NTSB to Cite 747 Design in Flight 800 Crash

ByABC News
August 23, 2000, 9:47 PM

Aug. 23 -- Investigators of the deadly crash of TWA Flight 800 believe the design of the Boeing 747 aircraft and its fuel tanks were at least partly to blame for the tragedy.

They also cite government certification of the safety of the plane and the tanks, sources familiar with the investigation of the crash.

Investigators, on the first day of a two-day NTSB hearing on the crash, Tuesday said an electrical short circuit outside the center fuel tank of Flight 800 likely sent excess voltage through wires into the tank, igniting flammable vapors and causing the jet to explode.

The jet fell, in flaming pieces, into the Atlantic Ocean near New York shortly after taking off from John F. Kennedy airport more than four years ago. All 230 passengers and crew were killed.

The spark most likely occurred in a high-voltage wire outside the tank, investigators believe. They also think the wire short-circuited and the spark then jumped to a low-voltage wire that runs into the fuel tank.

In addition, the investigators believe the design of the jet is in part to blame. They believe placement of air conditioning units under the fuel tank generated heat that led to vapors in the fuel tank being explosive when touched off by the spark, the sources said.

Unanimous Board ApprovalToday, on the final day of the hearing, NTSB investigators presented their findings, and the five-member NTSB board unanimously agreed with their conclusion that the wing center fuel tank exploded most likely from a short circuit in the wiring outside the tank. The short-circuit then traveled into the tank through low-voltage wires and ignited the flammable vapors, investigators concluded.

The NTSB board also sided with investigators citing design and certification of fuel tanks as a contributing factor to the accident. The board criticized the design philosophy that assumes aircraft fuel tanks will always contain at least some explosive material and approved a series of recommendations for government regulators and airplane manufacturers.