Editing TWA Flight 800 (section)

==Accident==
{{Hatnote|All times in this article are [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)]] ([[UTC−4]]).}}
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| alt1              = Upper deck windows of N93119
| caption1          = The close-up view of N93119's front fuselage, in 1972, showing the seven plugged windows on the upper deck. These plugs were blown out following the explosion of Flight 800.
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On the day of the accident, the airplane departed from [[Ellinikon International Airport]] in [[Athens]], Greece, as TWA Flight 881 and arrived at [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]] at about 4:38&nbsp;p.m. The aircraft was then refueled and the crew was changed. 

The crew was led by 58-year-old Captain Ralph G. Kevorkian, who had flown for TWA for 31 years and the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] for nine years and had logged 18,700 flight hours, including 5,490 on the Boeing 747. [[Captain (aviation)|Captain]]/[[Check pilot|check airman]] Steven E. Snyder, 57, had flown for TWA for 32 years and had logged 17,200 flight hours, including 4,700 on the Boeing 747. [[Flight engineer]]/check airman Richard G. Campbell Jr., 63, had flown for TWA for 30 years and the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] for 12 years and had logged 18,500 flight hours, including 3,800 on the Boeing 747. Also with the crew was 25-year-old flight engineer trainee Oliver Krick, who previously served as a business pilot for four years and had 2,520 flight hours, including 30 on the Boeing 747. Krick had flown for TWA for 26 days and was starting the sixth leg of his initial operating experience training.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|4–6}}<!--ref group="note"--> Flight 800 was actually a training flight for Kevorkian, and he was seated in the captain's (left) seat. Captain Snyder<!-- Snyder was the official captain of TWA Flight 800, as Kevorkian was undergoing training --> was seated in the first officer's (right) seat monitoring Kevorkian's progress. Flight Engineer Campbell was seated in the cockpit jump seat. Flight engineer trainee Krick was seated in the flight engineer's seat being monitored by Campbell.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|4–6}}<ref name="TWA Press Release">{{cite press release |title=Passenger and crew list, TWA Flight 800 |url=http://www.avweb.com/other/twpx9629.html |url-status=dead |publisher=Trans World Airlines |date=July 19, 1996 |access-date=January 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928203150/http://www.avweb.com/other/twpx9629.html |archive-date=September 28, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Redding |first1=Cliff |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/doomed-crewmen-called-hardy-article-1.735582 |title=Doomed Crewmen Called Hardy |date=19 July 1996 |work=New York Daily News |access-date=2 December 2016 |last2=Schwartzman |first2=Paul |archive-date=December 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203125305/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/doomed-crewmen-called-hardy-article-1.735582 |url-status=live}}</ref><!--ref group=note--> The NTSB Final Report gives Oliver Krick's age as being 24.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|5}} The TWA press release gives 25. (TWA was correct, as Krick turned 25 on July 14, three days before the crash.)<ref name="TWA Press Release"/>

The [[Flight attendant|Cabin Crew]] team of 15 consisted of Flight Service Manager Jacques Charbonnier (65) with 36 years' service at TWA, [[Flight attendant|Flight Attendants]] Arlene Johnson (60) with 36 years' service, Connie Charbonnier (49) with 27 years' service, Maureen Lockhart (49) with 26 years' service, Marit Rhoads (48) with 26 years' service, Melinda Torche (46) with 26 years' service, Janet Christopher (47) with 26 years' service, Debra Diluccio (47) with 25 years' service, Mike Schuldt (51) with 23 years' service, Grace Melotin (48) with 23 years' service, Sandra Meade (42) with 21 years' service, Ray Lang (51) with 20 years' service, Dan Callas (21) with 3 months' service, and Jill Zienkiewicz (23) with 2 months' service.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1qTT7TI6w4&feature=youtu.be |title=Crew Tribute: TWA 800 |date=2025-01-26 |last=Airline Chronicles |access-date=2025-04-30 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

The [[Ground crew|ground-maintenance crew]] locked out the [[Thrust reversal|thrust reverser]] for engine No. 3 (treated as a [[master minimum equipment list|minimum equipment list]] item) because of technical problems with the thrust reverser sensors during the landing of TWA 881 at JFK, before Flight 800's departure. Additionally, severed cables for the engine’s thrust reverser were replaced.<ref name="DCA-96-MA-070">{{cite journal |date=September 30, 1997 |title=Airplane Performance Study – Attachment I: Boeing's TWA Flight 800 FDR Data Summary |url=https://dms.ntsb.gov/public/7000-7499/7260/50383.pdf |journal=Docket No. SA-516, Exhibit No. 13A |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |access-date=November 14, 2010 |archive-date=October 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024012747/https://dms.ntsb.gov/public/7000-7499/7260/50383.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> During refueling of the aircraft, the volumetric shutoff (VSO) control was believed to have been triggered before the tanks were full. To continue the pressure fueling, a TWA mechanic overrode the automatic VSO by pulling the volumetric [[Fuse (electrical)|fuse]] and an overflow [[circuit breaker]]. Maintenance records indicate that the aircraft had numerous VSO-related maintenance writeups in the weeks before the accident.<ref name="Final Report" />{{rp|31}}

TWA 800 was scheduled to depart JFK for [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]] around 7:00&nbsp;p.m., but the flight’s pushback was delayed until 8:02&nbsp;p.m. by a disabled piece of ground equipment and a passenger/baggage mismatch.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|1}} After the owner of the baggage in question was confirmed to be on board, the flight crew prepared for departure, and the aircraft pushed back from Gate 27 at the [[TWA Flight Center]]. The flight crew started the engines at 8:04&nbsp;p.m. However, because of the previous maintenance undertaken on engine No. 3, the flight crew only started engines No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4. Engine No. 3 was started 10 minutes later during taxi at 8:14&nbsp;p.m. The initial departure was uneventful, with the 747 taking off from Runway 22R five minutes later at 8:19 p.m.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TWA flight 800 {{!}} Background & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/TWA-flight-800#:~:text=The%20plane%20took%20off%20from,13,700%20feet%20(4,200%20metres). |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:TWA 800 flight path.svg|thumbnail|right|Flight path of TWA 800: The colored rectangles are areas from which wreckage was recovered.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|at=fig. 21, p. 64}}]] TWA 800 then received a series of heading changes and generally increasing altitude assignments as it climbed to its intended cruising altitude.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|2}} Weather in the area was light winds with scattered clouds,<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|256}} with dusk lighting conditions.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|4}} The last radio transmission from the airplane occurred at 8:30&nbsp;p.m., when the flight crew received and then acknowledged instructions from [[Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center|Boston Center]] to climb to {{convert|15000|ft|m}}.<ref name="CVR Report">{{cite journal |date=February 9, 2000 |title=Group Chairman's Factual Report of Investigation&nbsp;– Cockpit Voice Recorder |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/events/TWA800/exhibits/Ex_12A.pdf |journal=Docket No. SA-516, Exhibit No. 12-A |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614121659/https://www.ntsb.gov/events/TWA800/exhibits/Ex_12A.pdf |archive-date=June 14, 2007 |access-date=November 7, 2012}}</ref>{{rp|4}}<ref>{{Cite journal |date=November 15, 1997 |title=Group Chairman's Factual Report of Investigation&nbsp;– Sound Spectrum Study |url=https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40058793&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Cockpit%20Voice%20Recorder%2012%20-%20Exhibit%20No.%2012B%20-%20Sound%20Spectrum%20Study-Master.PDF |journal=Docket No. SA-516, Exhibit No. 12-B |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |access-date=2019-07-10 |archive-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723174334/https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40058793&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Cockpit%20Voice%20Recorder%2012%20-%20Exhibit%20No.%2012B%20-%20Sound%20Spectrum%20Study-Master.PDF |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 7, 1997 |title=Test Report Number: 03-RPT-0031 Underwater Acoustic Locator Beacon (CVR) Dukane Corporation |url=https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40188462&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Cockpit%20Voice%20Recorder%2012%20-%20Exhibit%20No.%2012C%20-%20Test%20Report%20Number%3A%2003-RPT-0031%20-%20Underwater%20Acoustic%20Locator%20Beacon%20(CVR)%20Dukane%20Corporation-Master.PDF |journal=Docket No. SA-516, Exhibit No. 12-C |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |access-date=2019-07-10 |archive-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723174618/https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40188462&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Cockpit%20Voice%20Recorder%2012%20-%20Exhibit%20No.%2012C%20-%20Test%20Report%20Number%3A%2003-RPT-0031%20-%20Underwater%20Acoustic%20Locator%20Beacon%20(CVR)%20Dukane%20Corporation-Master.PDF |url-status=live}}</ref> The last recorded radar [[transponder (aeronautics)|transponder]] return from the airplane was recorded by the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) radar site at [[Trevose, Pennsylvania]], at 8:31:12&nbsp;p.m.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|3}}

[[File:Burning Wreckage of TWA flight 800.jpg|thumb|Burning wreckage of Flight 800 on the surface of the [[Atlantic Ocean]]]]
Thirty-eight seconds later, David McClaine, the captain of [[Eastwind Airlines]] Flight 507, a [[Boeing 737-200|Boeing 737-221]] registered N221US ([[Eastwind Airlines Flight 517|which had suffered a near-crash of its own a month prior]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Flight 800 Investigation |url=https://twa800.com/pages/mcclaine.htm |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=twa800.com}}</ref> reported to Boston [[Area Control Center|ARTCC]] that he "just saw an explosion out here", adding, "we just saw an explosion up ahead of us here&nbsp;... about {{convert|16000|ft|m|disp=sqbr}} or something like that, it just went down… into the water."<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |date=September 12, 1997 |title=Air Traffic Control Group Chairman's Factual Report |url=https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40058344&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=ATC%203%20-%20Exhibit%20No.%203A%20-%20Group%20Chairman%20Factual%20Report-Master.PDF |journal=Docket No. SA-516, Exhibit No. 3-A |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |access-date=2019-07-17 |archive-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723174657/https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40058344&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=ATC%203%20-%20Exhibit%20No.%203A%20-%20Group%20Chairman%20Factual%20Report-Master.PDF |url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequently, many [[air traffic control]] facilities in the [[New York City|New York]] and [[Long Island]] areas received reports of an explosion from other pilots operating in the area.<ref name=":0" /> Many witnesses in the vicinity of the crash stated that they saw or heard explosions, accompanied by a large fireball(s) over the ocean, and observed debris, some of which was burning while falling into the water.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|3}}
Various civilian, military, and police vessels reached the crash site within minutes of the initial water impact. They searched for survivors but found none,<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|86}} making TWA 800 the [[List of accidents and incidents involving airliners in the United States|second-deadliest aircraft accident in United States history]] at that time, only exceeded by [[American Airlines Flight 191]].<ref name="ASN">{{cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747-131 N93119 East Moriches, NY |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19960717-0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112220102/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19960717-0 |archive-date=January 12, 2012 |access-date=January 15, 2010 |website=Aviation Safety Network |publisher=[[Flight Safety Foundation]]}}</ref>