Time may heal some of the wounds left by the TWA Flight 800 disaster, but they may never be healed completely. On July 17, it will be 15 years since the takeoff and subsequent explosion took the lives of all 230 people on board.
Mysteries and alternative theories as to why the plane exploded still circle the web to this day, but no matter what the cause, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of family members and friends whose lives were affected after losing their loved ones on that ill-fated flight.
Here is what happened on TWA Flight 800 on July 17, 1996, the disasters’ aftermath, as well as remembrances of the victims who lose their lives.
* It was at 2031 EDT on July 17, 1996 that the Boeing 747-131 took off and exploded just 12 minutes into the flight.
* TWA Flight 800 was JFK Airport in New York to Rome, with a stopover in Paris.
* The Boeing plane had taken off on its first flight in 1971, and was in service for almost 25 years.
* The explosion of the plane occurred at 13,000 feet off the coast of Long Island, N.Y. People who witnessed the event from the ground say the plane just appeared to drop from the sky and into the Atlantic below.
* The following morning after the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board arrived to investigate, and initially it seemed that there had been a terrorist attack, or possibly even a military strike on civilian aircraft. Several witnesses said that they had seen a streak of light heading towards the sky that caused the fireball.
* Following the witnesses accounts, the FBI subsequently opened up a criminal investigation.
* Four years after the flight disaster, Federal investigators concluded the TWA 800 had been annihilated by a fuel-tank explosion that was probably caused by a spark from a short-circuit in the plane’s wiring.
* In the months following the disaster, many travelers and Americans in general, thought that the explosion was caused by terrorists, and security became a great concern. President Clinton ordered tighter aviation security and said, “The safety and security of the American people must be our top priority.”
* In addition to the family members and friends of the victims being affected, people who were part of the disaster response teams experienced posttraumatic stress symptoms.
* Though time helps heal some of the pain from losing loved ones, the anger becomes deeper for others. The father of one of the victims, Michel Breistroff Sr. said, “I grow older, and the hate against those who lie only grows.” He lives in France and still believes a missile brought the plane down, killing his son, Michel. “As long as I live, I hope I will get the truth,” he added.
* Andy Krukar was one of the victims on the flight. He had a ring in his pocket and was planning to propose to his girlfriend, Julie Stuart at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. She was supposed to fly to Paris the following day. The diamond ring was found in its burgundy box while it floated in the surf, by a Coast Guardsman who was working at the disaster scene.
Stuart wears the ring every day. Now aged 40, she said, “Time heals you enough so you can move on. But while she is now married with two children, part of her lingers in the past: “I feel Andy is always watching over me.”
* Most of the victims’ families do believe the explanation for the cause of the disaster, and feel that continuing the various theories and conspiracies just make healing the wounds that much more painful.
* Airline disasters like TWA Flight 800 are terrible, but the chances of being involved in a fatal accident during a commercial airline flight are about 1 in 9.2 million. The odds of dying in a car crash are about 1 in 14,000.
