Editing TWA Flight 800 (section)

====Missile fragment or small explosive charge====
Although the NTSB had already concluded that a missile strike did not cause the structural failure of the airplane, the possibility that a missile could have exploded close enough to TWA&nbsp;800 for a missile fragment to have entered the CWT and ignited the fuel/air vapor, yet far enough away not to have left any damage characteristic of a missile strike, was considered.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|272}} Computer simulations using missile performance data simulated a missile detonating in a location such that a fragment from the warhead could penetrate the CWT.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|273}} Based on these simulations, the NTSB concluded that it was "very unlikely" that a warhead could have detonated in such a location where a fragment could penetrate the CWT without other missile fragments impacting the surrounding airplane structure, leaving distinctive impact marks.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|273}}

Similarly, the investigation considered the possibility that a small explosive charge placed on the CWT could have been the ignition source.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|273}} Testing by the NTSB and the British [[Defence Evaluation and Research Agency]] demonstrated that when the metal of the same type and thickness of the CWT was penetrated by a small charge, petalling of the surface occurred where the charge was placed, with pitting on the adjacent surfaces and visible hot-gas washing damage in the surrounding area.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|273–274}} Since none of the recovered CWT wreckage exhibited these damage characteristics and none of the areas of missing wreckage was large enough to encompass all the expected damage, the investigation concluded that this scenario was "very unlikely".<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|274}}