NTSB Factual Report

On July 17, 1996, at 2031 EDT, a Boeing 747-131, N93119, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, about 8 miles south of East Moriches, New York, after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The airplane was being operated on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan under the provisions of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulation (CFR), Part 121, on a regularly scheduled flight to Charles De Gaulle International Airport (CDG), Paris, France, as Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 800. Witnesses saw an explosion and then debris descending to the ocean. The flightcrew did not report a problem to air traffic control. The airplane was manufactured in November 1971. It had accumulated about 93,303 flight hours and 16,869 cycles. On board the airplane were 212 passengers and 18 crewmembers. The airplane was destroyed by explosion, fire, and impact forces with the ocean. All 230 people aboard were killed.

On August 23, 2000, the National Transportation Safety Board adopted a final report on this accident. The report is identified as NTSB report number AAR-00/03.

NTSB Probable Cause

An explosion of the center wing fuel tank (CWT), resulting from ignition of the flammable fuel/air mixture in the tank. The source of ignition energy for the explosion could not be determined with certainty, but, of the sources evaluated by the investigation, the most likely was a short circuit outside of the CWT that allowed excessive voltage to enter it through electrical wiring associated with the fuel quantity indication system. Contributing factors to the accident were the design and certification concept that fuel tank explosions could be prevented solely by precluding all ignition sources and the design and certification of the Boeing 747 with heat sources located beneath the CWT with no means to reduce the heat transferred into the CWT or to render the fuel vapor in the tank nonflammable.