8 years since the crash of TWA Flight 800 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brent88 · 07-17-2004, 07:01 PM

8 years ago tonight, July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800 exploded off Long Island, New York killing all 230 aboard. It was en route from JFK airport to Paris, France.

TWA 747 explodes off Long Island

July 17, 1996
Web posted at: 11:00 p.m. EDT

NEW YORK (CNN) -- TWA Flight 800 en route to Paris from New York City has apparently blown up in mid-air with 229 people on board, the Coast Guard said. The Guard said it was sending "every available aircraft" to the site, about 15 miles south of Long Island.

The flight departed John F. Kennedy Airport in New York for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris Wednesday about 8:30 p.m. EDT, crashing shortly after takeoff, the control tower at JFK told CNN. The number of passengers and crew varied, but early reports said there were 212 passengers and 17 crew aboard.

The Coast Guard was notified of the explosion and reports of life rafts in the water just about the time the flight took off, Chief Petty Officer Steve Sapp said. (429K AIFF or WAV sound) Petty Officer Tim Panovek said the Coast Guard had found debris, and was recovering bodies from the crash. So far, he was not aware of any survivors.

Eyewitness Sven Faret, a private pilot, was flying off Long Island about the time of the crash, he told CNN affiliate WNYW-TV. "We saw a giant ball; an instant later you just saw pieces drop out of it," he told the New York station.

It was "definitely in the air," he said.

Eyewitness Eileen Daly described a similar scene on CNN. She said she was walking on the beach with her 14-year-old son, who first saw the explosion.

"We were out on the beach and he says, 'Oh look,' and we saw what looked like fireworks in the sky, big white flash," she said.

"It turned into a big orange fireball that stretched from the sky down to the water, then it broke into two pieces, then it just fell into the water." At first, she thought it was fireworks. Then, she said she thought, "Oh my god, it's an airplane." (391K AIFF or WAV sound)

She disagreed with other eyewitness accounts that likened the explosion to the Challenger space shuttle disaster, explaining that in that explosion she could see a little bit of the shuttle as it caught on fire. "This, you saw nothing but flames."

The cause of the explosion is not known, but terrorism expert Larry Johnson said, "This was a bomb on board, without a doubt. You do not get these kinds of catastrophic mid-air explosions in airliners without an explosive on board."

Johnson said he had his own "short list" of suspects, but stressed that it was too premature to list any.

G-Force Glockstar · 07-17-2004, 07:05 PM

AKA · 07-17-2004, 07:31 PM

I remember that well. What a weird day that was.

Hard to believe it's been eight years.

EmoJoe · 07-17-2004, 07:55 PM

Titania · 07-17-2004, 08:12 PM

Hard to believe that it's been 8 years since that happened

PZelda · 07-17-2004, 08:13 PM

I remember that. They talked about it all the time on the news for quite a while after that. Very tragic.

Penny Lane · 07-18-2004, 07:51 PM

I remember reading that Pierre Salinger swore that he saw a missle flare just before the plane exploded but it was hushed up.
A terrorist attack?

Brent88 · 07-18-2004, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Penny Lane
I remember reading that Pierre Salinger swore that he saw a missle flare just before the plane exploded but it was hushed up.
A terrorist attack?

Yes. The story aired on Unsolved Mysteries back in 1997. I've seen it several times.

Janice · 07-18-2004, 08:30 PM

I remember this one. I think it happened around the same time as the plane that went down in the swampy alligator infested Florida Everglades. I think it was Value Jet or something. That was a bad year for air travel.

Chelsea · 07-18-2004, 09:56 PM

I'm glad I didn't read this thread before my flight back home today. And, as it just so happened, the plane used from the changeover in Dallas-Fort Worth back to Louisville, was delayed for three hours with "mechanical problems"

Brent88 · 07-18-2004, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Janice
I remember this one. I think it happened around the same time as the plane that went down in the swampy alligator infested Florida Everglades. I think it was Value Jet or something. That was a bad year for air travel.

The Valujet crash was on May 10, 1996. It killed 110 people. The airline was shut down shortly thereafter(not because of this single incident, but because of repeated failed safety tests). It was rebought several years later and is now AirTran(hasn't had an accident yet).

07-17-2004, 07:01 PM	#1
Brent88 Member Forum Star Join Date: Aug 01, 2003 Location: Alabama Posts: 16,174	8 years since the crash of TWA Flight 800 8 years ago tonight, July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800 exploded off Long Island, New York killing all 230 aboard. It was en route from JFK airport to Paris, France. TWA 747 explodes off Long Island July 17, 1996 Web posted at: 11:00 p.m. EDT NEW YORK (CNN) -- TWA Flight 800 en route to Paris from New York City has apparently blown up in mid-air with 229 people on board, the Coast Guard said. The Guard said it was sending "every available aircraft" to the site, about 15 miles south of Long Island. The flight departed John F. Kennedy Airport in New York for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris Wednesday about 8:30 p.m. EDT, crashing shortly after takeoff, the control tower at JFK told CNN. The number of passengers and crew varied, but early reports said there were 212 passengers and 17 crew aboard. The Coast Guard was notified of the explosion and reports of life rafts in the water just about the time the flight took off, Chief Petty Officer Steve Sapp said. (429K AIFF or WAV sound) Petty Officer Tim Panovek said the Coast Guard had found debris, and was recovering bodies from the crash. So far, he was not aware of any survivors. Eyewitness Sven Faret, a private pilot, was flying off Long Island about the time of the crash, he told CNN affiliate WNYW-TV. "We saw a giant ball; an instant later you just saw pieces drop out of it," he told the New York station. It was "definitely in the air," he said. Eyewitness Eileen Daly described a similar scene on CNN. She said she was walking on the beach with her 14-year-old son, who first saw the explosion. "We were out on the beach and he says, 'Oh look,' and we saw what looked like fireworks in the sky, big white flash," she said. "It turned into a big orange fireball that stretched from the sky down to the water, then it broke into two pieces, then it just fell into the water." At first, she thought it was fireworks. Then, she said she thought, "Oh my god, it's an airplane." (391K AIFF or WAV sound) She disagreed with other eyewitness accounts that likened the explosion to the Challenger space shuttle disaster, explaining that in that explosion she could see a little bit of the shuttle as it caught on fire. "This, you saw nothing but flames." The cause of the explosion is not known, but terrorism expert Larry Johnson said, "This was a bomb on board, without a doubt. You do not get these kinds of catastrophic mid-air explosions in airliners without an explosive on board." Johnson said he had his own "short list" of suspects, but stressed that it was too premature to list any.
	__________________ Brent

07-17-2004, 07:05 PM	#2
G-Force Glockstar Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: Nov 22, 2003 Posts: 21,770
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07-17-2004, 07:55 PM	#4
EmoJoe Cool cool cool Forum Addict Join Date: Apr 23, 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 71,478
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07-17-2004, 08:12 PM	#5
Titania a part of that Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 04, 2000 Posts: 3,694	Hard to believe that it's been 8 years since that happened
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07-17-2004, 08:13 PM	#6
PZelda Two Valeries! <3 Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 15, 2002 Location: I'm STILL missing NYC. :( Posts: 78,223	I remember that. They talked about it all the time on the news for quite a while after that. Very tragic.
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07-17-2004, 07:31 PM	#3
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746	I remember that well. What a weird day that was. Hard to believe it's been eight years.

07-18-2004, 07:51 PM	#7
Penny Lane Butter Pie Forum Icon Join Date: Jul 03, 2001 Location: Beneath the blue suburban skies Posts: 51,007	I remember reading that Pierre Salinger swore that he saw a missle flare just before the plane exploded but it was hushed up. A terrorist attack?
	__________________ Vulgarity is no substitute for wit- Lady Violet Crawley

07-18-2004, 08:30 PM	#9
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	I remember this one. I think it happened around the same time as the plane that went down in the swampy alligator infested Florida Everglades. I think it was Value Jet or something. That was a bad year for air travel.

07-18-2004, 09:56 PM	#10
Chelsea Semi-retired Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 07, 2001 Location: Washington Posts: 5,727	I'm glad I didn't read this thread before my flight back home today. And, as it just so happened, the plane used from the changeover in Dallas-Fort Worth back to Louisville, was delayed for three hours with "mechanical problems"