1 00:00:03,133 --> 00:00:08,182 - A Boeing 747-100 en route to Paris from JFK 2 00:00:08,269 --> 00:00:10,575 went down off the southern shore of Long Island 3 00:00:10,662 --> 00:00:12,751 about 50 miles east of Manhattan. 4 00:00:12,838 --> 00:00:14,014 [ominous music] 5 00:00:14,101 --> 00:00:15,493 - It was a horrific scene. 6 00:00:15,580 --> 00:00:17,843 It touched the psyche of the American public. 7 00:00:17,930 --> 00:00:22,065 - 212 passengers and a crew of 17 were reported on board. 8 00:00:22,152 --> 00:00:23,588 It is believed none have survived. 9 00:00:23,675 --> 00:00:26,635 ♪ ♪ 10 00:00:26,722 --> 00:00:28,506 - This is the first time 11 00:00:28,593 --> 00:00:32,771 that the FBI ever reconstructed a huge plane like this. 12 00:00:32,858 --> 00:00:34,773 - It was unprecedented. 13 00:00:34,860 --> 00:00:37,298 Recovered over 96% of this aircraft 14 00:00:37,385 --> 00:00:40,388 over a series of a year and a half. 15 00:00:40,475 --> 00:00:42,259 - Unless it's criminal in nature, 16 00:00:42,346 --> 00:00:44,218 the FBI's not gonna be brought in. 17 00:00:44,305 --> 00:00:47,656 But we don't know what happened, right? 18 00:00:47,743 --> 00:00:51,877 - From 1982, there were approximately 1,000 people 19 00:00:51,964 --> 00:00:56,143 that were killed in airplane incidents involving terrorism. 20 00:00:56,230 --> 00:00:57,753 - We were feeling, "My God," you know, 21 00:00:57,840 --> 00:00:59,450 "We have another terrorist act here." 22 00:00:59,537 --> 00:01:04,760 ♪ ♪ 23 00:01:04,846 --> 00:01:06,631 [dramatic music] 24 00:01:06,718 --> 00:01:09,808 - In the FBI, we make a lot of headlines. 25 00:01:09,895 --> 00:01:12,768 ♪ ♪ 26 00:01:12,855 --> 00:01:13,986 Drug busts, 27 00:01:14,074 --> 00:01:16,859 mob stings, 28 00:01:16,946 --> 00:01:18,948 terrorist takedowns. 29 00:01:19,035 --> 00:01:21,124 - Get down! Get down! 30 00:01:21,211 --> 00:01:23,170 - We understand why people want to tell stories about us. 31 00:01:23,257 --> 00:01:24,214 - Mark it. 32 00:01:24,301 --> 00:01:25,998 - Freeze! - FBI. 33 00:01:26,086 --> 00:01:27,696 - FBI! - Action! 34 00:01:27,783 --> 00:01:29,437 - But they don't know the half of it. 35 00:01:29,524 --> 00:01:31,003 [indistinct radio chatter] 36 00:01:31,091 --> 00:01:33,136 What really goes down, 37 00:01:33,223 --> 00:01:35,443 we save that for each other 38 00:01:35,530 --> 00:01:37,793 when we're talking agent to agent. 39 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,535 ♪ ♪ 40 00:01:40,622 --> 00:01:43,755 This is "FBI True." 41 00:01:52,199 --> 00:01:55,723 [soft tense music] 42 00:01:55,811 --> 00:01:59,336 - Cindy Coppola is a 23-year veteran of the FBI. 43 00:01:59,423 --> 00:02:01,033 She worked on cases that included 44 00:02:01,121 --> 00:02:03,427 organized crime and terrorism 45 00:02:03,514 --> 00:02:05,908 and took part in multinational investigations 46 00:02:05,995 --> 00:02:08,562 into drug trafficking and money laundering. 47 00:02:08,650 --> 00:02:11,000 Coppola finished her career with the Los Angeles division 48 00:02:11,087 --> 00:02:14,003 running two offices, supervising investigations, 49 00:02:14,090 --> 00:02:16,788 and providing undercover security for special events. 50 00:02:16,875 --> 00:02:18,834 ♪ ♪ 51 00:02:18,921 --> 00:02:22,794 - I know you guys worked the TWA Flight 800 case together. 52 00:02:22,881 --> 00:02:25,667 ♪ ♪ 53 00:02:25,754 --> 00:02:28,148 And when I first came into the Bureau, 54 00:02:28,235 --> 00:02:29,497 that had just recently happened 55 00:02:29,584 --> 00:02:32,195 about six or seven months prior. 56 00:02:32,281 --> 00:02:33,718 And there were, you know, 57 00:02:33,805 --> 00:02:35,633 a lot of people still working on that case. 58 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:37,679 - You have an airplane that fell into the ocean 59 00:02:37,766 --> 00:02:39,637 on a beautifully clear night. 60 00:02:39,724 --> 00:02:43,424 [helicopter whirring] 61 00:02:43,511 --> 00:02:45,948 The top story that night on all the news channels. 62 00:02:46,035 --> 00:02:48,385 - Witnesses say they heard at least one explosion, 63 00:02:48,472 --> 00:02:50,735 maybe two, and then some witnesses say 64 00:02:50,822 --> 00:02:54,348 they saw in the sky something that looked like a fireball. 65 00:02:54,435 --> 00:02:56,524 The jet had come from Athens, Greece to JFK. 66 00:02:56,611 --> 00:02:58,221 It was on the ground in New York 67 00:02:58,308 --> 00:03:00,876 for about three hours before heading to Paris. 68 00:03:00,963 --> 00:03:02,573 20 minutes later, it vanished from radar screens 69 00:03:02,660 --> 00:03:05,446 and at this point, there is no word 70 00:03:05,533 --> 00:03:07,665 if the pilots made a distress call. 71 00:03:07,752 --> 00:03:10,451 - And having seen it on television, 72 00:03:10,538 --> 00:03:12,627 I called down to the office to see, you know, 73 00:03:12,714 --> 00:03:13,976 if they needed any help. 74 00:03:14,063 --> 00:03:15,586 And the next day, 75 00:03:15,673 --> 00:03:17,545 they asked me to come out and give a hand 76 00:03:17,632 --> 00:03:20,287 out in East Moriches where we had set up 77 00:03:20,374 --> 00:03:22,767 a forward command post for the recovery effort. 78 00:03:22,853 --> 00:03:25,770 - For over 20 years, Kenneth Maxwell served 79 00:03:25,857 --> 00:03:27,946 in a variety of positions in the Bureau. 80 00:03:28,033 --> 00:03:31,211 A member of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, 81 00:03:31,298 --> 00:03:33,082 he led investigations into 82 00:03:33,168 --> 00:03:36,433 major international terrorist attacks on U.S. citizens. 83 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:38,870 Maxwell managed the FBI's immediate response 84 00:03:38,957 --> 00:03:42,309 to the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11. 85 00:03:42,396 --> 00:03:46,138 - We immediately responded, as the Bureau always does, 86 00:03:46,226 --> 00:03:48,445 in any type of major event, 87 00:03:48,531 --> 00:03:50,186 especially one of this magnitude. 88 00:03:50,273 --> 00:03:51,883 - Rescue workers worked through the night 89 00:03:51,970 --> 00:03:54,016 recovering wreckage and human remains. 90 00:03:54,103 --> 00:03:56,279 Now, the investigation this morning is being led 91 00:03:56,366 --> 00:04:00,936 by a task force from the FBI and New York City police. 92 00:04:01,023 --> 00:04:04,548 - There were 229 people on board the Paris-bound 747, 93 00:04:04,635 --> 00:04:06,246 TWA Flight 800. 94 00:04:06,333 --> 00:04:09,118 No survivors have been found. 95 00:04:09,205 --> 00:04:11,816 [downbeat music] 96 00:04:11,903 --> 00:04:14,993 ♪ ♪ 97 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:16,733 - It was a horrific scene. 98 00:04:16,821 --> 00:04:18,519 It touched the psyche of the American public. 99 00:04:18,606 --> 00:04:19,737 ♪ ♪ 100 00:04:19,824 --> 00:04:22,000 - Neil Herman spent 25 years 101 00:04:22,087 --> 00:04:24,307 working domestic and international terrorism cases 102 00:04:24,394 --> 00:04:25,743 out of New York City. 103 00:04:25,830 --> 00:04:27,267 He was a supervisor 104 00:04:27,354 --> 00:04:29,704 on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. 105 00:04:29,791 --> 00:04:32,054 Herman is the recipient of the prestigious 106 00:04:32,141 --> 00:04:35,840 FBI Director's Award for his counterterrorism work. 107 00:04:35,927 --> 00:04:38,452 - Others might not know that unless it's criminal in nature, 108 00:04:38,539 --> 00:04:40,932 the FBI's not gonna be brought in. 109 00:04:41,019 --> 00:04:44,153 But we don't' know what happened, right? 110 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:46,808 - The fact remained we didn't know what caused this, 111 00:04:46,895 --> 00:04:49,680 so we had to go into it with an open mind 112 00:04:49,767 --> 00:04:53,031 and we ran an investigation 113 00:04:53,118 --> 00:04:56,644 coupled with the National Transportation Safety Board. 114 00:04:56,731 --> 00:05:00,865 - The National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, 115 00:05:00,952 --> 00:05:03,781 is a U.S. government agency responsible for investigating 116 00:05:03,868 --> 00:05:06,175 civil transportation accidents. 117 00:05:06,262 --> 00:05:07,872 As the NTSB investigate 118 00:05:07,959 --> 00:05:10,745 whether a mechanical failure was responsible, 119 00:05:10,832 --> 00:05:13,965 the FBI explore a more frightening possibility: 120 00:05:14,052 --> 00:05:15,880 sabotage. 121 00:05:15,967 --> 00:05:18,143 - A number of former investigators have said 122 00:05:18,230 --> 00:05:20,581 you have to put the possibility of a bomb 123 00:05:20,668 --> 00:05:24,106 or sabotage at the very top of the list of possible suspects 124 00:05:24,193 --> 00:05:27,196 because as one said to me, Russ, just a short time ago, 125 00:05:27,283 --> 00:05:30,721 747s just don't blow up in the sky without some help. 126 00:05:30,808 --> 00:05:32,854 This is an airplane that has a very good track record, 127 00:05:32,941 --> 00:05:34,159 a very good safety record. 128 00:05:34,246 --> 00:05:35,639 - You gotta remember that 129 00:05:35,726 --> 00:05:38,642 everything that touched that plane once it landed 130 00:05:38,729 --> 00:05:41,471 from Europe at JFK International 131 00:05:41,558 --> 00:05:44,387 was in effect part of that investigation. 132 00:05:44,474 --> 00:05:47,564 [suspenseful music] 133 00:05:47,651 --> 00:05:50,306 We had massive investigations into the airport, 134 00:05:50,393 --> 00:05:54,963 we had agents shuttling in and out over long periods of time. 135 00:05:55,050 --> 00:06:01,883 ♪ ♪ 136 00:06:06,409 --> 00:06:10,848 - These things time, but I'm very, very confident 137 00:06:10,935 --> 00:06:12,415 that we will, as I said last night, 138 00:06:12,502 --> 00:06:13,764 get to the bottom of this. 139 00:06:13,851 --> 00:06:15,853 - Jim Kallstrom, rest his soul, 140 00:06:15,940 --> 00:06:17,855 took the bull by the horns and he said, 141 00:06:17,942 --> 00:06:20,684 "I'm in charge of this investigation. 142 00:06:20,771 --> 00:06:23,295 We have to have command and control," 143 00:06:23,383 --> 00:06:25,385 and everybody said, "You're right, Jim," 144 00:06:25,472 --> 00:06:26,473 and it went from there. 145 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:28,300 ♪ ♪ 146 00:06:28,388 --> 00:06:29,867 - Federal investigators say 147 00:06:29,954 --> 00:06:32,174 at least 65 bodies have now been recovered. 148 00:06:32,261 --> 00:06:35,438 - We were pretty certain early on 149 00:06:35,525 --> 00:06:37,397 that it was of a catastrophic nature, 150 00:06:37,484 --> 00:06:38,659 the breakup of this aircraft 151 00:06:38,746 --> 00:06:41,313 and the altitude it came down from, 152 00:06:41,401 --> 00:06:43,054 it was highly unlikely there were gonna be any survivors. 153 00:06:43,141 --> 00:06:46,014 ♪ ♪ 154 00:06:46,101 --> 00:06:49,757 But a human body still can be powerful evidence 155 00:06:49,844 --> 00:06:52,933 as far as blast damage, as far as explosive residue. 156 00:06:53,021 --> 00:06:54,631 All of that had to take place 157 00:06:54,718 --> 00:06:58,592 in those immediate first few days. 158 00:06:58,679 --> 00:07:01,377 The dive teams, FBI dive team, 159 00:07:01,464 --> 00:07:05,555 Suffolk County, NYPD, Nassau PD, 160 00:07:05,642 --> 00:07:07,818 whatever law enforcement agency had divers. 161 00:07:07,905 --> 00:07:09,559 - They were out there. - They were out there. 162 00:07:09,646 --> 00:07:13,084 Recovering victims of this awful event. 163 00:07:13,171 --> 00:07:19,177 ♪ ♪ 164 00:07:19,264 --> 00:07:20,570 - I remember you had people 165 00:07:20,657 --> 00:07:22,180 still strapped into their seats. 166 00:07:22,267 --> 00:07:24,095 - It was amazing that 167 00:07:24,182 --> 00:07:26,271 some of the victims' bodies were fairly well intact 168 00:07:26,358 --> 00:07:28,317 and very recognizable. 169 00:07:28,404 --> 00:07:32,060 The divers recovered them on the ocean floor. 170 00:07:32,147 --> 00:07:34,802 ♪ ♪ 171 00:07:34,889 --> 00:07:38,109 And others, you know, through time and sea life 172 00:07:38,196 --> 00:07:39,850 and all the other environmental factors, 173 00:07:39,937 --> 00:07:42,418 the bodies were no longer intact 174 00:07:42,505 --> 00:07:46,596 and we were recovering body parts. 175 00:07:46,683 --> 00:07:49,164 Then add to that when the weather got too bad 176 00:07:49,251 --> 00:07:50,731 for all of our dive teams, 177 00:07:50,818 --> 00:07:54,648 we leased three or four scallop trawlers 178 00:07:54,735 --> 00:07:57,738 with four agents on each scallop trawler. 179 00:07:57,825 --> 00:07:59,391 That was 24/7. 180 00:07:59,479 --> 00:08:01,785 And the agents' job was 181 00:08:01,872 --> 00:08:05,572 when those nets landed on the deck of the trawler, 182 00:08:05,659 --> 00:08:07,878 they would separate airplane parts 183 00:08:07,965 --> 00:08:12,013 and human remains from sea life, 184 00:08:12,100 --> 00:08:13,405 and the crew took care of the sea life 185 00:08:13,493 --> 00:08:16,539 and the agents maintaining the chain of custody. 186 00:08:16,626 --> 00:08:19,063 I remember Jim Kallstrom relating to me 187 00:08:19,150 --> 00:08:20,587 that Charlie Christopher, 188 00:08:20,674 --> 00:08:22,893 who worked for him in special operations, 189 00:08:22,980 --> 00:08:24,329 his wife was one of the flight attendants 190 00:08:24,416 --> 00:08:26,854 who perished that night. 191 00:08:26,941 --> 00:08:29,944 And Charlie calling Jim and just saying, "Please, Jim," 192 00:08:30,031 --> 00:08:31,511 you know, "Do whatever you have to do 193 00:08:31,598 --> 00:08:33,294 to find out what happened to my wife." 194 00:08:33,381 --> 00:08:36,211 It was devastating to all of the families, 195 00:08:36,298 --> 00:08:38,909 but it took on that personal touch, if you will, 196 00:08:38,996 --> 00:08:40,432 that one of our own colleagues 197 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:42,173 lost his lovely wife that evening. 198 00:08:42,260 --> 00:08:45,829 ♪ ♪ 199 00:08:45,915 --> 00:08:50,051 - We do not yet know what caused Flight 800 to crash, 200 00:08:50,138 --> 00:08:53,358 whether it was mechanical failure or sabotage. 201 00:08:53,445 --> 00:08:55,883 But we will find out. 202 00:08:55,970 --> 00:08:57,580 - You have to remember, for 3 1/2 years 203 00:08:57,667 --> 00:09:00,844 that led up this tragic event, 204 00:09:00,931 --> 00:09:04,413 we had been working on the World Trade Center bombing. 205 00:09:04,500 --> 00:09:05,980 - The explosion ripped through 206 00:09:06,067 --> 00:09:07,982 the World Trade Center's Twin Towers yesterday, 207 00:09:08,069 --> 00:09:10,767 apparently from a car bomb in an underground garage. 208 00:09:10,854 --> 00:09:13,857 Five people were killed, more than a thousand injured. 209 00:09:13,944 --> 00:09:16,599 - We had this ongoing investigation involving 210 00:09:16,686 --> 00:09:19,384 what was known as Manila Air, or the Bojinka plot. 211 00:09:19,471 --> 00:09:22,736 - Two bombs were supposed to explode simultaneously 212 00:09:22,823 --> 00:09:25,782 aboard two United Airlines 747s. 213 00:09:25,869 --> 00:09:27,610 One would be arriving from Los Angeles, 214 00:09:27,697 --> 00:09:29,351 the other from Singapore. 215 00:09:29,438 --> 00:09:31,179 - We were feeling, "My God," you know, 216 00:09:31,266 --> 00:09:33,007 "We have another terrorist act here." 217 00:09:33,094 --> 00:09:37,054 ♪ ♪ 218 00:09:37,141 --> 00:09:40,318 Did someone on board commit a suicide bombing? 219 00:09:40,405 --> 00:09:42,451 OR was there a bomb like Pan Am 103 220 00:09:42,538 --> 00:09:44,801 that was set into the cargo bay? 221 00:09:44,888 --> 00:09:48,065 - 52 minutes after departing London's Heathrow Airport, 222 00:09:48,152 --> 00:09:51,155 Pan Am Flight 103 crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland. 223 00:09:51,242 --> 00:09:52,940 All aboard are dead. 224 00:09:53,027 --> 00:09:56,683 - People from 21 countries filled these coffins. 225 00:09:56,770 --> 00:09:59,468 189 of them were American. 226 00:09:59,555 --> 00:10:04,734 - From 1982 until the event of TWA Flight 800, 227 00:10:04,821 --> 00:10:08,608 there were approximately 1,000 people that were killed 228 00:10:08,695 --> 00:10:11,045 in airplane incidents involving terrorism. 229 00:10:11,132 --> 00:10:13,613 ♪ ♪ 230 00:10:13,700 --> 00:10:17,442 The first weeks and months, we were doing all that we could 231 00:10:17,529 --> 00:10:20,881 to eliminate certain potential criminal acts. 232 00:10:20,968 --> 00:10:24,232 - Every single passenger had to be vetted out, 233 00:10:24,319 --> 00:10:25,668 because you're looking at 234 00:10:25,755 --> 00:10:28,192 any variety of different causes here. 235 00:10:28,279 --> 00:10:31,152 The law is very strict with an aircraft accident. 236 00:10:31,239 --> 00:10:33,502 There's only two agencies that are allowed access 237 00:10:33,589 --> 00:10:36,636 to the manifest: NTSB and the FBI. 238 00:10:36,723 --> 00:10:39,943 The manifest is so important in events like this 239 00:10:40,030 --> 00:10:41,771 with aviation disasters. 240 00:10:41,858 --> 00:10:43,164 There may be suspects on there--look at 9/11. 241 00:10:43,251 --> 00:10:44,513 - Sure, yeah. - You know? 242 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:46,602 And the manifests were key 243 00:10:46,689 --> 00:10:49,649 in very quickly identifying the hijackers. 244 00:10:49,736 --> 00:10:53,391 So there's a real solid basis for getting that manifest 245 00:10:53,478 --> 00:10:55,698 and vetting it out fully. 246 00:10:55,785 --> 00:10:59,006 - You have agents and analysts running their history, 247 00:10:59,093 --> 00:11:01,225 their background, where they coming from, 248 00:11:01,312 --> 00:11:02,009 what were they doing, you know, all that stuff. 249 00:11:02,096 --> 00:11:04,359 - Right. 250 00:11:04,446 --> 00:11:06,753 - Agents cross-reference the names on the manifest 251 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:09,407 with police reports from the surrounding areas 252 00:11:09,494 --> 00:11:12,193 and review potentially suspicious internet traffic, 253 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,325 telephone calls, and letters from the days 254 00:11:14,412 --> 00:11:15,892 leading up to the tragedy, 255 00:11:15,979 --> 00:11:17,894 but they soon conclude that 256 00:11:17,981 --> 00:11:21,202 none of the victims played a role in the disaster. 257 00:11:21,289 --> 00:11:24,248 - But then at the same token, you're doing recovery, 258 00:11:24,335 --> 00:11:27,599 you're doing the evidence portion of it, 259 00:11:27,687 --> 00:11:30,515 and from what I remember, this is the first time 260 00:11:30,602 --> 00:11:35,346 that the FBI ever reconstructed a huge plane like this, right? 261 00:11:35,433 --> 00:11:39,394 [tense music] 262 00:11:39,481 --> 00:11:40,351 [slide projector clicks] 263 00:11:40,438 --> 00:11:42,049 ♪ ♪ 264 00:11:42,136 --> 00:11:44,355 - You can't get a conviction, necessarily, 265 00:11:44,442 --> 00:11:45,705 in any criminal matter 266 00:11:45,792 --> 00:11:47,663 just based upon eyewitness testimony, 267 00:11:47,750 --> 00:11:49,230 so you have to look to the evidence. 268 00:11:49,317 --> 00:11:50,710 What does the FBI do very well? 269 00:11:50,797 --> 00:11:53,451 Collect evidence and forensically analyze it. 270 00:11:53,538 --> 00:11:55,236 - To reconstruct the aircraft, 271 00:11:55,323 --> 00:11:57,281 the investigators set themselves up 272 00:11:57,368 --> 00:11:59,457 in a former Grumman aircraft facility 273 00:11:59,544 --> 00:12:01,329 in Calverton, New York. 274 00:12:01,416 --> 00:12:05,768 Maxwell leads the FBI's daily operations at the hangar. 275 00:12:05,855 --> 00:12:07,378 - Now think about this for a second. 276 00:12:07,465 --> 00:12:08,379 What do we have here? 277 00:12:08,466 --> 00:12:10,817 - Water. - The ocean. 278 00:12:10,904 --> 00:12:13,907 - Rescuers said their job was made harder by three things-- 279 00:12:13,994 --> 00:12:16,039 the darkness-- there was no moon-- 280 00:12:16,126 --> 00:12:18,868 a five mile-long oil slick left by the burning fuel 281 00:12:18,955 --> 00:12:20,783 in the fully loaded aircraft, 282 00:12:20,870 --> 00:12:22,829 and the water, 120 feet deep. 283 00:12:24,569 --> 00:12:26,093 - It was unprecedented. 284 00:12:26,180 --> 00:12:28,791 Recovered over 96% of this aircraft 285 00:12:28,878 --> 00:12:31,228 over a series of a year and a half 286 00:12:31,315 --> 00:12:33,796 and then taking all of that debris, 287 00:12:33,883 --> 00:12:36,146 millions of pieces of debris, 288 00:12:36,233 --> 00:12:41,282 some as large as an almost intact wing of a 747, 289 00:12:41,369 --> 00:12:45,721 to small bits of metal and fabric and personal effects 290 00:12:45,808 --> 00:12:48,768 that all had to be collected and analyzed forensically. 291 00:12:48,855 --> 00:12:51,205 - So you guys are collecting all this evidence... 292 00:12:51,292 --> 00:12:52,467 - Yeah. 293 00:12:52,554 --> 00:12:54,208 - Trying to reconstruct the plane 294 00:12:54,295 --> 00:12:56,340 and in your mind you're like, "How are we gonna do this?" 295 00:12:56,427 --> 00:12:57,689 - Yeah. 296 00:12:57,777 --> 00:12:59,169 - How do you know what piece goes where? 297 00:12:59,256 --> 00:13:00,518 Does somebody say, "Hey, we're gonna need help 298 00:13:00,605 --> 00:13:02,216 from so-and-so," and you make a phone call? 299 00:13:02,303 --> 00:13:03,652 What happens? 300 00:13:03,739 --> 00:13:06,133 - The way the NTSB works, 301 00:13:06,220 --> 00:13:08,004 when there's an aircraft accident, 302 00:13:08,091 --> 00:13:12,661 they bring in anyone who has any type of role 303 00:13:12,748 --> 00:13:14,228 in that aircraft. 304 00:13:14,315 --> 00:13:16,621 That means the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, 305 00:13:16,708 --> 00:13:19,233 that means the airline itself, TWA, 306 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,278 that means people who knew where things belong 307 00:13:21,365 --> 00:13:22,714 in the aircraft. 308 00:13:22,802 --> 00:13:27,937 Gridding it out with the shape a 747, right? 309 00:13:28,024 --> 00:13:31,332 Fuselage, the wings. - Yeah, I remember. 310 00:13:31,419 --> 00:13:32,899 - And then we have separate rooms 311 00:13:32,986 --> 00:13:34,770 for different parts of the airplane that were coming in. 312 00:13:34,857 --> 00:13:37,686 It was a Herculean effort. 313 00:13:37,773 --> 00:13:40,732 And not only the fuselage of the 92-foot section, 314 00:13:40,820 --> 00:13:42,691 which was awesome in and of itself 315 00:13:42,778 --> 00:13:44,127 to be able to do that. 316 00:13:44,214 --> 00:13:47,783 Thousands of man-hours put into that. 317 00:13:47,870 --> 00:13:49,611 We had another hangar 318 00:13:49,698 --> 00:13:53,310 that was dedicated to the reconstruction of the cabin. 319 00:13:53,397 --> 00:13:55,443 You know, row-by-row and galley by galley 320 00:13:55,530 --> 00:13:58,228 and lavatory by lavatory. 321 00:13:58,315 --> 00:14:01,928 We were fortunate that because the seats, 322 00:14:02,015 --> 00:14:05,670 the numbers and letters were on the arm rests of the seats, 323 00:14:05,757 --> 00:14:07,237 it really facilitated 324 00:14:07,324 --> 00:14:10,371 the reconstruction of the cabin area. 325 00:14:10,458 --> 00:14:12,982 ♪ ♪ 326 00:14:13,069 --> 00:14:15,028 - Can you tell me what it was like 327 00:14:15,115 --> 00:14:16,899 when the families were allowed to come out 328 00:14:16,986 --> 00:14:18,553 to see the reconstruction? 329 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,991 - So the families arrived to view this incredible effort 330 00:14:22,078 --> 00:14:23,601 to put together the airplane 331 00:14:23,688 --> 00:14:25,386 where their loved ones were lost. 332 00:14:25,473 --> 00:14:27,823 - Almost seven months after the crash, 333 00:14:27,910 --> 00:14:30,217 family members were taken by investigators 334 00:14:30,304 --> 00:14:32,784 to the hangar where the bits and pieces of the plane 335 00:14:32,872 --> 00:14:34,264 had been reassembled. 336 00:14:34,351 --> 00:14:38,268 - It was exceedingly emotional to witness this. 337 00:14:38,355 --> 00:14:42,577 - We went in to see the seat that Jamie was sitting in, 338 00:14:42,664 --> 00:14:44,840 and looking at that, 339 00:14:44,927 --> 00:14:48,278 I know it was the last place that he had been 340 00:14:48,365 --> 00:14:51,107 and we were given white roses 341 00:14:51,194 --> 00:14:54,850 and each one of us put a white rose in the seat. 342 00:14:54,937 --> 00:14:59,681 - And we were very aware of how hard this would be 343 00:14:59,768 --> 00:15:01,204 not only for the victims' families, 344 00:15:01,291 --> 00:15:03,250 but the law enforcement personnel. 345 00:15:03,337 --> 00:15:05,165 - When you look at the empty seats 346 00:15:05,252 --> 00:15:09,691 that are charred and busted up and mangled, 347 00:15:09,778 --> 00:15:11,867 you immediately run through your mind, 348 00:15:11,954 --> 00:15:15,392 "These seats were full at one time and they were full of life 349 00:15:15,479 --> 00:15:17,046 "and full of people and children 350 00:15:17,133 --> 00:15:19,875 and husbands and wives," and it's just so upsetting 351 00:15:19,962 --> 00:15:22,225 to see them sitting there like that. 352 00:15:22,312 --> 00:15:25,533 ♪ ♪ 353 00:15:25,620 --> 00:15:28,840 - As the FBI continues its investigation, 354 00:15:28,928 --> 00:15:31,060 the results from forensic analysis 355 00:15:31,147 --> 00:15:34,629 seemingly confirm their worst fears. 356 00:15:34,716 --> 00:15:36,544 - As a result of scientific analysis 357 00:15:36,631 --> 00:15:39,286 conducted by federal examiners, 358 00:15:39,373 --> 00:15:43,203 microscopic explosive traces of unknown origin 359 00:15:43,290 --> 00:15:46,771 have been found relating to TWA Flight 800. 360 00:15:46,858 --> 00:15:50,165 - It was discovered at Washington in our lab 361 00:15:50,253 --> 00:15:53,648 that there were five separate-- five separate confirmations 362 00:15:53,735 --> 00:15:58,914 of high explosive residue found among that debris. 363 00:15:59,001 --> 00:16:01,351 The attorney general and the FBI, 364 00:16:01,438 --> 00:16:03,571 they were gonna declare this a criminal act 365 00:16:03,658 --> 00:16:05,747 just based upon that. 366 00:16:05,834 --> 00:16:09,098 And then at the 11th hour, it came to the Bureau's attention 367 00:16:09,185 --> 00:16:11,971 that the same aircraft was out of St. Louis 368 00:16:12,058 --> 00:16:15,148 a month prior in June 369 00:16:15,235 --> 00:16:18,325 and St. Louis Airport police bomb dog and the handler 370 00:16:18,412 --> 00:16:20,718 used that aircraft for... both: Training. 371 00:16:20,805 --> 00:16:23,983 - That's done often. 372 00:16:24,070 --> 00:16:25,897 The bomb dog handler actually 373 00:16:25,985 --> 00:16:28,117 planted different kinds of explosives 374 00:16:28,204 --> 00:16:29,684 in the cabin area and the galley 375 00:16:29,771 --> 00:16:31,164 just to see if the dog would find it. 376 00:16:31,251 --> 00:16:33,601 When that news came in, they said, "Time out." 377 00:16:33,688 --> 00:16:35,385 You know? "What do we got here?" 378 00:16:35,472 --> 00:16:38,519 And so what we were able to determine 379 00:16:38,606 --> 00:16:41,391 from the thorough interview of that police officer 380 00:16:41,478 --> 00:16:45,091 was that four of the five confirmations 381 00:16:45,178 --> 00:16:47,484 could have come from that training 382 00:16:47,571 --> 00:16:49,269 because they were very similar explosive chemicals 383 00:16:49,356 --> 00:16:51,488 that he had secreted. 384 00:16:51,575 --> 00:16:55,753 One, however, to this day, remains unexplained. 385 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:59,583 - Investigators examining the wreckage of TWA Flight 800 386 00:16:59,670 --> 00:17:03,500 have found traces of a chemical often used in explosives. 387 00:17:03,587 --> 00:17:07,200 - RDX, which is a high explosive chemical 388 00:17:07,287 --> 00:17:09,419 usually found in military ordinance, 389 00:17:09,506 --> 00:17:14,337 was recovered off the aft cargo bay curtain. 390 00:17:14,424 --> 00:17:17,210 You couldn't say, "Oh, those explosive residues 391 00:17:17,297 --> 00:17:20,560 definitely came from that dog training." 392 00:17:20,647 --> 00:17:23,781 But standing alone wasn't enough 393 00:17:23,867 --> 00:17:27,742 to declare that it was a crime because the bottom line was 394 00:17:27,829 --> 00:17:31,050 forensically, you couldn't match the residue 395 00:17:31,137 --> 00:17:33,008 with any type of physical damage 396 00:17:33,095 --> 00:17:35,010 to the metal structure of the plane. 397 00:17:35,097 --> 00:17:38,057 - When you're looking at potential terrorism avenue, 398 00:17:38,144 --> 00:17:39,623 it's ruled out, then. 399 00:17:39,710 --> 00:17:41,538 You rule out that it-- - Right. It gets ruled out. 400 00:17:41,625 --> 00:17:43,888 - But there were certain questions 401 00:17:43,975 --> 00:17:47,675 that couldn't be explained that were left in the gray area. 402 00:17:47,762 --> 00:17:49,807 For instance, in the missile theory... 403 00:17:49,894 --> 00:17:52,288 - Another major theory investigators are following 404 00:17:52,375 --> 00:17:56,249 is that Flight 800 may have been brought down by a missile. 405 00:17:56,336 --> 00:17:58,425 - There were very compelling eyewitnesses 406 00:17:58,512 --> 00:18:00,470 giving us detailed accounts of seeing something 407 00:18:00,557 --> 00:18:02,342 ascend into the sky 408 00:18:02,429 --> 00:18:06,172 and then seeing an explosion after following this trail. 409 00:18:06,259 --> 00:18:07,738 - And more than one witness. 410 00:18:07,825 --> 00:18:09,131 - Hundreds of people. - Right. Yeah. 411 00:18:09,218 --> 00:18:11,133 People seeing the same thing. 412 00:18:11,220 --> 00:18:12,700 - Right. Hundreds of people. 413 00:18:12,787 --> 00:18:15,355 So of course, that was the starting point. 414 00:18:15,442 --> 00:18:19,489 It was plausible that a missile could have risen 415 00:18:19,576 --> 00:18:20,577 from the surface and taken this plane out. 416 00:18:25,147 --> 00:18:26,235 - We do have some information 417 00:18:26,322 --> 00:18:28,150 that there was something in the sky. 418 00:18:28,237 --> 00:18:30,935 A number of people have seen it. 419 00:18:31,022 --> 00:18:33,547 A number of people have described it very similarly. 420 00:18:33,634 --> 00:18:36,811 - And we seen this white light, looked almost like a flare 421 00:18:36,898 --> 00:18:38,682 glowing in the sky. 422 00:18:38,769 --> 00:18:41,120 - Scores of witnesses tell the same story. 423 00:18:41,207 --> 00:18:42,991 - It was going on a downward trail, 424 00:18:43,078 --> 00:18:44,688 but very, very, slow. 425 00:18:44,775 --> 00:18:48,866 I mean, it was moving, like, that slow. 426 00:18:48,953 --> 00:18:51,304 And then it just, boom, just exploded. 427 00:18:51,391 --> 00:18:52,566 - What was it? 428 00:18:52,653 --> 00:18:54,524 - That is one of the principle anomalies 429 00:18:54,611 --> 00:18:55,699 in this whole investigation. 430 00:18:55,786 --> 00:18:57,223 What was it? 431 00:18:57,310 --> 00:18:59,094 - There were some eyewitness accounts 432 00:18:59,181 --> 00:19:01,052 that make it sound as if 433 00:19:01,140 --> 00:19:03,011 a missile could have been involved. 434 00:19:03,098 --> 00:19:07,624 There is precious else to support that at this stage. 435 00:19:07,711 --> 00:19:10,540 Nothing in the radar leads anybody to believe 436 00:19:10,627 --> 00:19:11,976 that there was a missile involved. 437 00:19:12,063 --> 00:19:16,590 - The CIA had a group of their experts and analysts 438 00:19:16,677 --> 00:19:19,027 look at all of our eyewitness accounts 439 00:19:19,114 --> 00:19:21,377 and apply science to it 440 00:19:21,464 --> 00:19:23,205 in terms of where was this person standing, 441 00:19:23,292 --> 00:19:26,643 the distance from the horizon, and they came to the conclusion 442 00:19:26,730 --> 00:19:29,559 that what they really saw at that distance 443 00:19:29,646 --> 00:19:31,692 was the illusion of something ascending. 444 00:19:31,779 --> 00:19:33,694 They really saw debris descending and falling. 445 00:19:33,781 --> 00:19:35,478 - Falling, descending. 446 00:19:35,565 --> 00:19:37,524 - So that theory was put to bed. 447 00:19:37,611 --> 00:19:39,221 [tense music] 448 00:19:39,308 --> 00:19:42,311 - The investigation began and lasted, in effect, 449 00:19:42,398 --> 00:19:44,444 for almost a year and a half. 450 00:19:53,061 --> 00:19:54,976 - And that's when the FBI withdrew 451 00:19:55,063 --> 00:19:57,805 from the investigation, turned it over to the NTSB, 452 00:19:57,892 --> 00:20:01,200 and let them draw the final conclusion. 453 00:20:01,287 --> 00:20:03,680 - Each Boeing 747 is equipped with seven fuel tanks, 454 00:20:03,767 --> 00:20:06,117 one in the belly and three in each wing, 455 00:20:06,205 --> 00:20:09,425 and connected to the tanks are 14 electrically powered pumps. 456 00:20:09,512 --> 00:20:11,079 Some investigators suggest 457 00:20:11,166 --> 00:20:12,950 an electrical spark coupled with a fuel leak, 458 00:20:13,037 --> 00:20:15,736 may have caused TWA 800 to explode. 459 00:20:15,823 --> 00:20:17,607 - And they drew the conclusion 460 00:20:17,694 --> 00:20:20,958 that the vapors in the center wing tank had heated up 461 00:20:21,045 --> 00:20:23,961 and made those vapors more volatile 462 00:20:24,048 --> 00:20:26,225 and that at a certain point, 463 00:20:26,312 --> 00:20:30,577 a spark ignited the center wing tank 464 00:20:30,664 --> 00:20:34,058 and caused the catastrophic breakup of the aircraft, 465 00:20:34,145 --> 00:20:36,365 so the NTSB came to the conclusion, 466 00:20:36,452 --> 00:20:39,586 "Well, it must have been some faulty wiring 467 00:20:39,673 --> 00:20:43,851 that caused the ignition," because this was an aged 747, 468 00:20:43,938 --> 00:20:45,809 one of the first ones off the line. 469 00:20:45,896 --> 00:20:48,682 ♪ ♪ 470 00:20:48,769 --> 00:20:51,119 Because of the age of the aircraft, 471 00:20:51,206 --> 00:20:54,122 there had to have been some type of sparking event 472 00:20:54,209 --> 00:20:56,080 that created the ignition for the explosion. 473 00:20:56,167 --> 00:20:59,780 [somber music] 474 00:20:59,867 --> 00:21:01,999 That's our probable cause. 475 00:21:02,086 --> 00:21:04,828 Now again, that standard is different 476 00:21:04,915 --> 00:21:07,266 from what the FBI would be required to do. 477 00:21:07,353 --> 00:21:08,919 I'm not saying that they were wrong, 478 00:21:09,006 --> 00:21:11,618 and I hesitate on saying this in a public venue 479 00:21:11,705 --> 00:21:13,576 because there are still families out there 480 00:21:13,663 --> 00:21:16,579 suffering from this, but from my perspective, 481 00:21:16,666 --> 00:21:18,886 that's still an unresolved question. 482 00:21:18,973 --> 00:21:21,149 There was a certain amount of anomalies 483 00:21:21,236 --> 00:21:24,413 and strange phenomena that occurred here 484 00:21:24,500 --> 00:21:28,287 that created such a doubt in my own mind 485 00:21:28,374 --> 00:21:31,420 that I cannot, as a professional, 486 00:21:31,507 --> 00:21:35,642 accept that final cause that's in the report. 487 00:21:35,729 --> 00:21:36,991 And that's all I'm gonna say. 488 00:21:37,078 --> 00:21:38,906 - Do you feel the same way, Neil? 489 00:21:38,993 --> 00:21:40,386 'Cause you did not come to any resolution. 490 00:21:40,473 --> 00:21:42,866 - It was very frustrating 491 00:21:42,953 --> 00:21:46,305 because we went down so many avenues 492 00:21:46,392 --> 00:21:50,874 and were unable to come to a conclusion 493 00:21:50,961 --> 00:21:54,051 and in the end, there were these unanswered questions 494 00:21:54,138 --> 00:21:56,315 that sort of left the doubt out there 495 00:21:56,402 --> 00:21:59,840 as to what actually really caused this. 496 00:21:59,927 --> 00:22:01,842 - 16 buses brought the families 497 00:22:01,929 --> 00:22:04,845 from Kennedy Airport to the edge of the Atlantic, 498 00:22:04,932 --> 00:22:07,935 the ocean where they lost their fathers and mothers, 499 00:22:08,022 --> 00:22:09,893 their sons and daughters, 500 00:22:09,980 --> 00:22:14,158 and then everyone walked down to the water's edge. 501 00:22:14,245 --> 00:22:17,205 Wreaths were rowed out into the surf. 502 00:22:17,292 --> 00:22:20,295 Some mourners waded in on their own, 503 00:22:20,382 --> 00:22:22,079 ankle-deep in the waters 504 00:22:22,166 --> 00:22:25,300 where many of their relatives are still missing. 505 00:22:25,387 --> 00:22:29,870 They cast their sorrow into the sea. 506 00:22:46,060 --> 00:22:48,018 - I've always said from the beginning 507 00:22:48,105 --> 00:22:53,023 and I say it today that we really don't know 508 00:22:53,110 --> 00:22:57,680 what caused the demise of these 230 lost souls 509 00:22:57,767 --> 00:23:02,555 in a very definitive, final way. 510 00:23:02,642 --> 00:23:04,861 Having spent a good deal of my life, 511 00:23:04,948 --> 00:23:08,169 17 1/2 months on this investigation, 512 00:23:08,256 --> 00:23:13,043 it'll haunt me to my grave not knowing in my own heart 513 00:23:13,130 --> 00:23:15,176 what conclusively happened to this plane.