Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at approximately 8:31 p.m. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, on a scheduled international passenger flight to Rome with a stopover in Paris. All 230 people on board died in the crash; it is the third-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history. Accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) traveled to the scene, arriving the following morning amid speculation that a terrorist attack was the cause of the crash.
The reconstructed wreckage of TWA 800, stored by the NTSB at Calverton Executive Airpark
N93119, the aircraft involved in the accident, in May 1995.
The close-up view of N93119's front fuselage, in 1972, showing the seven plugged windows on the upper deck. These plugs were blown out following the explosion of Flight 800.
Burning wreckage of Flight 800 on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean
Aviation accidents and incidents
An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until all such persons have disembarked, and in which (a) a person is fatally or seriously injured, (b) the aircraft sustains significant damage or structural failure, or (c) the aircraft goes missing or becomes completely inaccessible. Annex 13 defines an aviation incident as an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft that affects or could affect the safety of operation.
PenAir Flight 3296 after its landing accident in 2019
Accident Investigation Team from the Civil Aeronautics Board with Director, Bobbie R. Allen - abt. 1965
CAB Supervisor Bobbie R. Allen and FAA Administrator Najeeb Halaby discuss accident details abt. 1963
United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.