On July 17, 1996, a Paris-bound TWA Flight 800 exploded and crashed into the waters off Long Island, New York, killing all 230 people on board. After a four-year investigation, the National Transportation Security Board concluded the plane was destroyed by a center fuel tank explosion likely caused by a spark from faulty wiring.
The producers of an upcoming documentary dispute this claim, presenting new "radar and forensic evidence proving that one or more ordinance explosions outside the aircraft caused the crash." The film will premiere on the 17th anniversary of the crash on the EPIX network.
"These investigators were not allowed to speak to the public or refute any comments made by their superior and/or NTSB and FBI officials about their work at the time of the investigation," a news release announcing the documentary said. "They waited until after retirement to reveal how the official conclusion by the (NTSB) were falsified..."
The investigators filed a petition with the NTSB on Wednesday calling for a new probe, YAHOO News reported. In response, the NTSB said they have long maintained the position that it would review any petition related to the crash. Both the CIA and the FBI conducted a parallel investigation to determine if a bomb or missile brought down the aircraft.
Dozens of eyewitnesses in the Long Island area "recalled seeing something resembling a flare or firework ascend and culminate in an explosion," the CIA said in a 2008 report. "Had the crash been the result of state-sponsored terrorism, it would have been considered an act of war."
After an eight-month investigation, the CIA "concluded with confidence and full substantiation that the eyewitnesses had not seen a missile."
