TWA Flight 800
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Date | July 17, 1996 |
Exposed by | Kristina Borjesson, Henry F. Hughes |
Interest of | James Kallstrom |
Description | A suspicious air crash, which occurred simultaneously with a live fire exercise being carried out by the US Navy. |
Contents
Official Narrative
Press Conference
The film Shadows of Liberty includes footage of the FBI press conference at which an activist asked "Why is the navy involved in the recovery when they are a suspect?". By way of answer, the chairman just pointed at him and declared "Remove him!" and he was summarily manhandled out of the room by 4 or 5 suited men. The commercially-controlled media continued as if nothing had happened.
Initial investigation
Over 250 people said they saw something streaking toward the plane and then an explosion.[1]. Many believe that the cause of the crash was a surface-to-air missile attack.[2][3][4] The initial NTSB investigation concluded that the cause was likely criminal, so it passed control to the FBI, since the NTSB does not investigate criminal cases.[5] In the case of TWA 800, the FBI initiated a parallel criminal investigation alongside the NTSB's accident investigation.[6] The four-year NTSB investigation concluded on August 23, 2000, ending the most expensive air disaster investigation in United States history. It concluded that the crash was caused by a gas tank explosion.[7]
Aftermath
The wreckage is permanently stored in a custom-built NTSB facility in Ashburn, Virginia. The reconstructed aircraft is used to train accident investigators.[8][9]
Notable passengers
Some of the notable passengers on TWA 800 included:[10]
- Pam Lychner, American crime victims' rights advocate
- Rodolphe Mérieux, physician, son of Alain Mérieux, the president of the pharmaceutical company Merieux Laboratories which is the primary researcher in aids vaccines.
- Charles Beatty, 50, senior systems engineer with the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, a Navy Research and Development Center
- Charles H. "Hank" Gray, 47, president and chief operating officer of Midland Financial Group, Inc. (which has many ties to Arkansas)[11]
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