TWA Flight 800

Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA 800) was a scheduled flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport on July 17, 1996.^[1] The aircraft was a Boeing 747-100 carrying 212 passengers and 18 crew members.^[2] The plane exploded just 12 minutes after takeoff, tore apart and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York.^[1] There were no survivors.^[3] The cause was determined to be a spark that ignited the center wing fuel tank. It remains the third-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history.^[4] It is one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Boeing 747 in history.

Trans World Airlines Flight 800

The reconstructed wreckage of TWA 800, stored at Calverton Executive Airpark by the NTSB
Accident
Date	July 17, 1996 (1996-07-17)
Summary	In-flight breakup due to fuel tank explosion caused by short circuit
Site	New York Bight near East Moriches, New York 40°39′N 72°38′W
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 747-131
Operator	Trans World Airlines
IATA flight No.	TW800
ICAO flight No.	TWA800
Call sign	TWA 800
Registration	N93119
Flight origin	John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport New York City
Stopover	Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris
Destination	Leonardo da Vinci Airport Rome
Occupants	230
Passengers	212
Crew	18
Fatalities	230
Survivors	0

Passengers and Crew

Nationality	Passengers	Crew	Total
United States	125	17	142
France	42	0	42
Argentina	10	0	10
Algeria	9	0	9
Italy	8	1	9
United Kingdom	7	0	7
Mexico	7	0	7
Denmark	6	0	6
Belgium	4	0	4
Ireland	4	0	4
Netherlands	3	0	3
Germany	2	0	2
Norway	2	0	2
Australia	2	0	2
Canada	1	0	1
Israel	1	0	1
Japan	1	0	1
Spain	1	0	1
Sweden	1	0	1
Ivory Coast	1	0	1
Total	212	18	230

Most of the 230 occupants on-board were from the United States, but 42 more came from France, 10 from Argentina, and 60 more from sixteen other countries.

The pilots on board TWA Flight 800 were Captain Ralph G. Kevorkian, Co-pilot Steven E. Snyder and Flight Engineer Richard G. Campbell. All had more than 30 years employment with Trans World Airlines. There was also a Flight Engineer Trainee on board Oliver Krick, who was starting the sixth leg of his initial operating experience training.

References

1. "Board Meeting : TWA flight 800, Atlantic Ocean Near East Moriches, New York, July 17, 1996". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
2. James Sanders, The Downing of TWA Flight 800 (New York: EPinnacle, 2013), p. 15
3. Chuck Hadad (July 15, 2014). "5 things you didn't know about the crash of TWA Flight 800". CNN. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
4. Ana Borruto (July 17, 2016). "TWA Flight 800 Remembered on 20th Anniversary". Long Island Press. Morey Publishing, LLC. Retrieved December 8, 2016.

Other websites

• The Crash of TWA Flight 800; YouTube