Editing TWA Flight 800 (section)

===Search-and-recovery operations===
[[Underwater search and recovery|Search-and-recovery]] operations were conducted by federal, state, and local agencies, as well as by government contractors.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|363–365}} Personnel in an [[Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk|HH-60 Pave Hawk]] helicopter of the [[New York Air National Guard]] witnessed the explosion from about {{convert|8|mile|km|spell=in}} away and arrived at the scene of the explosion while debris was still falling into the water, forcing the crew to retreat. They reported their sighting to the tower at [[Francis S. Gabreski Airport|Suffolk County Airport]]. [[Remotely operated vehicle]]s (ROVs), [[side-scan sonar]] and laser line-scanning equipment were employed to search for and investigate underwater debris fields. Victims and wreckage were recovered by [[scuba diving|scuba]] divers and ROVs. Later, scallop [[fishing trawler|trawlers]] were used to recover wreckage embedded in the sea floor.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|63}} In one of the largest diver-assisted salvage operations ever conducted, often working in very difficult and dangerous conditions, more than 95% of the airplane wreckage was eventually recovered.<ref name="NTSB Board Meeting"/><ref name="Riddle"/>{{rp|1}} The search-and-recovery effort identified three main areas of wreckage underwater, which were classified by color.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|65}} The yellow, red, and green zones contained wreckage from the front, center, and rear sections of the airplane, respectively.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|65–74}} The green zone with the aft portion of the aircraft was located the farthest along the flight path.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|71–74}}

[[File:Wreckage recovery twa800.PNG|thumb|upright=1.0|Wreckage recovered with tangled and damaged wires attached<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|at=fig.24, p.80}}]]

Pieces of wreckage were transported by boat to shore and then by truck to leased hangar space at the former [[Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton|Grumman Aircraft facility]] in [[Calverton, New York]] for storage, examination, and reconstruction.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|63}} The facility became the command center and headquarters for the investigation.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|363–365}} NTSB and FBI personnel were present to observe all transfers to preserve the evidentiary value of the wreckage.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|367}} The [[cockpit voice recorder]] and [[flight data recorder]] were recovered by U.S. Navy divers one week after the accident, and the machines were immediately shipped to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C. for analysis.<ref name="Final Report"/>{{rp|58}} The victims' remains were transported to the [[Suffolk County, New York|Suffolk County]] [[Medical Examiner]]'s office in [[Hauppauge, New York]].<ref name="Forensic Report">{{cite journal |title=Medical/Forensic Group Factual Report |url=https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40058845&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Medical%2FForensic%2019%20-%20Exhibit%20No.%2019A%20-%20Group%20Chairman%27s%20Factual%20Report-Master.PDF |journal=Docket No. SA-516, Exhibit 19A |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |access-date=January 11, 2010 |archive-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723174307/https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40058845&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Medical%2FForensic%2019%20-%20Exhibit%20No.%2019A%20-%20Group%20Chairman%27s%20Factual%20Report-Master.PDF |url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|2}}