It was a fuel center tank explosion. There have been a few of them on commercial aircraft, so it has and can happen.
The missile theories run into a whole bunch of problems. What kind of missile, from what platform, and how was it employed is easy to speculate. Does any missile theory make sense in real life, outside of conspiracy musing on the internet? No one wants to answer those questions.
The USN does missile tests away from civilian air traffic, and their missiles have self destruct features if they lose their intended target. The idea the USN would for the hell of it, us an Aegis cruiser in range of civilian traffic to fire off SM-2s is nonsense. As is the idea a crew of 330 all keeping their mouths shut about it, along with the yard crews replacing weapons, the Navy admiralty who would all have to be in on the cover up, for 30 years. Not one word from any of them.
My own problem is this: TWA-800 went down ten miles off shore. Most of the witnesses were along the coast or inland. At 10 to 20 miles away, any surface to air missile that could hit TWA-800 would be invisible to the human eye.
No it wasn't. You can't even light jet fuel with a blow torch. No amount of sparks or electricity would ignite a pool of jet fuel in a tank.
The stuff just won't burn unless it is atomized. There is a very good video on Youtube where the guy proves this. He actually tries to light Kerosene, Diesel, Jet Fuel, and Fuel oil with a torch.
It will not light.
The Fuel tank claim is absolutely a lie.
What kind of missile, from what platform, and how was it employed is easy to speculate.
Are you saying it is impossible to shoot down an airplane with a missile on a boat? That there is no known missile which can do such a thing?
That is just silly. That's not even a good argument.
The USN does missile tests away from civilian air traffic, and their missiles have self destruct features if they lose their intended target. The idea the USN would for the hell of it, us an Aegis cruiser in range of civilian traffic to fire off SM-2s is nonsense.
This part is correct. The US Navy would not have tested a missile so near commercial flights, and if it had accidentally shot down a civilian airliner (like it did in 1988 when it shot down Iran Air 655.) It would have admitted it.
And the plane was at 10,000 feet. Would the missile have enough fuel to get up that high, and out that far?