TWA Crash 'New Evidence' Of Missile Strike
From: AP June 20, 2013 1:33AM
Former investigators push for new probe into TWA 800 crash, saying new evidence of missile strike
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FORMER investigators are pushing to reopen the investigation into the 1996 crash of a jumbo jet off the coast of New York, saying new evidence points to the often-discounted theory that a missile strike may have downed the Paris-bound flight.
TWA Flight 800 crashed July 17, 1996, just minutes after the jetliner took off from John F. Kennedy Airport, killing all 230 people aboard.
The effort to reopen the probe is being made in tandem with the release next month of a documentary that features the testimony of former investigators who raise doubts about the National Transportation Safety Board's conclusion that the crash was caused by a center fuel tank explosion, probably caused by a spark from a short-circuit in the wiring.
In a petition asking the NTSB to reopen the probe, they say they reviewed the FAA radar evidence along with new evidence that was not available to the safety board during the official investigation.
Witnesses on another flight reported seeing "explosions" on the ground and air "about five miles" away after takeoff.
You can hear the recording on our video above.
In this 1997 file photo, FBI agents and New York state police guard the reconstruction of TWA Flight 800. Flight 800 exploded and crashed July 17, 1996 while flying from New York to Paris, killing all 230 people aboard. Picture: AP
Those calling for a review of the investigation include former NTSB accident investigator Hank Hughes and Bob Young, a former senior accident investigator for the now-defunct TWA.
Tom Stalcup, a physicist and co-founder of a group called Flight 800 Independent Researchers Organisation, also questions the NTSB's original findings and is featured prominently in the documentary, which is slated to air on the 17th anniversary of the crash next month.
The NTSB issued a statement saying it is aware of the upcoming documentary.
"All petitions for reconsideration are thoroughly reviewed, and a determination is usually made within about 60 days,'' spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said.
"While the NTSB rarely re-investigates issues that have already been examined, our investigations are never closed and we can review any new information not previously considered by the board.''
She noted the TWA Flight 800 investigation lasted four years.
A 1997 CIA animation of the disintegration of Paris-bound TWA Flight 800 as it explodes off the coast of New York on July 17, 1996. Former investigators are calling for probe into the crash, saying new evidence suggests a missile strike may have downed the jumbo jet. Picture: AP Photo/Central Intelligence Agency, File
"Investigators took great care reviewing, documenting and analysing facts and data and held a five-day hearing to gather additional facts before determining the probable cause of the accident during a two-day board meeting.''
The former investigators calling for a new probe say they have new evidence that a missile may have taken down the jet.
They contend that the testimony of more than 200 witnesses who reported seeing streaks of light headed toward the plane should be reconsidered.
The NTSB said after the first investigation that it found no evidence of a missile strike. It explained that what witnesses likely saw was the jetliner pitching upward in the first few moments after the explosion, but some witnesses still maintain that the streak of light they saw emanated from the waterline and zoomed upward toward the plane.
The petition filed with the NTSB to reopen the probe claims "new analyses of the FAA radar evidence demonstrate that the explosion that caused the crash did not result from a low-velocity fuel-air explosion as the NTSB has determined. Rather, it was caused by a detonation or high-velocity explosion.''
John Seaman, the longtime leader of an organisation of TWA 800 victims' families, noted there have been several attempts over the years to reopen the investigation.
Woman mourns passengers killed on TWA Flight 800 in July, 1996 at New York's Fire Island. Picture: AP
"Unless something was to develop that would be very clear and compelling, then a lot of these interested parties are not really helpful,'' said Mr Seaman, whose niece died on the flight. He spoke to The Associated Press in a telephone interview from upstate New York on Tuesday, ahead of the formal filing of the petition.
"They reopen wounds,'' he said of the petitioners.
"Personally I can't keep going over it again and again. I think most families feel that way.''
This photo released by the US National Transportation Safety Board from March 6, 1997, shows reconstruction work continuing in Calverton, New York on TWA Flight 800. Picture: AP/NTSB, File
