Within 30 minutes of the crash of TWA 800 on July 17, 1996 at about 8:30 p.m., fishing boats in the area set off flares. In the following days, more than 700 people claimed to be witnesses to the explosion and/or crash. Some of them claimed to have seen a streak of light ascending toward the aircraft, suggesting that the explosion was caused by a missile. As a result, the FBI conducted the interviews of the witnesses. Eventually, they turned over their witness reports to a Witness Group formed by the NTSB specifically for the TWA 800 investigation. As Figure 40 from the report shows, witnesses were as far as 62 miles from the crash site.
The comprehensive 425-page NTSB accident report devotes approximately 20 pages to witness testimony. The Witness Group discovered that the FBI, in its fixation on a possible missile attack, led some witnesses to testify about a missile with such questions as,
"How long did the missile fly?"
"What does the terrain around the launch sight look like?"
"Were scorch marks visible?"
"Where was the sun in relation to the aircraft and the missile launch point?"
According to the report, "The Witness Group determined that of the 736 witnesses, 239 were sound witnesses, 179 were sight and sound witnesses, 258 were streak-of-light witnesses, and 599 were fireball witnesses. Of the 258 streak-of-light witnesses, 38 reported that the streak was ascending vertically or nearly so." The witness reports allowed the position of 699 of the witnesses to be determined with some accuracy. Sight lines were calculated to determine what was within their field of view. Regarding the witnesses who claimed that "the streak was ascending vertically or nearly so," the Witness Group concluded that "These 38 witness accounts seem to be inconsistent with the calculated flightpath of the accident airplane."
Some witnesses testified that they first thought of a missile after they heard news reports about a missile. Some witnesses who were re-interviewed gave different accounts the second time. The investigators studied the scientific literature concerning research into human memory and its accuracy, perception and storing Information in memory, perception of distance and motion, and retrieving information from memory. This research shows the unreliability of human memory.
The FBI turned over some of the witness reports to the CIA for analysis. The CIA analysis and simulations indicated that the nose section separated 3 to 5 seconds after the initial CWT explosion. The remainder of the aircraft then "pitched up while rolling to the left" and climbed perhaps 2,000 feet, streaming flames. That was almost certainly what the light-streak witnesses saw. The aircraft then rolled right and descended. Both wings separated, spilling fuel that erupted in a fireball 34 seconds after the initial CWT explosion. The accident report states,
"Because of the location of those witnesses, the sound from the aircraft's explosion took more than 40 seconds to reach each of the 58 eyewitnesses that they evaluated who reported hearing sounds associated with the disaster. Therefore, any events eyewitnesses reported seeing at about the time they heard the first sound took place well after the explosion."
"the majority of the witness observations must have occurred well after the initial explosion and, consequently, none of those observations could have been of a missile that caused the explosion."
"There was absolutely no evidence that a missile was employed to shoot down TWA flight 800."
Investigation of the flight and wreckage
1 National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report, In-flight Breakup Over the Atlantic Ocean,
Trans World Airlines Flight 800, Boeing 747-131, N93119 Near East Moriches, New York July 17, 1996. Washington, D.C.: National Transportation Safety Board, August 23, 2000.
