All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S11E01.Explosive.Proof.1080p.PMTP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

FE. KRICK: Power set.

[Explosion]

NEWSCAST (Archive): A TWA Flight
800 has exploded in mid-air.

NARRATOR: The sea is on fire.

BOB: It was a horrible thing.

NARRATOR: 230 lives are lost.

Eyewitnesses give a
frightening account.

AL: A lot of them
thought they saw missiles.

JAMES KALLSTROM: My gut said
it was an act of terrorism.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: All
right. Let's get to it.

NARRATOR:
The search for the truth
will pit crash investigators

against the nation's most
respected crime detectives.

JAMES KALLSTROM (Archive):
Microscopic explosive
traces of unknown origin.

AL: The criminal aspect
kept coming up over and over.

NARRATOR: To make their
case, the NTSB will attempt

the unthinkable.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: We're
gonna rebuild the entire plane.

JAMES WILDEY: It really
looks like an impossible job.

[♪ theme music ]

[♪ theme music ]

♪

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
(Archive): Heavy turn
here. Go left on Bravo today.

NARRATOR: It's a
hot summer evening

at John F. Kennedy
Airport in New York.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
(Archive): If you look
off your left, eight o'clock.

NARRATOR: Trans
World Airlines Flight 800

is almost an hour
late for departure.

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet
is carrying 212 passengers,

many of them now
growing impatient

for the flight to
Paris to get underway.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: Are we
gonna start placing bets

on when we actually push off?

NARRATOR:
Captain Ralph Kevorkian
is an experienced pilot,

but this will be just
his second training flight

as a 747 captain.

BOB: All airline
pilots, including captains,

are checked at least twice
yearly in flight procedures

and how well they
coordinate with their crew,

anything having
to do with flying.

And it's just
another safety measure

that the airlines go through.

CAPT. SNYDER: Twenty dollars
on us getting out of here

before sundown.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN:
I'll take that bet.

NARRATOR: Captain Steve
Snyder has been flying with TWA

for over 30 years.

Tonight, he's conducting the
line check on Captain Kevorkian

while also acting
as the first officer.

Janet Christopher is one
of fourteen flight attendants

on the big jet.

JANET: It'll be much
cooler when we're in the air.

NARRATOR: She's doing all
she can to make passengers

comfortable during
the ongoing delay.

JAMES KALLSTROM: She
was very, very senior,

the head stewardess on
the airplane that evening.

JANET: It
shouldn't be much longer.

Let me check with the captain.

JAMES KALLSTROM: Janet was
on that plane that evening

because she switched
with another stewardess

'cause she wanted to
be home that next weekend

'cause her son Charles was
gonna be given his Eagle Scout.

JANET: The crowd's getting
a bit restless. Any news?

CAPT. KEVORKIAN:
I haven't heard anything yet.
They're still looking.

NARRATOR: The reason for the
delay is that a piece of luggage

is on board but
its owner is not.

This is a red flag
for airline security.

JAMES KALLSTROM: We were
at a very high state of alert

in the United
States leading up to this

and we had all kinds
of threats coming in.

Not specific to aviation but
I mean real bona fide threats.

NARRATOR: The bombing of Air
India Flight 182 a decade ago

was a wake-up call
for the entire industry.

Terrorists checked a
bag packed with explosives

onto a jumbo jet bound
for Delhi. 329 people died.

Since then, all
checked bags must be matched

to seated passengers
before any flight can depart.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: Your old
man tell you it was gonna be

this exciting to
fly with us, Ollie?

FE. KRICK:
Oh yeah. It's a thrill a
minute, just like he described.

NARRATOR: Flight engineer
Oliver Krick is a new recruit

with only six
flights under his belt.

His father is also a TWA pilot.

BOB: The flight
engineer was only 25 years old.

It had to be pretty exciting
for him to be a flight engineer

on the queen of
the skies, the 747.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: You
wanna get in on this, Richard?

Twenty bucks. Easy money.

NARRATOR: Richard Campbell
completes the cockpit crew.

He's on board to help train
the young flight engineer.

Passengers wait as
the minutes tick by.

GATE AGENT: TWA 800?

CAPT. KEVORKIAN:
TWA 800. Go ahead.

GATE AGENT:
We're reconciled. Passenger
was on board the whole time.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: Are
you kidding me? Roger that.

CAPT. SNYDER: Hey,
you owe me twenty.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: Yeah,
yeah. We'll settle up in Paris.

Ladies and
gentlemen, from the flight deck

thank you all so
much for your patience.

We've been cleared to go.

We'll be pushing back
from the gate shortly.

♪

Takeoff thrust.

NARRATOR: Finally, at 8:19
pm, TWA Flight 800 is airborne.

♪

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER:
TWA 800, amend the altitude.

Maintain one-three
thousand, 13,000 for now.

CAPT. SNYDER: TWA 800 okay, stop
climb at one-three-thousand.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: Stop
climb one-three-thousand.

NARRATOR: Altitude reassignments
are a routine part

of the climb out from JFK.

BOB: The airspace
around New York City

is probably one of
the busiest in the world.

You have not only
JFK, you have La Guardia,

the Liberty Airport,
Teterboro, and they all

have to mesh together
air traffic control-wise.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER:
TWA 800, climb and
maintain one-five thousand.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: Climb thrust.

CAPT. SNYDER: TWA 800, climb
and maintain one-five thousand

leaving one-three thousand.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN:
Ollie. Climb thrust.

FE. KRICK: Power set.

♪

JANET: [Gasps]

♪

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: Talk to
me. What do you have for us?

NARRATOR: Without
warning, a powerful explosion

tears the fuselage apart.

BOB: In the front of the
airplane that broke off,

the centrifugal force
had to be just horrendous

as the nose fell down.

[Screaming and chaos]

NARRATOR: The front
third of the plane is gone.

What's left continues
skyward engulfed in flames.

[Screaming]

JAMES KALLSTROM: It went up
at least another thousand feet,

maybe fifteen
hundred feet, you know,

and flames pouring off of it.

♪

[Screaming]

BOB: It had to be
horrible for the passengers.

You'd have a 250, 300
knot wind all of a sudden

blasting them in the
face. It was a horrible thing.

AL: The TV had shots of
pieces of wreckage on fire

floating on the ocean.

NARRATOR: Debris from TWA
Flight 800 litters the water

nearly 75 miles
east of Manhattan.

NEWSCAST (Archive):
212 passengers, 17 crew.

212 passengers, 17 crew.

NARRATOR: Search and
rescue aircraft scan the sea.

A media swarm
descends on Long Island

where dozens of witnesses
are describing what they saw.

WITNESS (Archive):
Me and my cousin Joe, we was
over by the dock over there

and we was over there
crabbing and, uh, he says

yo, Darren, look in
the... look up in the air,

there's a big ball of, uh, fire.

AL: You had boats coming in
with pieces of wreckage on 'em

and some bodies being
brought right in there

and all sorts of press people
all over the place and police.

PRESIDENT CLINTON (Archive):
The National Transportation
Safety Board, the FAA

and the FBI are on
the scene of the crash.

As of now no
survivors have been found.

NARRATOR: With a nation in
shock, investigators begin

the painstaking task of
piecing together what happened

to TWA 800.

♪

By the next morning, it's clear

that none of the 230 people
aboard TWA 800 have survived.

♪

It is the third
deadliest airline disaster

in U.S. history.

The NTSB's lead
investigator, Al Dickinson,

faces an urgent task.

AL: It was extremely important
for us to find out what happened

because there were so
many 747s flying at that time.

The NTSB will
lead the investigation

while the FBI launches a
parallel criminal inquiry.

JAMES KALLSTROM: You
know, people think this is

the exclusive jurisdiction of
the NTSB. That's not correct.

If it's a criminal matter

we have to get
out there right away.

AL: We're used to a large area.

They're used to a crime
scene that they can tape off.

Try taping off a couple miles
worth of area out in the ocean.

It's impossible to do. So
they had to learn that things

are handled a
little bit differently.

NARRATOR: Both agencies
are hoping for quick results.

But TWA 800 will turn
into one of the longest

and most challenging
investigations ever conducted.

An abandoned
aircraft plant on Long Island

becomes a massive hangar for
thousands of pieces of aircraft

debris being pulled
from the ocean floor.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: Yeah. You can
take that just down over there.

AL: It was a perfect spot for
us to put every bit of wreckage

we recovered. I mean
there's piles of it.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
Nice to see you.

JAMES KALLSTROM: I just wish it
was under better circumstances.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
I think I should show you
something. Come with me.

NARRATOR: Investigators
have matched the seat numbers

with the passenger
and crew manifest.

They're able to
determine who sat where,

including flight
attendant Janet Christopher.

JAMES KALLSTROM: Her and her
husband were very close friends

of my wife and I. And I happened
to be in their wedding.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: This was
almost certainly Janet's seat.

♪

JAMES KALLSTROM:
You look at a seat

and then you put someone
that you care very much for

in that seat.
It's very emotional.

NARRATOR: The FBI believes they
may already have an explanation

for the disaster
over Long Island.

Three years earlier in
1993, terrorists drove a bomb

into the World Trade Center.

Just over a year
before, Timothy McVeigh

bombed the federal
building in Oklahoma.

Now, the mid-air
explosion of TWA 800

is also being
linked to terrorism.

AL: It was all over the
news how people thought

they saw something
going up to hit an aircraft.

A lot of 'em
thought they saw missiles.

JAMES KALLSTROM:
There were a lot of people

that wanted to do us
harm back in 1996, a lot,

and the FBI and other people
on the national security front

believed it was an act of
terrorism without question.

JAMES KALLSTROM: I'm
sure this was a bomb

and that we'll find the evidence
of that in this wreckage.

Just keep me posted.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: All
right. We'll go through it.

AL: Jim Kallstrom has
a, a strong personality.

JAMES KALLSTROM: Agent.

AL: And even though he
didn't say he's in charge

you got the
impression from him

that he was really running the show.

JAMES KALLSTROM: Well,
you know, I'd be lying to you

if I didn't tell you there
was some professional tension,

and there always is.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: All
right. Let's get to it.

BOB: We tried to keep an
open mind as much as possible,

and that would mean considering
something like a missile

until we had some, some honest
proof that that did not occur.

BOB [Archive]: Excuse us.

NARRATOR: Seven days
into the investigation,

the ocean salvage team makes a
major find -- the black boxes.

AL: Recovering the CVR
and the FDR is very important

in every investigation.

The trouble is you never
know what you're gonna get.

BOB: We sent them immediately
down to Washington, D.C.,

to be read out
after we found them.

NARRATOR: Technicians are
able to recover the data,

but it gives
investigators little to go on.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: TWA...

NARRATOR:
They hear no cockpit alarms or
signs of panic from the crew.

BOB: Normal
conversations in the cockpit.

Normal readouts on, on
the flight data recorder

up until the point
where a sharp noise was heard

and then nothing after that.

NARRATOR: NTSB investigators
spend weeks carefully searching

for any sign of foul play.

They study wreckage
from almost every part

of the 230-foot long plane.

AL: Pretty much the whole
time we were there we were

looking for
something that would support

any kind of missile or bomb.

NARRATOR: They find no
signs of an explosive device.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: No
pitting. No cratering. Nothing.

JAMES WILDEY: We didn't
find the, uh, soot patterns

in a radiating pattern that
might have been from a bomb.

We didn't find
this micro-cratering

where a hot piece of metal are
impacting other pieces of metal.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
It wasn't a bomb.

JAMES WILDEY: No piece had
any evidence of a bomb at all.

NARRATOR: Investigators know
the plane exploded in midair,

but they are convinced
this was not a terrorist act.

JAMES WILDEY: In a way it
made the Safety Board's job

much more difficult
because we had to now determine

what happened if there
was no bomb or missile

that caused the
airplane to come down.

NARRATOR: They hope an
analysis of the debris field

can provide some answers.

BOB: In an in-flight breakup
whatever comes off first

may have something to do
with the origin of the problem.

They divide the ocean
crash site into three zones.

The Red Zone,
nearest the airport,

is where the first pieces
of wreckage hit the water.

The Yellow Zone is where
the front third of the airplane

landed. The Green Zone
contains everything else.

Investigators scour the
debris from the Red Zone.

JAMES WILDEY: We had
to take these pieces

and develop a sequence
that showed that these pieces

would have been the
first ones that came off.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
What is this thing? Can we
get a closer look at this?

BOB: The wreckage recovery
started to teach us some things.

NARRATOR: They check Boeing
schematics to try to identify

exactly what part of the
plane they're looking at.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
Huh. A keel beam from

the center wing
section of the plane.

JAMES WILDEY: Well the
keel beam runs underneath

the wing center section
fuel tank and back through

the landing gear compartment.

NARRATOR: They pour
through other Red Zone wreckage

feeling that they may be on
the trail of a breakthrough.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
Give me a hand with this.

NARRATOR: They soon find pieces
with telltale scorch marks.

ROBERT: It had
actual heat damage

that had compressed
it and wrinkled it.

NARRATOR: The scorch marks and
damage point to an explosion.

Now they must
determine where it came from.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
A piece of span-wise beam
from the center wing fuel tank.

In the same place we
found the keel beam.

NARRATOR: It's a discovery
that changes the direction

of the entire investigation.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: I
think this could be it.

The explosion must have started
somewhere inside the fuel tank.

ROBERT: Our first
pieces came from inside

of the center wing fuel
tank, and I mean right in

the heart of it.

[Explosion]

[Gasp]

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: Ollie!

♪

NARRATOR: The NTSB is certain
they're making progress.

But five weeks into
their investigation,

the FBI makes a
shocking announcement.

JAMES KALLSTROM (Archive):
As a result of scientific
analysis conducted

by federal examiners,
microscopic explosive traces of

unknown origin have been found
relating to TWA Flight 800.

ROBERT: One of our problems
right from the beginning of this

is that the FBI and others
didn't have the experience

that we had and they
were thinking bombs, missiles

and all sorts of
other bad things.

NARRATOR: The statement directly
contradicts the evidence

found by the NTSB.

JAMES WILDEY: I knew for a
fact that this was not caused

by a bomb on the airplane.

NARRATOR: The FBI tests
show traces of RDX and PETN,

chemicals used to
make plastic explosives,

the same chemicals used in the
bombing of Pan Am Flight 103

eight years earlier.

For the FBI, the evidence
points in just one direction.

JAMES KALLSTROM: You know, we
represent the American people,

you know, so we don't speculate.

We try not to
speculate about it but, yes,

my gut said it was
an act of terrorism.

[Screaming]

JAMES KALLSTROM (Archive):
There's a chance, in our
view a good chance,

but there's a chance
this is a criminal act.

This is an act of terrorism.

NARRATOR: The NTSB
employs the nation's best

air crash investigators.

Suddenly, it seems
their work is in question.

AL: My thoughts about the
fact that the criminal aspect

kept coming up over and
over, it was frustrating.

NARRATOR: With their
reputation on the line,

they decide to attempt something

that has never been done before.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
We're gonna put all this
back together again.

We're gonna
rebuild the entire plane.

NARRATOR:
They hope to reconstruct
the entire downed 747

piece by shattered piece.

It may be the only
way to prove to the world

that TWA 800 suffered
no bomb damage anywhere.

It will be a Herculean task.

JAMES WILDEY: There's a picture
taken from above in the hangar

of all these pieces
laid out on the floor,

and there are literally
tens of thousands of them,

and it really looks
like an impossible job.

NARRATOR:
NTSB investigators believe it
was an exploding fuel tank

that took down TWA 800.

But they still don't
know what sparked the blast.

AL: If you find evidence of
an explosion in a fuel tank,

you have to look for what could
cause an explosion to start

in there and you work backwards.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: We
need to prove three things:

The fuel was flammable,
the explosion has to be

powerful enough to
rupture the tank and, finally,

something created the
spark to ignite the fuel.

Let's start with the
first one: Flammability.

♪

NARRATOR: Jet fuel in its
liquid form is not flammable,

but when heated the
fuel starts to vaporize.

When combined with oxygen
already present in the tank,

this vapor can
become highly flammable.

At the altitude where TWA 800
exploded, almost 14,000 feet,

jet fuel needs to
reach 96 degrees Fahrenheit

before it can ignite.

There's just one problem.

BOB: The
manufacturer said, well,

it never gets that hot in there.

NARRATOR: According to
Boeing, the fuel tanks housed

inside the wings
would never get hot enough

for the fuel to vaporize.

On the day of the fatal flight,
the temperature at JFK Airport

hit 87 degrees Fahrenheit,
well below the flashpoint

for jet fuel. The
NTSB's theory may be wrong.

Investigators examine the design
schematics of the aircraft.

An intriguing detail
catches their attention.

AL: I remember
learning that the placement of

the air conditioning units were
underneath the center tank,

and those generate a
fair amount of heat.

BOB: They cool the aircraft,
but the packs themselves

get quite hot
during that procedure.

NARRATOR: On TWA 800,
the air conditioning units

were working extra
hard to keep the cabin cool

on a hot evening.

BOB: The air
conditioning packs underneath

the center wing fuel tank had
been operating for I believe

several hours prior to takeoff.

AL: And we all looked
at each other and thought,

boy, is that design correct?

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: I wonder.

NARRATOR: Could heat
from the units have boosted

the temperature inside the tanks
to a dangerously high level?

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: There's
only one way to find out.

Air conditioning on.

AL: We had to prove to
ourselves that the temperature

inside the tank
would be flammable,

because if we couldn't prove
that, how was it gonna explode?

BOB: The only way we
were going to determine

the actual
conditions inside the fuel tank

was by performing a flight test.

NARRATOR: They decide to
reproduce the exact conditions

of the accident flight.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: All
right. Let's start it up.

NARRATOR: The same type of
plane, the same fuel load and,

most importantly, exactly the
same air conditioning units.

BOB: We preheated the
center wing tank fuel

by running the packs for hours.

Boeing engineers installed,
oh gosh, it must have been two

or three dozen different types
of sensors inside the tank,

probes to measure temperature,
pressure, vibration.

NARRATOR:
It's a risky undertaking,
filled with uncertainties.

♪

BOB: We knew that
one of the requirements

to have a fuel air
explosion inside the tank

would be a high
temperature, but we didn't know

how high the
temperature got inside a tank.

NARRATOR:
The test flight reaches the
same altitude as TWA 800.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: Holy crow.

NARRATOR: The temperature
readings are terrifying.

ROBERT: These air
conditioner packs were getting

up to 350 degrees.

350 degrees is about
what you turn your oven to

to bake a chicken.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
This is off the charts.

NARRATOR: The temperature in
the tank hits 127 Fahrenheit,

30 degrees above the flashpoint.

BOB: It was a bit disconcerting
because we were in a sense in

an aircraft that was identical
to the accident flight.

Now if you're gonna ask me
whether I would do it again

I'd probably say no.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: Okay. Let's
get back down to the ground.

NARRATOR: Investigators
are now certain the fuel

in the tanks of TWA
800 did become flammable.

But before they
can take the next step

in their investigation,
another media firestorm hits.

PIERRE (Archive): 154 people
living in the Long Island area

where the missile
testing was going on

saw one or two
missiles rising in the air,

and a number of them saw
an explosion in the air.

NARRATOR:
President John F. Kennedy's
former press secretary,

Pierre Salinger, claims he has
proof that a missile hit TWA 800

and that the missile
was fired by the U.S. Navy.

♪

PIERRE (Archive): The
missile fired down TWA 800.

NARRATOR: Journalist
Pierre Salinger releases

unverified radar images
showing a foreign object

in the night sky.

He claims the USS Normandy,
a guided missile cruiser,

accidentally targeted the 747.

No matter how
far-fetched the claim may seem,

the FBI must investigate.

JAMES KALLSTROM: We had
to look at the military

because the military has
assets to shoot down aircraft.

As the head of the office,
I wouldn't take anything

off that board till
someone could prove to me that

that wasn't the cause, or
couldn't have been the cause.

NARRATOR: While the FBI examines
Salinger's extraordinary claim,

NTSB investigators continue
reconstructing the downed plane.

They hope the
task will ultimately

put the missile theory to rest.

At the same time, they
work to prove their own theory,

that the explosion
started in the tank.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: Okay.
So we've proved flammability.

Now for the second challenge:
Can the tank rupture?

ROBERT: One of the
contentions from the industry

was that if we had an
explosion in the fuel tank

the airplane was so
strong it would contain it.

It wouldn't be a problem.

We wouldn't structurally fail
the fuel tank or the fuselage.

NARRATOR: According to
Boeing, the tank can withstand

up to 25 pounds per
square inch of pressure.

Investigators need to
know if the TWA blast

could have
exceeded those limits.

They create a scale model
of the center wing fuel tank.

BOB: We did some what we
call quarter scale testing

of different fuel/air mixtures.

We built a replica 1/4th
of the size of the fuel tank

with baffles and everything
in it like the fuel tank.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
Gentlemen. Levels good?

NARRATOR: They fill the tank
with the same ratio of jet fuel

as on TWA 800. Then they heat
it to the same temperature.

♪

[Explosion]

The results are clear.

JAMES WILDEY: The study
showed that if the fuel/air

vapor mixture was
ignited that it could generate

more than 50 pounds of
force per square inch.

NARRATOR: It creates double
the amount of explosive force

the tank was
designed to withstand.

BOB: The tank simply
wasn't strong enough

to contain the full
scale of this explosion.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
Okay. I think this tells
us what we need to know.

NARRATOR: NTSB investigators
need one last critical element

of proof before they can
be absolutely certain about

what caused one of the worst
air disasters in U.S. history.

BOB: Once we determined that
the fuel tank became hot enough

to sustain a flame

and once we determined
that the fuel tank itself

was not strong enough
to contain an explosion

we needed to try to
figure out an ignition source.

NARRATOR:
While the NTSB team is confident
they're on the right track,

the FBI is seeing signs
that the Navy missile theory

won't hold up.

JAMES KALLSTROM: You know,
one of the first things I did

in talking to the Pentagon
was to ask them to give me

all military assets.

JAMES KALLSTROM:
So there's no way anything
was fired from that ship.

That's helpful. Thank you.

JAMES KALLSTROM: We
interviewed the entire crew.

We looked at all their ordinance
that was on the ship that day

and of course we also
found out that TWA Flight 800

was not in the range of the
USS Normandy, so case closed.

NARRATOR: Though Pierre
Salinger's controversial theory

is now discredited, it continues
to gain traction in the media

and among the general public.

MALE [Archive]: The Navy is a
suspect. The Navy is a suspect.

Why should they be
involved in the investigation?

NARRATOR: The monumental
reconstruction of TWA 800

might be the only way to
put all the rumors to rest.

But as the complex
crash investigation drags on,

there are growing
fears that another disaster

could be just around the corner.

BOB: It became kind
of obvious to most of us

that the fuel tank had exploded,

and that, I think, gave us
a sense of urgency because

if it happened one
time it could happen again.

NARRATOR: Passengers flying
on 747s every hour of every day

may be in danger.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: Okay.
We've proven the first two.

Now we're at the final,
most important condition.

AL: The final question
that we had to answer was:

What caused the spark?
We knew it was flammable.

We knew the tank was destroyed,

but we didn't know
where the spark started.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: Without
a spark, there wouldn't be

an explosion in the first place.

♪

ROBERT: You rule items
out until you're left with

some core
potential causes to look at.

It's kind of the
Sherlock Holmes approach.

We spent months and months

eliminating
potential ignition sources.

We looked at whether
something may have come in

through the vent system
such as a stroke of lightning.

BOB: Some folks thought
that perhaps a meteorite

had struck the aircraft.

NARRATOR: More than a
year after the crash,

investigators still don't
know what could have caused

a spark in the
center wing fuel tank.

In desperation,
they turn to something

they thought was a dead end.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: How about the
CVR? Let's go back to the CVR.

♪

NARRATOR: When
investigators first listened to

the cockpit recording,
they didn't hear anything

that might
explain the explosion.

They decide to
listen to it again.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
Maybe we've missed something.
Everybody listen closely.

Okay. Play it.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER:
TWA 800, amend the altitude.

Maintain 1-3,000,
13 thousand for now.

CAPT. SNYDER:
TWA 800, okay. Stop climb
at one-three thousand.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: Stop
climb one-three thousand.

AL: It was a pretty
nonchalant takeoff and climb.

FE. KRICK:
Fuel one-seven-nine. Estimated
time of arrival 6:28 am.

AL: And the only thing
that was a little bit different

was one of the
crew members mentioned

that the fuel flow
indicator was erratic.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN:
Look at that crazy fuel flow
indicator there on number four.

AL: And he only
mentioned it once and then

it apparently calmed
down and they kept climbing.

ROBERT: The airplane has a half
dozen electrical generators

and it has all sorts of
fans and motors and pumps

that use this electricity.

The background noise captured
by the cockpit voice recorder

is kind of like a static hum.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
Wait. Stop. Play that back.

Let me see that
waveform. Blow it up.

ROBERT: In the last
one second of the flight

before the
explosion, we had two dropouts

in that background noise,
that background hum on the

CVR recording. That electrical
noise had gone somewhere.

NARRATOR: Investigators are on
the verge of a major discovery.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR:
There was a short circuit
somewhere in the plane's wiring.

NARRATOR: A short circuit
is an abnormal connection

between points of
an electrical circuit

where current is
not supposed to flow.

The dropout on the
CVR can only be explained

by this type of fault.

ROBERT: We knew we had a
short circuit somewhere.

What we did not know is
where the energy came from

specifically.

NARRATOR: They begin the
enormous task of examining

all of the 747's wiring.

ROBERT: We had 180
miles of wire to work with.

We had wire all
over that hangar.

NARRATOR: After hours of
examining the plane's wiring,

investigators begin to
notice a disturbing pattern.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: The condition
of these wires is abysmal.

ROBERT: We had cracks in
the insulation. We had chafes.

AL: When it was discovered
that these wires were brittle

and falling apart basically
and shouldn't have been,

that was very important.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: Let's
see the fuel indicator system.

NARRATOR: They check
wiring schematics to see where

the wires for various
aircraft systems are routed,

including the fuel system.

ROBERT: The fuel
quantity indicating system

has an extensive amount
of wiring in the fuel tanks.

♪

NARRATOR: Following
the wiring, investigators

make a stunning discovery.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: That's crazy.

NARRATOR: The
discovery of bundled wires

in a crumbling electrical
system is a major step

in the NTSB's
search for a deadly spark.

ROBERT: In going to the cockpit,
the fuel quantity wiring

is tied into bundles with wiring
that go to the aircraft lights

and all sorts of
other aircraft systems.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: Those
wires carry a ton of energy.

ROBERT: These cabin light wires,
they were up to 350 volts peak,

and they were
co-routed with these five volt

DC low power wires that went
to the fuel quantity probes

in the fuel tank.

AL: If you have cross
currents into these wires

it sets you up for something
drastic could easily happen.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: This
was certainly a short circuit.

ROBERT: It was more than enough
to create a short circuit

that would go into the fuel
tank and ignite the vapors.

NTSB INVESTIGATOR: And now
we have all the conditions

for a fuel tank explosion.

NARRATOR: The full sequence
of events is now clear.

While idling at the gate
for two and a half hours,

the air conditioning
system heats the fuel

in the center wing tank.

The liquid fuel turns to
vapor, its temperature rising

well above the
96-degree ignition point.

The flammable
fuel and air mixture

is a disaster waiting to happen.
All it needs is a spark.

In the plane's
aging electrical system,

high voltage wires are
bundled with low voltage ones.

Some are so worn
they can short circuit.

High voltage surges travel where
they were never designed to go.

CAPT. KEVORKIAN:
Look at that crazy fuel flow
indicator there on number four.

NARRATOR: In the blink
of an eye, a deadly spark

reaches the fuel probe
inside the center wing tank.

AL: And then it blew up.

[Explosion]

CAPT. KEVORKIAN: Talk to
me! What do you have for us?

♪

[Screaming]

NARRATOR: The NTSB's explosion
theory is now rock solid,

and their ambitious
reconstruction of TWA 800

is finally complete.

♪

BOB: There were thousands
and thousands of parts

on this very sturdy structure.

It was an amazing
thing for us to see.

JAMES WILDEY:
I was really pretty proud
of the definitive nature

in which we were
able to show where

the airplane break-up began.

NARRATOR: The FBI
finally agrees with the NTSB

on what happened to TWA 800.

♪

JAMES KALLSTROM: It
brought us to the conclusion

the center fuel tank blew
up, which was a huge finding,

and we were very, very confident
and to a very high level

that that was true.

♪

AL: People have
said that the FBI

should have pulled out sooner,
but it's their business.

They, they can do what they
want. They have guns, so...

It was a nice feeling
when they eventually said,

you guys were right.

NARRATOR: After more than
four years of investigation,

the NTSB recommends
in its official report

that all Boeing 747s
undergo a review and repair

of older wiring.

Significant design modifications
are also advised, including

the addition of insulation
between the fuel tanks

and the air conditioning system.

Though investigators
have found the cause

of the TWA 800
disaster, one question lingers.

How did bomb residue
get on the wreckage?

BOB: We think that the residue
probably was placed on there

during the wreckage recovery.

A lot of military
folks were out helping us.

Perhaps that residue
came off boots or clothing

or something like that,
and eventually the FBI agreed.

NARRATOR: Investigators
also believe that witnesses

who thought they saw a missile

were actually seeing the
flaming remains of the plane

curling skyward.

JAMES KALLSTROM: The fuel in
the, in the wings still kept

the engines going for some time.

So they did see things going
up but they were looking at

TWA coming apart.

ROBERT: The conspiracy type
people were still out there

saying we were wrong.
We knew we were right.

And I got tired of
arguing with people

who had their minds made up.

So I just turned away from
TWA and didn't talk about it

for a long time.

AL: TWA 800 was the most
complex, hardest investigation

that I had ever
been involved in.

I'm just glad we had the
expertise to get through it all.

BOB: Even though it took quite a
while, we think all the effort

and all the complications
involved were well worth it.

[♪ bugle playing taps ]

JAMES KALLSTROM: We had
ceremonies out in Long Island

every year for a while.

You know, those were
very emotional things,

so that's what
I'll always remember.