from all of this wreckage, 102 00:05:17,333 --> 00:05:19,333 they can actually see that this was 103 00:05:19,417 --> 00:05:24,500 the 747 from Flight 800. (brooding music) 104 00:05:25,333 --> 00:05:26,667 - It begins one of the longest 105 00:05:26,708 --> 00:05:28,917 and most expensive aviation accident investigations 106 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,917 in history. (brooding music) 107 00:05:32,042 --> 00:05:35,500 - Within 20 minutes of the initial reports, 108 00:05:35,542 --> 00:05:37,917 people in Washington, DC begin to take action. 109 00:05:38,042 --> 00:05:41,292 - Our government is doing everything we can to continue 110 00:05:41,292 --> 00:05:43,000 the search for survivors and to find out 111 00:05:43,083 --> 00:05:44,583 the causes of this accident. 112 00:05:44,708 --> 00:05:47,875 - For the next two days, Navy divers comb the area, 113 00:05:47,958 --> 00:05:52,917 searching for survivors, but they don't find any. 114 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,000 (brooding music) (water trickles) 115 00:05:57,042 --> 00:05:59,667 - When the families first learn that something has happened 116 00:05:59,750 --> 00:06:03,083 to the airplane, they gather at JFK 117 00:06:03,167 --> 00:06:05,000 to try and find out what happened. 118 00:06:05,042 --> 00:06:09,167 And all the news photographers and cameramen are out there 119 00:06:09,250 --> 00:06:11,542 and it puts the families on edge. 120 00:06:11,542 --> 00:06:14,250 It's a terribly traumatic moment for them, 121 00:06:14,333 --> 00:06:17,000 so they make the decision to move them 122 00:06:17,083 --> 00:06:20,792 into the airport hotel, which is about a mile away, 123 00:06:20,875 --> 00:06:23,958 and that comes to be known as Heartbreak Hotel. 124 00:06:24,042 --> 00:06:27,292 - [Laurence] Along with the grief, there are also questions. 125 00:06:27,375 --> 00:06:30,417 What happened to TWA Flight 800? 126 00:06:30,500 --> 00:06:32,083 - This is a very tense time. 127 00:06:32,167 --> 00:06:36,458 The bombing in Oklahoma City had just occurred in 1995. 128 00:06:36,542 --> 00:06:39,625 Terrorism was in everybody's mind, so people had this idea 129 00:06:39,708 --> 00:06:41,083 that terrorists were targeting aircrafts. 130 00:06:41,167 --> 00:06:43,833 (intense music) 131 00:06:45,708 --> 00:06:48,708 - [Officer] Go, go, get in back, get in back! 132 00:06:48,708 --> 00:06:52,083 - We were a heightened alert because we had all these things 133 00:06:52,167 --> 00:06:55,750 that happened prior, just before this happened, 134 00:06:55,833 --> 00:06:58,417 we had the World Trade Center bombing 135 00:06:58,417 --> 00:07:02,542 and also the Khobar bombing in Saudi Arabia. 136 00:07:02,625 --> 00:07:06,833 - In the 1990s, the idea of a major terror attack 137 00:07:06,958 --> 00:07:11,542 on or above American soil is a huge story. 138 00:07:12,292 --> 00:07:13,667 - So, it was the first thought 139 00:07:13,708 --> 00:07:15,458 that this was a terrorist attack. 140 00:07:16,375 --> 00:07:17,750 - [Laurence] Investigators look into 141 00:07:17,875 --> 00:07:20,083 how terrorists could have brought down the plane, 142 00:07:20,167 --> 00:07:24,458 focusing their attention on what happened before takeoff. 143 00:07:24,542 --> 00:07:27,375 - There was the big 62-minute delay for a bag, 144 00:07:27,500 --> 00:07:30,625 so people wondered, was there a bomb in that bag? 145 00:07:31,708 --> 00:07:34,500 It happened earlier with Pan Am Flight 103 146 00:07:34,500 --> 00:07:36,500 over Lockerbie Scotland. 147 00:07:36,583 --> 00:07:41,375 That bomb, which was in a bag, killed 259 passengers 148 00:07:41,458 --> 00:07:44,375 and 11 people on the ground. 149 00:07:44,375 --> 00:07:47,167 So, new high-tech scanners were put in place 150 00:07:47,208 --> 00:07:51,333 to find even thin layers of plastic explosives. 151 00:07:51,417 --> 00:07:53,833 But, unfortunately, JFK did not yet have 152 00:07:53,958 --> 00:07:55,458 such a system installed and working. 153 00:07:55,542 --> 00:07:58,042 (intense music) 154 00:07:58,125 --> 00:08:00,167 - [Laurence] The National Transportation Safety Board 155 00:08:00,250 --> 00:08:03,708 begins the long process of reassembling the aircraft 156 00:08:03,792 --> 00:08:06,708 to determine a possible cause for the crash. 157 00:08:06,833 --> 00:08:10,750 - They were able to recover close to 95% of this aircraft 158 00:08:10,833 --> 00:08:13,083 from the bottom of the ocean. 159 00:08:13,167 --> 00:08:14,792 And once that process was done, 160 00:08:14,875 --> 00:08:18,125 the FBI was able to send samples of the aircraft 161 00:08:18,208 --> 00:08:21,583 into the lap to check for any sort of residue, 162 00:08:22,958 --> 00:08:26,542 and there was a very small trace of an explosive residue 163 00:08:26,625 --> 00:08:28,917 that was on a floor panel. 164 00:08:30,500 --> 00:08:32,833 - Because trace amounts of explosives were found, 165 00:08:32,917 --> 00:08:34,917 the FBI focused on the possibility 166 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:38,125 that maybe a bomb was placed on this airplane. 167 00:08:39,375 --> 00:08:41,542 - [Laurence] But there's another possibility 168 00:08:41,625 --> 00:08:44,708 based on eyewitness accounts. (intense music) 169 00:08:44,792 --> 00:08:47,542 - Many of the eyewitnesses reported seeing an actual streak 170 00:08:47,667 --> 00:08:49,792 of light, so that made the FBI think 171 00:08:49,875 --> 00:08:52,708 that maybe it's not just a bomb on board. 172 00:08:52,792 --> 00:08:55,667 Perhaps it was instead a missile attack. 173 00:08:55,667 --> 00:08:58,292 The question is where was the missile launched from? 174 00:08:58,375 --> 00:09:02,083 The leading idea was that it was launched from a boat. 175 00:09:02,208 --> 00:09:04,750 (intense music) 176 00:09:08,250 --> 00:09:09,833 Once the residue is reported, 177 00:09:09,875 --> 00:09:12,667 and then the idea of a missile is reported, 178 00:09:12,750 --> 00:09:15,542 oh, that leads to widespread tension. 179 00:09:15,708 --> 00:09:18,667 People are on edge, airport, and other security 180 00:09:18,750 --> 00:09:20,917 around the world is now tightened. 181 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,833 - It's just a matter of trigonometry. 182 00:09:22,875 --> 00:09:24,750 I mean, any high school kid can figure it out. 183 00:09:24,875 --> 00:09:27,000 - It's a missile. - It's gotta be a missile. 184 00:09:27,083 --> 00:09:29,375 - People really believe that this was 185 00:09:29,458 --> 00:09:31,833 some sort of terrorist attack. 186 00:09:31,875 --> 00:09:34,167 - [Laurence] But some raised doubts. 187 00:09:34,250 --> 00:09:36,458 - There's one huge problem here. 188 00:09:36,542 --> 00:09:40,792 No terrorist organization is taking credit for this attack. 189 00:09:42,625 --> 00:09:44,833 Isn't that what terrorist organizations do? 190 00:09:44,958 --> 00:09:46,667 Because if they want to create terror, 191 00:09:46,708 --> 00:09:49,375 you need to know who they are and why they did it 192 00:09:49,458 --> 00:09:51,167 and we're not seeing that here. 193 00:09:52,917 --> 00:09:56,667 - It's not the first time that the NTSB has investigated 194 00:09:56,750 --> 00:09:59,917 an aircraft that might have been brought down by a bomb, 195 00:10:00,042 --> 00:10:03,792 but the NTSB is a lot more hesitant than the FBI to leap 196 00:10:03,875 --> 00:10:07,500 to conclusions about the causes of a specific incident. 197 00:10:07,625 --> 00:10:09,750 They have institutionally a long history 198 00:10:09,833 --> 00:10:12,042 of carrying out accident investigations 199 00:10:12,125 --> 00:10:14,667 and they understand that by following their procedures, 200 00:10:14,750 --> 00:10:15,875 they're likely to be able to draw 201 00:10:15,958 --> 00:10:17,333 the most accurate conclusions. 202 00:10:17,375 --> 00:10:20,917 The FBI's purpose is to enforce laws and as a result, 203 00:10:21,042 --> 00:10:22,875 these two are going to come into conflict. 204 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:25,333 - So, the NTSB's explanation to this is 205 00:10:25,417 --> 00:10:29,583 that this aircraft was used before to transport troops 206 00:10:29,667 --> 00:10:32,875 from the Gulf and those troops could have had 207 00:10:32,958 --> 00:10:36,500 some sort of explosive residue on them. 208 00:10:36,542 --> 00:10:38,042 - [Laurence] While explosive residue 209 00:10:38,042 --> 00:10:40,833 might have been left over from the Gulf War, 210 00:10:40,917 --> 00:10:43,875 investigators also consider something else. 211 00:10:43,958 --> 00:10:45,958 - So, they look at the history of the aircraft 212 00:10:46,042 --> 00:10:48,167 where was the plane before that, 213 00:10:48,250 --> 00:10:51,250 and maybe a month and a half before the accident 214 00:10:51,375 --> 00:10:54,542 The NTSB found that the airplane has been used 215 00:10:54,667 --> 00:10:57,542 for training canine-explosive deduction dogs, 216 00:10:57,667 --> 00:10:59,375 and when they checked with the dog handlers, 217 00:10:59,458 --> 00:11:04,125 one of the pouches that carry RDX explosive was punctured 218 00:11:05,458 --> 00:11:07,917 and traces of it may have wound up on the back of the seat 219 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,042 or on the floor in the front side. 220 00:11:11,208 --> 00:11:13,417 - With regards to the people who were on the ground 221 00:11:13,500 --> 00:11:17,500 who saw this all unfold, the NTSB said they didn't see any 222 00:11:17,583 --> 00:11:21,000 sort of missile-like impact on the aircraft 223 00:11:21,083 --> 00:11:23,000 and those people were mistaken 224 00:11:23,042 --> 00:11:25,750 based on their perspective on the ground. 225 00:11:25,875 --> 00:11:27,458 Seeing this all happen. 226 00:11:27,542 --> 00:11:31,917 - The Safety Board has found no evidence that the crash 227 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,292 of Flight 800 could have been caused by a bomb or missile.l 228 00:11:37,833 --> 00:11:40,167 - The families that are grieving are really looking 229 00:11:40,208 --> 00:11:43,375 for closure that they can't get from the NTSB. 230 00:11:43,458 --> 00:11:44,917 They want to know what happened, 231 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,833 but sometimes there's no way to really rush the process. 232 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,542 - [Laurence] The Transportation Board has no firm estimate 233 00:11:50,625 --> 00:11:52,833 of when its findings will be ready, 234 00:11:52,917 --> 00:11:56,042 but cautions that it could take years. 235 00:11:56,167 --> 00:11:59,250 - Our work will continue, and we will spare no effort 236 00:11:59,333 --> 00:12:03,000 to determine the cause of the crash of TWA 800. 237 00:12:03,083 --> 00:12:06,333 - That makes a lot of Americans very nervous. 238 00:12:06,417 --> 00:12:07,792 They want answers. 239 00:12:07,792 --> 00:12:08,208 They want answers. 240 00:12:08,917 --> 00:12:11,333 The NTSB is slow delivering answers, 241 00:12:11,458 --> 00:12:13,583 so independent researchers are doing their thing. 242 00:12:13,667 --> 00:12:16,000 They're looking at the data and they come to the conclusion 243 00:12:16,042 --> 00:12:18,458 that maybe we're not looking broadly enough. 244 00:12:18,542 --> 00:12:20,500 Maybe there are other ideas 245 00:12:20,542 --> 00:12:21,167 that have not yet been considered. 246 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:28,833 - [Laurence] September 1996, it's just two months 247 00:12:28,875 --> 00:12:30,583 since Flight 800 crashed, 248 00:12:30,667 --> 00:12:33,750 but the two federal agencies investigating the disaster, 249 00:12:33,875 --> 00:12:35,167 are at odds. 250 00:12:35,208 --> 00:12:38,667 The FBI says it's likely a terrorist attack. 251 00:12:38,708 --> 00:12:41,667 The Transportation Board doesn't agree 252 00:12:41,750 --> 00:12:44,542 but insists it's too early to speculate. 253 00:12:44,625 --> 00:12:46,750 Then, researchers from outside 254 00:12:46,833 --> 00:12:49,292 the government propose their own theory. 255 00:12:49,375 --> 00:12:52,667 - An NTSB official makes an offhanded comment in the media 256 00:12:52,792 --> 00:12:55,250 about the remoteness of a missile strike being 257 00:12:55,375 --> 00:12:57,917 about the same as a meteorite strike. 258 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,875 And so, that comment actually does send people off looking 259 00:13:00,958 --> 00:13:02,667 at the possibility that it was a meteorite. 260 00:13:02,708 --> 00:13:05,500 (dramatic music) 261 00:13:08,250 --> 00:13:12,750 - News corporations are reporting on TWA 800. 262 00:13:12,833 --> 00:13:15,958 This is a sensational story and as a result, 263 00:13:16,042 --> 00:13:18,167 a lot of different theories are really starting 264 00:13:18,250 --> 00:13:21,333 to circulate, in particular, there are astronomers 265 00:13:21,417 --> 00:13:25,417 that contact the NTSB to raise the possibility that this was 266 00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:28,750 in fact, a meteorite strike based on eyewitness accounts. 267 00:13:28,875 --> 00:13:31,292 (dramatic music) 268 00:13:31,375 --> 00:13:33,833 - The eyewitnesses report seeing a streak of light 269 00:13:33,917 --> 00:13:36,625 and a fireball, well, guess what does both? 270 00:13:36,708 --> 00:13:38,667 Meteors across Earth. 271 00:13:38,750 --> 00:13:43,000 People report seeing fireballs all the time. 272 00:13:43,042 --> 00:13:45,958 There's over two tons of meteoritic material falling 273 00:13:46,042 --> 00:13:48,000 to Earth every day. 274 00:13:48,083 --> 00:13:51,375 - [Laurence] And sometimes, those meteors make impact. 275 00:13:51,458 --> 00:13:54,917 - In America specifically, we know of three cases 276 00:13:55,042 --> 00:13:58,500 where cars were hit with meteors in the last century. 277 00:13:58,583 --> 00:14:00,708 That could cause real damage. 278 00:14:00,792 --> 00:14:03,375 Take for example, a recent fireball 279 00:14:03,458 --> 00:14:06,125 over Chelyabinsk, Russia. (people faintly speaking) 280 00:14:06,208 --> 00:14:10,125 It broke windows and injured people on the ground. 281 00:14:10,208 --> 00:14:13,083 So, yeah, you could bring down an airplane from a meteor. 282 00:14:14,375 --> 00:14:16,000 - [Laurence] Statisticians collect the data, 283 00:14:16,083 --> 00:14:18,125 and crunch the numbers about meteorites 284 00:14:18,208 --> 00:14:21,208 to calculate the odds, one could strike a plane. 285 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:23,792 - About 3,000 meteorites make it 286 00:14:23,875 --> 00:14:25,833 through the Earth's atmosphere every year. 287 00:14:25,917 --> 00:14:29,167 About 125 a day, and on any given day, 288 00:14:29,208 --> 00:14:32,042 there might be 5,000 aircraft flying over the United States, 289 00:14:32,125 --> 00:14:33,667 which sounds like a lot, 290 00:14:33,750 --> 00:14:35,792 but the odds of a small meteorite hitting 291 00:14:35,875 --> 00:14:38,833 an aircraft are still extremely small. 292 00:14:38,958 --> 00:14:40,500 - [Laurence] In a 100-year span, 293 00:14:40,542 --> 00:14:45,333 the chance of a meteor bringing down a plane is just 1%. 294 00:14:45,375 --> 00:14:48,917 - A meteor, not large enough to be detected by NASA, 295 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,375 but yet not too small that it would completely burn 296 00:14:52,458 --> 00:14:54,875 as it's going through the atmosphere. 297 00:14:54,958 --> 00:14:57,500 The possibility of that small-enough meteor 298 00:14:57,583 --> 00:14:59,875 to impact a plane that's traveling about half 299 00:14:59,958 --> 00:15:02,500 the speed of sound is minute. 300 00:15:03,750 --> 00:15:08,542 That said, it's still worth a pause. 301 00:15:09,542 --> 00:15:10,708 - [Laurence] Searching for proof 302 00:15:10,833 --> 00:15:12,167 that a meteor strike took down the plane, 303 00:15:12,250 --> 00:15:15,208 theorists consider the wreckage of Flight 800.l 304 00:15:15,333 --> 00:15:17,500 - Based on what we understand about meteorites entering 305 00:15:17,583 --> 00:15:20,583 the atmosphere, the size of meteor needed to take down 306 00:15:20,667 --> 00:15:24,208 an airplane is only about the size of a baseball 307 00:15:24,292 --> 00:15:27,458 and if the meteor hits the fuel tank in the wing, 308 00:15:27,542 --> 00:15:29,708 it could definitely trigger a big explosion 309 00:15:29,792 --> 00:15:31,333 like the eyewitnesses saw. 310 00:15:31,417 --> 00:15:33,583 - [Laurence] Some suggest the plane may have been hit 311 00:15:33,667 --> 00:15:35,667 by fragments from a meteor. 312 00:15:35,792 --> 00:15:38,333 - Some scientists' analysis of the wreckage did lend 313 00:15:38,458 --> 00:15:41,083 to the theory of a bolide, which is a meteorite 314 00:15:41,167 --> 00:15:42,667 that explodes in the air 315 00:15:42,792 --> 00:15:45,583 and some of the wreckage did reveal puncture points. 316 00:15:45,708 --> 00:15:48,333 If a meteorite happened to explode near the aircraft, 317 00:15:48,417 --> 00:15:50,833 perhaps some of the meteorite shrapnel could have punctured 318 00:15:50,917 --> 00:15:52,458 the 747. (intense music) 319 00:15:52,542 --> 00:15:54,542 - [Laurence] But many witnesses say they saw a streak 320 00:15:54,542 --> 00:15:58,500 of light coming up toward the plane not coming down 321 00:15:58,542 --> 00:15:59,667 on it from above. 322 00:15:59,708 --> 00:16:02,167 - Taken together, it's all a quirk of perspective 323 00:16:02,250 --> 00:16:04,000 and how it enters the atmosphere. 324 00:16:04,083 --> 00:16:06,375 Remember, the Earth's surface is curved, 325 00:16:06,458 --> 00:16:10,042 so that adds another dimension to perceiving exactly 326 00:16:10,167 --> 00:16:12,292 where things occurred in the night sky. 327 00:16:12,375 --> 00:16:14,417 - [Laurence] Scientists raising the meteorite theory, 328 00:16:14,500 --> 00:16:18,500 urged the NTSB to do further research, but they resist. 329 00:16:18,667 --> 00:16:20,042 (intense music) 330 00:16:20,125 --> 00:16:22,333 - They just found it highly unlikely. 331 00:16:22,417 --> 00:16:23,917 And because these experts are 332 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:25,833 essentially inserting themselves 333 00:16:25,917 --> 00:16:28,917 into a well-established investigation, 334 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,333 this is another case of non-experts 335 00:16:31,417 --> 00:16:33,500 trying to dictate how an aviation 336 00:16:33,583 --> 00:16:36,167 accident investigation will be carried out. 337 00:16:36,292 --> 00:16:39,542 - Not only is there a very low-expected frequency 338 00:16:39,625 --> 00:16:43,583 for this kind of occurrence, but also even if it did occur 339 00:16:43,667 --> 00:16:47,500 that it would have caused the damage that we saw. 340 00:16:47,583 --> 00:16:49,208 (intense music) 341 00:16:49,333 --> 00:16:52,292 - If it wasn't a terrorist attack or a meteorite, 342 00:16:52,375 --> 00:16:55,000 then what could have caused the explosion? 343 00:16:55,125 --> 00:16:57,000 A few months into the investigation, 344 00:16:57,083 --> 00:16:59,083 the Safety Board is convinced of one thing. 345 00:16:59,167 --> 00:17:01,208 (intense music) 346 00:17:01,292 --> 00:17:03,958 - So, they put forward a theory 347 00:17:04,042 --> 00:17:06,958 that the airplane actually broke in half. 348 00:17:07,042 --> 00:17:08,750 - When the explosion happens, 349 00:17:08,833 --> 00:17:11,250 the front of the aircraft is severed 350 00:17:11,333 --> 00:17:13,125 from the back of the airplane. 351 00:17:13,208 --> 00:17:17,167 So, imagine the front of this Boeing 747 352 00:17:17,208 --> 00:17:20,583 like a bullet shearing off and collapsing. 353 00:17:20,667 --> 00:17:24,000 The back end of the aircraft starts heading upwards 354 00:17:24,042 --> 00:17:26,250 because the engines are still spinning. 355 00:17:27,375 --> 00:17:29,333 Inside, it's a nightmare. 356 00:17:30,542 --> 00:17:34,833 They're looking at the sky and there is no front end. 357 00:17:34,917 --> 00:17:38,000 - So, they come to the conclusion that maybe the streak 358 00:17:38,042 --> 00:17:40,333 of light that eyewitnesses saw going upwards was 359 00:17:40,417 --> 00:17:43,125 this second half of the airplane on fire 360 00:17:43,208 --> 00:17:45,375 still moving upwards in the sky 361 00:17:45,542 --> 00:17:48,292 and that's why the pilots did not have time to call in 362 00:17:48,375 --> 00:17:52,708 to say there was a problem because this was a sudden event. 363 00:17:56,458 --> 00:17:58,500 February 1997, while the FBI118 364 00:17:58,583 --> 00:18:01,500 still believes terrorists brought down Flight 800, 365 00:18:01,625 --> 00:18:05,167 Transportation Board investigators say no. 366 00:18:05,208 --> 00:18:08,167 Could the answer lie hidden in the recovered wreckage 367 00:18:08,208 --> 00:18:10,667 of the doomed 747? 368 00:18:10,750 --> 00:18:15,708 - This reassembled airplane in that hangar in Calverton, 369 00:18:17,042 --> 00:18:20,125 I've heard the term Frankenstein aircraft, 370 00:18:20,208 --> 00:18:24,458 which looked like literally tiny pieces, big pieces, 371 00:18:24,583 --> 00:18:28,333 whatever they could find, they put together just trying 372 00:18:28,417 --> 00:18:32,208 to find answers about what happened that day. 373 00:18:33,625 --> 00:18:35,917 - [Laurence] Two important factors may be the age 374 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:37,458 and condition of the airplane. 375 00:18:38,625 --> 00:18:41,792 - The Boeing 747, that is TWA Flight 800, 376 00:18:41,875 --> 00:18:45,208 it's a relatively old aircraft, it's 25 years old. 377 00:18:45,292 --> 00:18:47,458 It's flown for over 93,000 hours, 378 00:18:47,542 --> 00:18:50,125 which is the equivalent of flying continuously 379 00:18:50,208 --> 00:18:51,458 for 10 and a half years. 380 00:18:52,875 --> 00:18:56,458 - It's one of the earlier versions of the famous 747. 381 00:18:56,542 --> 00:18:59,167 And if properly maintained, the plane could last 382 00:18:59,208 --> 00:19:02,083 many, many, many years before it reaches an age 383 00:19:02,167 --> 00:19:04,750 where you can no longer repair the parts 384 00:19:04,833 --> 00:19:07,542 and you decommission it. (whoosh) 385 00:19:07,625 --> 00:19:11,500 - Around the 1980s, airline mechanics started to notice 386 00:19:11,583 --> 00:19:15,750 that there were cracks on old Boeing 747 airplanes 387 00:19:15,833 --> 00:19:19,042 and this was really on the structural part of the aircraft 388 00:19:19,167 --> 00:19:21,125 in the upper deck, the lower deck, 389 00:19:21,208 --> 00:19:24,417 as well as the nose of the aircraft. 390 00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:29,375 - On TWA 800, the NTSB find cracks that are an inch 391 00:19:30,125 --> 00:19:31,417 to one-and-a-half inch. 392 00:19:31,417 --> 00:19:36,167 Now, an old airplane like this 747 393 00:19:36,208 --> 00:19:40,500 that was almost 25 years old, you get cracks, 394 00:19:40,583 --> 00:19:45,625 but every airplane that has worked that long has cracks. 395 00:19:46,708 --> 00:19:48,125 - It comes from the routine pressurization 396 00:19:48,208 --> 00:19:50,875 and pressurizing of the airplane cabin. 397 00:19:50,958 --> 00:19:53,583 So, if you shake up a soda, you do the same thing, 398 00:19:53,667 --> 00:19:56,375 you pressurize the container, and what happens 399 00:19:56,458 --> 00:19:58,917 if that container is punctured? 400 00:19:59,042 --> 00:20:01,667 Boom. (intense music) 401 00:20:03,375 --> 00:20:05,500 - Cracks are extremely dangerous. 402 00:20:05,542 --> 00:20:08,458 Any sort of crack to the fuselage of the aircraft 403 00:20:08,542 --> 00:20:11,625 when the airplane is experiencing any sort of stress, 404 00:20:11,708 --> 00:20:15,000 that crack can just tear the airplane apart. 405 00:20:15,083 --> 00:20:16,500 So, if they're not addressed, 406 00:20:16,583 --> 00:20:20,000 cracks could really lead to catastrophic results. 407 00:20:20,083 --> 00:20:23,375 - In 1986, the FAA required investigations 408 00:20:23,458 --> 00:20:27,167 of older aircraft including TWA Flight 800. 409 00:20:27,250 --> 00:20:29,375 - So, when you look at the NTSB report, 410 00:20:29,458 --> 00:20:31,875 they went through the maintenance log books 411 00:20:31,958 --> 00:20:36,792 for this aircraft and there were no major mechanical issues. 412 00:20:38,375 --> 00:20:40,375 - This was an aircraft that had flown tens of thousands 413 00:20:40,458 --> 00:20:44,458 of hours, and components do break down over time. 414 00:20:45,583 --> 00:20:47,333 - [Laurence] In the Spring of 1997, 415 00:20:47,417 --> 00:20:48,750 investigators learned of problems 416 00:20:48,833 --> 00:20:51,208 with the doomed plane's maintenance. 417 00:20:51,292 --> 00:20:54,208 - The inspectors who evaluated the wreckage, 418 00:20:54,292 --> 00:20:57,125 found that the people who regularly inspected 419 00:20:57,208 --> 00:20:59,458 the airplane actually missed some cracks. 420 00:20:59,542 --> 00:21:01,667 It had gone through the normal safety checks, 421 00:21:01,750 --> 00:21:05,292 but still, the plane wasn't fully sound. 422 00:21:05,375 --> 00:21:08,458 - The NTSB found evidence of metal fatigue 423 00:21:08,542 --> 00:21:12,125 of some stress cracks caused by pressurization 424 00:21:12,208 --> 00:21:13,583 of the aircraft. 425 00:21:13,667 --> 00:21:16,833 - They found some hairline cracks in what we call 426 00:21:16,917 --> 00:21:21,708 shear ties that keep the skin attached to the airplane, 427 00:21:21,708 --> 00:21:24,833 and they also found several hairline cracks 428 00:21:24,875 --> 00:21:26,542 in the wing spar. 429 00:21:26,625 --> 00:21:29,500 Spars are connected to the keel beam 430 00:21:29,542 --> 00:21:33,500 that basically keeps the wings attached to the airplane. 431 00:21:33,625 --> 00:21:36,500 - [Laurence] But were these cracks big enough and in areas 432 00:21:36,583 --> 00:21:38,750 that could cause a plane to break apart? 433 00:21:38,833 --> 00:21:40,833 (intense music) 434 00:21:40,917 --> 00:21:44,000 - Part of the investigation led them to take a deep dive 435 00:21:44,083 --> 00:21:47,458 of the fuselage and they found that there were cracks 436 00:21:47,542 --> 00:21:50,167 in the shear ties that were on the wing, 437 00:21:50,208 --> 00:21:52,167 but it wasn't anything that would've caused 438 00:21:52,250 --> 00:21:54,667 an explosion of any kind. 439 00:21:54,708 --> 00:21:56,000 - The investigators reported 440 00:21:56,083 --> 00:21:57,708 that none of these cracks were serious enough 441 00:21:57,792 --> 00:21:59,958 to have contributed to this tragedy. 442 00:22:00,042 --> 00:22:02,958 Just like you can have a rock hit your windshield, at first, 443 00:22:03,042 --> 00:22:05,542 it's just a little tiny star, looks like an asterisk, 444 00:22:05,625 --> 00:22:07,542 but what makes it dangerous is when it travels. 445 00:22:07,667 --> 00:22:09,000 Well, the same thing is true 446 00:22:09,083 --> 00:22:11,083 with the cracks in the airplane. 447 00:22:11,167 --> 00:22:14,500 They had not combined with each other to create a long crack 448 00:22:14,625 --> 00:22:17,833 in the structure and therefore, could have not contributed 449 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,417 to the catastrophic breakup of the airplane while in flight. 450 00:22:22,917 --> 00:22:25,667 - [Laurence] Analysis of the wreckage confirms for the NTSB 451 00:22:25,708 --> 00:22:29,750 that structural defects didn't take down Flight 800. 452 00:22:29,833 --> 00:22:33,208 So, they looked to the flight data recorder for clues. 453 00:22:33,333 --> 00:22:35,083 - Along with all the wreckage that they found, 454 00:22:35,083 --> 00:22:37,500 they found the airplane's black box 455 00:22:37,542 --> 00:22:40,667 and the black box keeps a record of the data 456 00:22:40,750 --> 00:22:43,167 that the airplane is producing as well as 457 00:22:43,250 --> 00:22:44,875 all the conversations between the pilot, 458 00:22:44,958 --> 00:22:47,333 co-piloting, and crew. (intense music) 459 00:22:47,375 --> 00:22:48,708 - Initially, there was concern that 460 00:22:48,833 --> 00:22:52,250 because the casing was cracked, they would never be able 461 00:22:52,333 --> 00:22:54,167 to recover any of the conversations 462 00:22:54,250 --> 00:22:55,750 that was going on in the cockpit. 463 00:22:55,875 --> 00:22:58,583 But as soon as they got it back to DC and they put it 464 00:22:58,583 --> 00:23:02,000 in a tape, they were able to play the full communication. 465 00:23:03,542 --> 00:23:05,958 - I'm sure it was a very emotional moment, 466 00:23:06,042 --> 00:23:07,708 but it was in their final words 467 00:23:07,833 --> 00:23:12,333 that the crew was able to communicate what was going on 468 00:23:12,417 --> 00:23:15,833 and that really helped investigators get closer 469 00:23:15,917 --> 00:23:17,625 to what they believed caused the aircraft to explode. 470 00:23:22,667 --> 00:23:27,000 - The 1996 Flight 800 disaster remains under investigation 471 00:23:27,042 --> 00:23:31,500 for four long years as government officials clash 472 00:23:31,583 --> 00:23:35,292 and families of victims grow increasingly frustrated. 473 00:23:35,375 --> 00:23:38,000 Then, in August of 2000, 474 00:23:38,083 --> 00:23:41,667 the National Transportation Safety Board announces it 475 00:23:41,708 --> 00:23:45,000 finally has what it says are the answers 476 00:23:45,042 --> 00:23:47,333 so many are waiting for. 477 00:23:47,375 --> 00:23:52,333 Answers gleaned from the airplane's black box. 478 00:23:52,333 --> 00:23:53,833 - There's a lot of routine chatter. 479 00:23:53,875 --> 00:23:56,250 It's the type of things that you would expect to hear 480 00:23:56,333 --> 00:23:58,625 on any civilian airline flight. 481 00:23:59,917 --> 00:24:02,417 - Everything seemed routine with the exception 482 00:24:02,542 --> 00:24:05,667 of just before they were ready to close the doors. 483 00:24:05,750 --> 00:24:09,625 There was this hour delay because of this mismatch 484 00:24:09,708 --> 00:24:11,708 of the bag and the passenger, 485 00:24:11,792 --> 00:24:15,000 but the passenger was on board all the time. 486 00:24:15,083 --> 00:24:16,583 - On the black box, 487 00:24:16,667 --> 00:24:18,208 we can hear Captain Ralph Kevorkian joke like, 488 00:24:18,292 --> 00:24:20,583 "All right, we won't tell 'em that," talking about telling 489 00:24:20,667 --> 00:24:22,875 the passengers that they made an oops. 490 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,667 Flight Engineer Campbell responds, "If we do that, 491 00:24:25,750 --> 00:24:27,333 we'd have a mutiny back there." 492 00:24:27,375 --> 00:24:29,500 (intense music) 493 00:24:29,583 --> 00:24:33,167 - At around 8:19 PM, they take off uneventfully, 494 00:24:33,167 --> 00:24:35,333 and from the point of view of air traffic control, 495 00:24:35,375 --> 00:24:37,833 everything is going fine with Flight 800. 496 00:24:37,917 --> 00:24:40,958 - At some point, Captain Kevorkian made a comment, 497 00:24:41,042 --> 00:24:44,667 "Boy, look at her, she's climbing like a homesick angel." 498 00:24:44,750 --> 00:24:48,958 That's a term we use when the aircraft climbs very rapidly. 499 00:24:49,042 --> 00:24:52,167 In other words, she's really climbing high towards the sky. 500 00:24:53,708 --> 00:24:55,958 - After this was said, the second pilot in the flight deck, 501 00:24:56,042 --> 00:25:00,167 Captain Snyder had said that the airspeed was bleeding off, 502 00:25:00,250 --> 00:25:04,167 which means the aircraft is flying faster than usual 503 00:25:04,208 --> 00:25:07,750 and it really wasn't anything to be worried about. 504 00:25:09,042 --> 00:25:11,333 Cross-checking the transcript with the flight data, 505 00:25:11,458 --> 00:25:13,458 it just confirms that nothing 506 00:25:13,542 --> 00:25:16,125 out of the ordinary is really happening here. 507 00:25:17,667 --> 00:25:21,875 So, at around 8:30, Boston Air Traffic Control advises TWA 508 00:25:21,958 --> 00:25:25,333 to climb from one 3,000 to one 5,000. 509 00:25:25,417 --> 00:25:27,583 And at this point, Captain Kevorkian says, 510 00:25:27,667 --> 00:25:30,292 "Climb thrust." (aircraft humming) 511 00:25:30,375 --> 00:25:32,125 Flight Engineer Campbell responds, 512 00:25:32,208 --> 00:25:33,667 "The power's set." 513 00:25:33,708 --> 00:25:36,000 "Power's set," were the last words that were heard 514 00:25:36,125 --> 00:25:39,625 in the flight deck, and then 37 seconds later, 515 00:25:40,750 --> 00:25:43,333 the airplane explodes. (intense music) 516 00:25:43,375 --> 00:25:45,833 - [Laurence] But while most of this is all normal chatter 517 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,417 on a flight deck, there's one earlier exchange 518 00:25:49,417 --> 00:25:51,917 that intrigues crash investigators. 519 00:25:53,208 --> 00:25:56,375 - Just a few moments before the CVRS stops recording, 520 00:25:56,458 --> 00:25:57,833 Captain Kevorkian comments, 521 00:25:57,917 --> 00:26:00,917 "Check out that crazy indication on number four." 522 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,625 - What he's saying is sort of equivalent to driving 523 00:26:03,708 --> 00:26:06,333 in your car and having your gas gauge malfunction. 524 00:26:06,500 --> 00:26:08,000 (intense music) 525 00:26:08,042 --> 00:26:10,333 - Because this is an old airplane, 526 00:26:10,375 --> 00:26:14,667 and the 747 has so many fuel tanks that are interconnected 527 00:26:14,750 --> 00:26:17,625 in each wing, those gauges were not that reliable. 528 00:26:17,708 --> 00:26:21,542 So, you occasionally get some weird indications. 529 00:26:22,708 --> 00:26:24,208 - [Laurence] But this time, 530 00:26:24,333 --> 00:26:27,000 the Safety Board believes it's a sign of trouble inside one 531 00:26:27,042 --> 00:26:29,417 of the fuel tanks. (aircraft whooshing) 532 00:26:29,542 --> 00:26:32,417 - Just a few days after the accident, 533 00:26:32,542 --> 00:26:34,958 one of the investigators sees 534 00:26:35,042 --> 00:26:38,875 that the center-wing tank bowed out. 535 00:26:38,958 --> 00:26:42,583 So, something happened to make the center tank explode 536 00:26:42,708 --> 00:26:46,333 from the inside out. (intense music) 537 00:26:46,417 --> 00:26:48,625 (plane wing booms) 538 00:26:48,708 --> 00:26:50,958 Aircraft fuel tanks are considered explosive 539 00:26:51,042 --> 00:26:54,500 environments and they have to be isolated from ignition sources 540 00:26:54,542 --> 00:26:56,833 because you don't wanna have any chance 541 00:26:56,917 --> 00:26:59,417 that something will ignite in those areas 542 00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:01,500 because there's fuel there. 543 00:27:01,542 --> 00:27:02,750 - [Laurence] Captain Kevorkian's statement 544 00:27:02,875 --> 00:27:04,000 about the strange readings 545 00:27:04,083 --> 00:27:07,167 from the fuel tank gives investigators a clue 546 00:27:07,208 --> 00:27:10,458 as to the source of this fuel tank explosion. 547 00:27:10,542 --> 00:27:12,375 - You have electrical components inside 548 00:27:12,500 --> 00:27:15,333 the central fuel tank to tell you if they're running short 549 00:27:15,417 --> 00:27:17,583 on fuel, but if a short circuit 550 00:27:17,667 --> 00:27:20,042 somewhere causes a high amount of voltage 551 00:27:20,125 --> 00:27:24,500 to arc between two pieces of metal inside an area filled 552 00:27:24,583 --> 00:27:27,208 with fuel vapor, a catastrophic explosion is 553 00:27:27,333 --> 00:27:28,125 likely to occur. 554 00:27:29,542 --> 00:27:32,125 - [Laurence] The NTSB believes that's exactly what happened. 555 00:27:33,542 --> 00:27:38,083 - So, the NTSB theory is that there was a electrical spark 556 00:27:39,500 --> 00:27:43,875 that exploded that tank outward and blew the aircraft apart. 557 00:27:45,875 --> 00:27:49,208 - The inescapable conclusion that the cause 558 00:27:49,292 --> 00:27:51,167 of the in-flight breakup 559 00:27:51,250 --> 00:27:55,458 of TWA Flight 800 was a fuel-air explosion 560 00:27:55,542 --> 00:27:57,042 in the center-wing tank. 561 00:27:58,917 --> 00:28:01,500 - [Laurence] Investigators hone in on the electrical system, 562 00:28:01,583 --> 00:28:03,917 which connects the fuel gauges to the tank, 563 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,333 looking for what could have caused the explosion, 564 00:28:06,417 --> 00:28:08,833 they find evidence of frayed wiring 565 00:28:08,917 --> 00:28:12,083 and damaged installation in the maintenance reports. 566 00:28:12,208 --> 00:28:14,208 - They see that there are anomalies 567 00:28:14,292 --> 00:28:16,167 in the electrical system. 568 00:28:16,292 --> 00:28:20,083 The wire, which has gone in 25 years earlier, 569 00:28:20,167 --> 00:28:24,625 has been subjected to vibration and salt and chemicals 570 00:28:24,708 --> 00:28:26,917 and pressurization and abrasion. 571 00:28:28,333 --> 00:28:32,667 - The wires were the ones installed back in 1976 or so, 572 00:28:32,792 --> 00:28:34,500 and hasn't been replaced. 573 00:28:34,625 --> 00:28:36,167 Some of those wires would fray. 574 00:28:36,250 --> 00:28:38,250 Some of the installations start to break, 575 00:28:38,333 --> 00:28:41,333 and if they're short, now you have your ignition source. 576 00:28:42,708 --> 00:28:44,167 - [Laurence] Not everybody is satisfied 577 00:28:44,208 --> 00:28:45,750 with these conclusions. 578 00:28:45,833 --> 00:28:47,708 - This explanation faces a couple of problems. 579 00:28:47,792 --> 00:28:49,000 Number one, it's coming so late. 580 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:50,750 People have gotten used to the idea 581 00:28:50,833 --> 00:28:53,667 that perhaps there was a terrorist involvement, 582 00:28:53,750 --> 00:28:56,333 but secondly, it's only their best guess. 583 00:28:56,417 --> 00:28:58,333 Like a multiple-choice test where you don't know 584 00:28:58,417 --> 00:29:00,833 the right answer, but you can rule out most of the rest. 585 00:29:00,917 --> 00:29:02,500 They think this is the right answer, 586 00:29:02,542 --> 00:29:06,167 but they cannot point to absolutely conclusive evidence. 587 00:29:06,250 --> 00:29:08,500 - We know that the center-fuel tank exploded, 588 00:29:08,542 --> 00:29:10,333 we've known that for a long time. 589 00:29:10,375 --> 00:29:13,208 We don't know what initiated that explosion. 590 00:29:14,292 --> 00:29:15,792 - [Laurence] While evidence strongly points 591 00:29:15,875 --> 00:29:19,125 to degraded wiring, the NTSB is never able to pinpoint 592 00:29:19,208 --> 00:29:22,000 the exact cause of the explosion. 593 00:29:22,083 --> 00:29:24,000 - It becomes very difficult in the aftermath 594 00:29:24,083 --> 00:29:27,208 of TWA Flight 800's destruction to determine 595 00:29:27,292 --> 00:29:30,667 how such a spark might have reached the fuel vapors inside 596 00:29:30,750 --> 00:29:32,333 the central-wing fuel tank. 597 00:29:32,500 --> 00:29:34,958 - By the time the investigation results are announced, 598 00:29:35,042 --> 00:29:37,792 many people are dissatisfied and they wanted answers 599 00:29:37,875 --> 00:29:39,167 and the Federal Government just wasn't able 600 00:29:39,333 --> 00:29:40,125 to give them answers quickly enough. 601 00:29:44,333 --> 00:29:45,958 - [Laurence] In its August 2000 official report 602 00:29:46,042 --> 00:29:49,167 on the crash of Flight 800, investigators 603 00:29:49,250 --> 00:29:51,708 at the National Transportation Safety Board said 604 00:29:51,833 --> 00:29:54,667 a fuel tank inside the wing caught fire, 605 00:29:54,708 --> 00:29:56,833 which triggered the plane's explosion. 606 00:29:56,958 --> 00:30:00,042 Some believe it was a spark created by defective wiring, 607 00:30:00,125 --> 00:30:03,792 but others seek clues in a different flight 608 00:30:03,875 --> 00:30:05,292 that ended tragically. 609 00:30:06,542 --> 00:30:08,500 - Two years after the tragedy of Flight 800, 610 00:30:08,542 --> 00:30:12,083 there was a Swissair 111 that tragically crashed off 611 00:30:12,167 --> 00:30:17,083 the East Coast of Canada, killing all 229 people on board. 612 00:30:17,167 --> 00:30:21,000 Examining these two flights, Flight 800 and Swissair 111, 613 00:30:21,125 --> 00:30:25,500 there are a lot of similarities that are a bit uncanny. 614 00:30:25,542 --> 00:30:28,750 Both flights took off from the same airport, JFK, 615 00:30:28,875 --> 00:30:32,542 at the same time, 8:19 PM, and the same day 616 00:30:32,625 --> 00:30:34,000 of the week Wednesday. 617 00:30:34,125 --> 00:30:38,500 And tragically, both planes went down very early 618 00:30:38,542 --> 00:30:40,000 in their flights. 619 00:30:40,083 --> 00:30:41,833 - [Laurence] Like TWA 800, 620 00:30:41,917 --> 00:30:44,542 the Swissair plane ignites mid-flight 621 00:30:44,667 --> 00:30:46,667 without a definitive cause. 622 00:30:46,750 --> 00:30:48,292 - The entertainment electronics, 623 00:30:48,375 --> 00:30:50,708 which were stored next to the cockpit is where 624 00:30:50,833 --> 00:30:54,792 the fire started and then it spread to blankets, 625 00:30:54,875 --> 00:30:56,042 and before you know it, 626 00:30:56,167 --> 00:30:58,458 the entire plane is engulfed in flames. 627 00:30:58,542 --> 00:31:01,875 Like Flight 800, the Canadian officials are unable 628 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,000 to figure out exactly what triggered 629 00:31:04,083 --> 00:31:05,833 the fire in the first place. 630 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:08,250 - [Laurence] Investigators in both crashes, 631 00:31:08,333 --> 00:31:10,875 speculate that defective wiring is to blame 632 00:31:10,958 --> 00:31:14,167 but aren't able to pinpoint the exact source. 633 00:31:14,208 --> 00:31:17,000 Given all the similarities between these two flights, 634 00:31:17,083 --> 00:31:19,458 is there something else that could cause both planes 635 00:31:19,542 --> 00:31:20,542 to go down? (intense music) 636 00:31:20,625 --> 00:31:22,375 - As they were figuring out the factors that led 637 00:31:22,500 --> 00:31:25,208 to both of these crashes and what they might have in common, 638 00:31:25,292 --> 00:31:27,208 researchers noted that both pilots 639 00:31:27,292 --> 00:31:30,625 on the planes briefly lost radio contact shortly 640 00:31:30,708 --> 00:31:32,625 before things went haywire. 641 00:31:32,708 --> 00:31:35,333 So, given these similarities, the question becomes 642 00:31:35,458 --> 00:31:37,750 what could cause communications to go out? 643 00:31:37,833 --> 00:31:39,125 And it's the same thing 644 00:31:39,208 --> 00:31:41,167 that could create navigational problems 645 00:31:41,208 --> 00:31:42,750 and other electronic problems on a flight. 646 00:31:42,833 --> 00:31:45,542 (dramatic music) 647 00:31:48,333 --> 00:31:51,625 - Electromagnetic interference, it's a real problem. 648 00:31:51,708 --> 00:31:53,500 There's a reason that you have to put your cell phones 649 00:31:53,583 --> 00:31:56,875 into airplane mode and we try to minimize other forms 650 00:31:56,958 --> 00:31:59,000 of electromagnetic interference. 651 00:31:59,083 --> 00:32:00,958 When it comes to aircraft, they're very sensitive. 652 00:32:01,083 --> 00:32:02,667 They have a lot of instrumentation, 653 00:32:02,792 --> 00:32:06,333 they have a lot of electrical components that are subject 654 00:32:06,333 --> 00:32:09,375 to the possibility of interference. 655 00:32:09,458 --> 00:32:12,375 - [Laurence] Some argue that there's only one source capable 656 00:32:12,500 --> 00:32:15,500 of generating enough electromagnetic interference 657 00:32:15,625 --> 00:32:16,667 to bring down a plane. 658 00:32:17,875 --> 00:32:20,417 The US military. (whoosh) 659 00:32:20,542 --> 00:32:22,167 - What these researchers found was that when we look 660 00:32:22,250 --> 00:32:25,500 at Swissair 111, which, again, took off at the same time, 661 00:32:25,542 --> 00:32:27,917 the same day of the week from the same airport, 662 00:32:28,042 --> 00:32:29,500 they did find something interesting. 663 00:32:29,542 --> 00:32:32,000 (intense music) - The fleet area control 664 00:32:32,083 --> 00:32:34,458 and surveillance facility is a Navy organization 665 00:32:34,542 --> 00:32:36,750 that monitors the air and sea space off the coast 666 00:32:36,833 --> 00:32:38,250 of the United States. 667 00:32:38,333 --> 00:32:39,917 Documents provided the first couple of weeks 668 00:32:40,042 --> 00:32:43,458 of September 1998 did show military operations off 669 00:32:43,542 --> 00:32:46,083 the Eastern Seaboard. (intense music) 670 00:32:46,167 --> 00:32:48,833 - Specifically, the document reports that during that week, 671 00:32:48,875 --> 00:32:51,833 there was a small-scale ECM notification 672 00:32:51,875 --> 00:32:55,333 that stands for Electronic Countermeasure notification, 673 00:32:55,417 --> 00:32:59,250 and that's a training exercise for electronic war games. 674 00:32:59,333 --> 00:33:02,250 So, instead of using bombs and bullets, 675 00:33:02,375 --> 00:33:05,583 what they used was electronic warfare. 676 00:33:05,667 --> 00:33:08,333 They're sending out signals that could interfere 677 00:33:08,375 --> 00:33:12,083 with the electronics of civilian flights. 678 00:33:12,208 --> 00:33:15,000 And the records further showed that Navy jets were 679 00:33:15,083 --> 00:33:18,833 actually, in very similar area to the Swiss 111 flight 680 00:33:18,917 --> 00:33:20,542 at the time of this incident. 681 00:33:20,625 --> 00:33:23,625 So, these independent researchers put forth the idea 682 00:33:23,708 --> 00:33:26,875 that the electronic warfare jamming signals sent out 683 00:33:27,042 --> 00:33:30,000 by these military jets somehow interfered 684 00:33:30,042 --> 00:33:32,625 with the electronics of Swissair 111 leading 685 00:33:32,708 --> 00:33:35,375 to the fire that ultimately brought down the plane. 686 00:33:37,292 --> 00:33:38,708 - [Laurence] But even with the presence 687 00:33:38,792 --> 00:33:42,375 of the military exercises in the area, debate remains 688 00:33:42,500 --> 00:33:45,167 whether there was enough electromagnetic interference 689 00:33:45,250 --> 00:33:47,083 to bring down these flights. 690 00:33:48,208 --> 00:33:50,667 - The EMS spectrum can cause problems, 691 00:33:50,750 --> 00:33:53,167 but we really haven't had a lot of incidents 692 00:33:53,208 --> 00:33:56,167 where we pointed towards electromagnetic interference 693 00:33:56,208 --> 00:33:58,833 as potentially downing an aircraft. 694 00:33:58,917 --> 00:34:02,083 Even though the surface of the Earth is constantly bombarded 695 00:34:02,167 --> 00:34:03,542 in the electromagnetic spectrum. 696 00:34:03,625 --> 00:34:05,542 Times that it would be most at risk 697 00:34:05,625 --> 00:34:08,500 of causing a problem would be in the descent 698 00:34:08,583 --> 00:34:12,208 of the aircraft and not in midair. 699 00:34:13,208 --> 00:34:16,208 - An NTSB report cited about 11 sources 700 00:34:16,333 --> 00:34:19,333 of electromagnetic energy in the area. 701 00:34:19,458 --> 00:34:22,333 The largest of them emitting about 800 Watts 702 00:34:22,458 --> 00:34:24,583 with a peak of about 1,000 Watts. 703 00:34:24,667 --> 00:34:28,083 This energy decays with distance and when you tally 704 00:34:28,167 --> 00:34:31,583 all the sources at an altitude of 13,000 feet 705 00:34:31,667 --> 00:34:35,208 at one airplane, I don't think you have enough energy 706 00:34:35,292 --> 00:34:38,125 to trigger an explosion in the center wing tank. 707 00:34:38,208 --> 00:34:40,292 - [Laurence] Even so, speculation about 708 00:34:40,375 --> 00:34:42,875 the military's role in the crash continues. 709 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:46,167 - It is unfortunate that a small number 710 00:34:46,208 --> 00:34:50,333 of people pursuing their own agendas have persisted 711 00:34:50,375 --> 00:34:53,958 in making unfounded charges of a government coverup 712 00:34:54,042 --> 00:34:55,417 in this investigation. 713 00:34:55,500 --> 00:34:56,750 (whoosh) 714 00:34:56,833 --> 00:34:59,042 - A lot of people will point to government coverups 715 00:34:59,125 --> 00:35:00,667 and government conspiracies 716 00:35:00,708 --> 00:35:02,875 because the government isn't always good 717 00:35:02,958 --> 00:35:05,125 at dispelling the rumors. 718 00:35:05,208 --> 00:35:07,500 Sometimes, the government doesn't come out 719 00:35:07,583 --> 00:35:10,125 and dispel these conspiracy theories 720 00:35:10,208 --> 00:35:13,667 because to do so would require revealing evidence 721 00:35:13,708 --> 00:35:15,833 that shouldn't be in the public domain. 722 00:35:21,333 --> 00:35:22,667 - [Laurence] It's been more than 20 years since the 723 00:35:22,750 --> 00:35:25,083 National Transportation Safety Board released 724 00:35:25,208 --> 00:35:28,583 its August 2000 report on Flight 800. 725 00:35:28,708 --> 00:35:30,667 Some relatives of the victims continued 726 00:35:30,708 --> 00:35:32,333 to dispute its findings. 727 00:35:32,458 --> 00:35:34,000 With the help of researchers, 728 00:35:34,042 --> 00:35:36,833 these families have discovered evidence allegedly withheld 729 00:35:36,875 --> 00:35:41,458 from the NTSB of nearby live-fire military exercises, 730 00:35:41,542 --> 00:35:44,083 showing an object headed toward the plane 731 00:35:44,208 --> 00:35:46,375 just before it exploded. 732 00:35:46,500 --> 00:35:50,583 - Some of the family of the victims of Flight 800 now think 733 00:35:50,667 --> 00:35:53,375 that maybe there is a coverup going on, 734 00:35:53,458 --> 00:35:57,500 and maybe this was a direct military attack. 735 00:35:58,833 --> 00:36:00,333 - [Laurence] The idea that the US Military could 736 00:36:00,417 --> 00:36:02,625 accidentally shoot down a passenger plane, 737 00:36:02,708 --> 00:36:04,375 isn't wild speculation. 738 00:36:04,458 --> 00:36:07,208 It actually happened just eight years prior 739 00:36:07,292 --> 00:36:10,167 to the explosion of Flight 800. 740 00:36:10,208 --> 00:36:14,292 - In 1988, the USS Vincennes had actually shot down 741 00:36:14,375 --> 00:36:17,375 an Iranian airliner originating out of Tehran. 742 00:36:17,458 --> 00:36:18,833 They thought that it was actually 743 00:36:18,958 --> 00:36:21,167 an Iranian Air Force Fighter aircraft 744 00:36:21,208 --> 00:36:23,500 and fired two surface-to-air missiles downing 745 00:36:23,625 --> 00:36:27,250 the civilian airliner. That occurred in 1988. 746 00:36:27,375 --> 00:36:29,917 It was still fairly fresh in the public's mind. 747 00:36:31,042 --> 00:36:32,583 - Some of the family now say 748 00:36:32,667 --> 00:36:35,500 that if the military is responsible for this, 749 00:36:35,542 --> 00:36:37,458 then they too should be held accountable 750 00:36:37,542 --> 00:36:39,958 for the tragedy of Flight 800. 751 00:36:40,042 --> 00:36:44,500 - Families of the victims never gave up and they want 752 00:36:44,542 --> 00:36:48,583 to bring their own investigators do their investigation. 753 00:36:49,500 --> 00:36:51,667 - [Laurence] In June of 2022, 754 00:36:51,792 --> 00:36:54,542 the families filed a lawsuit against the US Navy 755 00:36:54,625 --> 00:36:57,875 and two government contractors to pursue this theory and, 756 00:36:58,000 --> 00:36:59,917 hopefully, discover the truth. 757 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:02,375 - The lawsuit alleges that the government knows full well 758 00:37:02,500 --> 00:37:04,875 what happened, but covered up that information 759 00:37:04,958 --> 00:37:08,208 because, they allege, the Government caused the crash. 760 00:37:08,292 --> 00:37:12,375 (intense music) (missile whooshing) 761 00:37:12,500 --> 00:37:13,792 - [Laurence] According to this theory, 762 00:37:13,875 --> 00:37:17,000 the Navy shot down the plane during war games, 763 00:37:17,083 --> 00:37:18,542 then covered it up. 764 00:37:18,625 --> 00:37:21,792 - The lawsuit says that this was a friendly fire. 765 00:37:21,875 --> 00:37:24,750 There were two missiles fired from a Navy vessel, 766 00:37:24,875 --> 00:37:26,750 but they went awry. 767 00:37:26,833 --> 00:37:29,500 It was supposed to hit another target 768 00:37:29,583 --> 00:37:32,958 but hit the bigger plane with more heat signature 769 00:37:33,042 --> 00:37:34,792 that was TWA 800. 770 00:37:36,333 --> 00:37:39,250 - According to their lawsuit, the Navy's radar caught 771 00:37:39,333 --> 00:37:42,542 the actual debris from the airplane exploding 772 00:37:42,625 --> 00:37:45,083 and measured the velocities of the particles 773 00:37:45,167 --> 00:37:48,458 and say that they were moving at 4,000 miles per hour, 774 00:37:48,542 --> 00:37:51,500 which is four times faster than the speed of sound. 775 00:37:51,625 --> 00:37:52,958 - [Laurence] Their allegation states, 776 00:37:53,042 --> 00:37:56,042 only a US military-grade missile could cause the debris 777 00:37:56,042 --> 00:37:57,667 to move at that rate. 778 00:37:57,708 --> 00:37:59,333 - They alleged that the radar data 779 00:37:59,458 --> 00:38:02,792 from those tests was withheld from the NTSB but given 780 00:38:02,875 --> 00:38:05,750 to the FBI within minutes of the crash. 781 00:38:07,292 --> 00:38:09,833 - And so, with without analyzing the radar images, 782 00:38:09,917 --> 00:38:13,833 the NTSB concluded there was no evidence of a missile. 783 00:38:13,958 --> 00:38:16,417 - None of the participating bomb technicians, 784 00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:20,417 nor myself, have seen any indication 785 00:38:20,500 --> 00:38:23,708 of high-explosive effects on any of the wreckage recovered 786 00:38:23,833 --> 00:38:24,917 from Flight 800. 787 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:26,167 (missile booms) 788 00:38:26,208 --> 00:38:28,125 - [Laurence] This theory has its detractors. 789 00:38:28,208 --> 00:38:29,333 (missile booms) 790 00:38:29,500 --> 00:38:32,458 - They claim that only a missile could create 791 00:38:32,542 --> 00:38:34,667 such high-velocity debris. 792 00:38:34,708 --> 00:38:37,458 I'm not convinced of that. A meteor is gonna be moving faster 793 00:38:37,542 --> 00:38:40,792 than a missile but the devil's in the details. 794 00:38:40,875 --> 00:38:43,167 - The idea that fast-moving debris could 795 00:38:43,250 --> 00:38:46,875 only have been caused by a missile strike is contradicted 796 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:48,500 by the facts of physics. 797 00:38:48,542 --> 00:38:50,667 Fast-moving debris from the aircraft was 798 00:38:50,792 --> 00:38:53,958 almost certainly created by the explosion of that aircraft 799 00:38:54,042 --> 00:38:56,542 and not by an intersection with some form of missile. 800 00:38:58,750 --> 00:39:00,792 - [Laurence] But what about the allegations 801 00:39:00,875 --> 00:39:03,542 that the Navy war games shut down the plane? 802 00:39:03,625 --> 00:39:05,583 - That scenario also has no merit 803 00:39:05,708 --> 00:39:09,208 because a destroyer was alleged to have shot a missile, 804 00:39:09,292 --> 00:39:11,375 but that destroyer was actually, 805 00:39:11,500 --> 00:39:14,375 maybe a hundred miles plus south and none of the missiles 806 00:39:14,500 --> 00:39:18,000 on it had the range to bring down the plane. 807 00:39:18,083 --> 00:39:20,458 - No fragments from any surface-to-air missile have 808 00:39:20,542 --> 00:39:22,333 ever been found in the wreckage 809 00:39:22,417 --> 00:39:24,667 or near the wreckage of Flight 800. 810 00:39:24,750 --> 00:39:27,792 Also, the missile theory does not explain 811 00:39:27,875 --> 00:39:30,958 why the aircraft lost communication with the ground. 812 00:39:32,667 --> 00:39:34,833 - [Laurence] The Transportation Board still insists 813 00:39:34,917 --> 00:39:38,667 that the investigation is and should be closed. 814 00:39:38,708 --> 00:39:41,583 - The recovered wreckage of TWA Flight 800 was kept 815 00:39:41,708 --> 00:39:45,625 in a hangar outside Ashburn, Virginia for 25 years 816 00:39:45,708 --> 00:39:49,625 and was used as a training aid for other NTSB investigators. 817 00:39:50,667 --> 00:39:52,792 - Families had nothing. 818 00:39:52,875 --> 00:39:56,667 Many of them did not have the remains of their loved ones. 819 00:39:56,750 --> 00:40:01,333 Allowing them that opportunity to go into the hangar, seeing 820 00:40:01,458 --> 00:40:06,000 the wreckage had to be a tremendous relief to them. 821 00:40:06,083 --> 00:40:08,917 - You know, losing somebody is extremely hard, 822 00:40:09,042 --> 00:40:11,375 especially if you don't get to say goodbye to them. 823 00:40:11,458 --> 00:40:13,667 But this is also such a big moment 824 00:40:13,708 --> 00:40:16,000 because the lease is done with this building 825 00:40:16,042 --> 00:40:18,542 and they're gonna destroy all of the pieces. 826 00:40:18,625 --> 00:40:21,625 So, it's kind of forcing a lot of these families 827 00:40:21,708 --> 00:40:23,167 to really say goodbye. 828 00:40:23,250 --> 00:40:26,458 You know, like the book is closed, the chapter's closed. 829 00:40:26,542 --> 00:40:28,500 - [Laurence] Perhaps their lawsuit will at last bring 830 00:40:28,583 --> 00:40:31,750 the families of the victims, the closure they seek. 831 00:40:31,875 --> 00:40:36,667 But we may never definitively know why TWA 800 crashed. 832 00:40:36,750 --> 00:40:39,083 - I think it continues to capture public imagination 833 00:40:39,083 --> 00:40:42,042 because it was one of the first real sensational events 834 00:40:42,042 --> 00:40:44,042 that happened at the dawn of the internet. 835 00:40:44,167 --> 00:40:47,958 And so, people got online to share ideas and theories 836 00:40:47,958 --> 00:40:49,000 and they wanted answers. 837 00:40:49,125 --> 00:40:50,875 So, in that narrative void, people came up 838 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:53,500 with their own conjecture and their own answers. 839 00:40:53,542 --> 00:40:56,000 - History is full of tragedies and in many cases, 840 00:40:56,167 --> 00:40:59,458 we don't actually, ever find a conclusive answer. 841 00:40:59,542 --> 00:41:01,833 - Just went down. - And when you have people 842 00:41:01,917 --> 00:41:03,000 that are involved 843 00:41:03,042 --> 00:41:05,417 because their family members died tragically, 844 00:41:05,500 --> 00:41:07,250 people will still wonder about it. 845 00:41:07,333 --> 00:41:09,333 What happened to Flight 800? 846 00:41:09,375 --> 00:41:12,167 (dramatic music) 847 00:41:12,208 --> 00:41:15,500 - While the latest theory gets tested in a court of law, 848 00:41:15,542 --> 00:41:18,667 the cause of the crash of Flight 800 continues 849 00:41:18,708 --> 00:41:20,167 to ignite debate. 850 00:41:20,292 --> 00:41:21,667 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 851 00:41:21,708 --> 00:41:25,167 Thank you for watching History's Greatest Mysteries. 852 00:41:25,250 --> 00:41:26,583 (dramatic music)