July 17, 1996
Off East Moriches, New York
Trans World Airlines, Flight 800
Boeing B-747-131
N93119
While on a flight from New York to Paris, France, the aircraft exploded at FL 130, broke up and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Long Island, N.Y. The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the accident was an explosion of the center wing fuel tank resulting from ignition of the flammable fuel/air mixture in the tank. The source of ignition energy for the explosion could not be determined with certainty but, of the sources evaluated by the investigation, the most likely was a short circuit outside of the center wing tank that allowed excessive voltage to enter it through electrical wiring associated with the fuel quantity indication system. All 230 aboard were killed.
http://planecrashinfo.com/MP3s/ratctwa800.mp3
Air Traffic Control Transcript
BOS = Boston Center
E507 = Eastwing Flight 507
AZA609 = Alitalia Flight 609
VIR009 = Virgin Atlantic Flight 009
UAL002 = United Air Lines Flight 2
8:31:50 | E507 | We just saw an explosion out here; stinger bee five oh seven. |
8:31:57 | BOS | Stinger bee five oh seven, I'm sorry I missed it, ah, you're out of eighteen did you say something else? |
8:32:01 | E507 | Ah, we just saw an explosion up ahead of us here, about sixteen thousand feet or something like that; it just went down -- in the water. |
8:32:10 | AZA609 | Alitalia six oh nine confirms just ahead of us. |
8:32:25 | VIR009 | Boston, Virgin zero zero nine, I can confirm that out of my nine o'clock position, we just had an ... it looked like an explosion out there about five miles away, six miles away. |
8:32:49 | BOS | An explosion six miles out at your nine o'clock position. Thank you very much sir. Contact New York approach one two five point seven. |
8:32:56 | BOS | TWA eight hundred center |
8:33:01 | ? | Investigate that explosion if you get a lat/long |
8:33:04 | BOS | TWA eight hundred center |
8:33:09 | BOS | TWA eight hundred, if you hear center, ident. |
8:33:17 | BOS | Stinger bee five oh seven, you reported an explosion is that correct sir? |
8:33:21 | E507 | Yes sir, about five miles at my eleven o'clock here. |
8:33:31 | BOS | Alitalia six oh nine, contact Boston now on one two four point five two. |
8:33:36 | AZA609 | One two four point five two and just for your information sir, we are just overhead the explosion; right overhead at this time, now a hundred and three miles from JFK. |
8:33:48 | E507 | We are directly over the site were that airplane or whatever it was just exploded and went down into the water. |
8:34:01 | BOS | Roger that, thank you very much sir. We're investigating that right now. TWA eight zero zero if you hear center, ident. |
8:35:43 | ? | I think that was him. |
8:35:45 | BOS | I think so. |
8:35:48 | ? | God bless him. |
8:37:05 | E507 | Thirty three oh five, so long, stinger five oh seven. Anything we can do for ya before we go? |
8:37:11 | BOS | Well, I just wanna confirm that you saw the splash in the water approximately twenty southwest of Hampton, is that right? |
8:37:20 | E507 | Ah, yes sir. it just blew up in the air and then we saw two fireballs go down into the water and there was a big small, ah, smoke, ah, coming up from that also, ah, there seemed to be a light. I thought it was a landing light and it was coming right at us at about, I don't know, about fifteen thousand feet or something like that and I pushed on my landing lights, ah, you know, so I saw him and then it blew. |
8:37:40 | BOS | Roger that sir, that was a seven forty seven out there; you had a visual on that; anything else in the area when it happened? |
8:37:47 | E507 | I didn't see anything. he seemed to be alone. I thought it had a landing light on, maybe it was a fire, i don't know. |
8:37:51 | BOS | Stinger bee five oh seven, roger that and anything else comes to your mind, you can use your other radio; come back to this frequency and tell me about it. |
8:37:58 | E507 | That's all I can think of at this time. |
8:38:06 | BOS | United two, Boston on one two four point five two. |
8:38:08 | UAL002 | One tow four five two, and is that airplane right in front of us now? |
8:38:12 | BOS | He should be right underneath you, they reported the splashdown right underneath you about, ah, twelve and four miles. |
8:38:18 | UAL002 | It's still burning down there. |
8:38:20 | BOS | In the water? |
8:38:21 | UAL002 | Well there's bright red and there's smoke coming up ... there's fire with smoke. |
8:38:30 | BOS | Fire with smoke coming out of the water? |
8:38:32 | UAL002 | Right at our position right now; I can give you a lat/long if you want. |
8:38:35 | BOS | Absolutely, thank you. |
8:38:44 | UAL002 | It's ah, forty thirty nine point one west zero seven two three eight point zero. |
8:38:51 | BOS | Allright, we got forty thirty nine point one west zero seven two three eight point zero. |