TWA Flight 800 Crashes To The Atlantic Floor
 

On July 17, 1996, about 8:45pm, TWA flight 800, N93119, a Boeing 747-100, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island shortly after takeoff from Kennedy International Airport. The airplane was on a regularly scheduled flight to Paris, France. The initial reports are that witnesses saw an explosion and then debris descending to the ocean. There are no reports of the flightcrew reporting a problem to air traffic control. The airplane was manufactured in November 1971. It has accumulated about 93,303 flight hours and 16,869 cycles.

On board the airplane were 212 passengers and 18 crewmembers. The airplane was destroyed and there were no survivors. The FBI has contended from the start of the investigation that there are three possible causes for the explosion: a bomb, a missile, or mechanical failure. The Norfolk based salvage rescue ship USS Grapple (ARS 53) joined her sister ship USS Grasp on July 29, 1996 over the crash site.  Grapple will be positioned where the forward part of the ill-fated 747 jet is thought to rest on the ocean floor. U.S. Navy Diver Petty Officer 2nd Class Brad Fleming is assisted with his Mark-21 diving helmet in preparation for his next dive during search and recovery operations at the TWA Flight 800 crash site offshore of Moriches Inlet, Long Island, N.Y.

The Mini-Remote Operated Vehicle II (MR2) is part of the Navy equipment being transported to the crash site to be used by the Navy in an attempt to locate the aircraft's flight data recorders more commonly known as Black Boxes. The remotely controlled, underwater vehicle will be sent out to the site, it is capable of taking pictures and live video in depths of up to 1000 feet. This Pinger Locator System is part of the Navy equipment being transported to the crash site to be used by the Navy in an attempt to locate the aircraft's flight data recorders more commonly known as Black Boxes. The PLS is a highly sensitive, underwater microphone which is towed in the water to listen for the pingers located on the flight data recorders. (view flight mov. file)

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