Posted on 07/17/2013 11:08:58 AM PDT by LSUfan
It’s been called the biggest accident investigation in aviation history... more than a decade and a half later, the crash of TWA Flight 800 is still shrouded in controversy. What caused the plane to explode 12 minutes after takeoff? Why haven’t the 230 victims’ death certificates been finalized, after all these years? In this shocking documentary, insiders from the original investigation join forces to put together the missing pieces of the puzzle – and blow the lid off an alleged multi-agency cover-up of what really happened.
(Excerpt) Read more at epixhd.com ...
In 1991 a Lauda Air 767 broke up in mid-air when the thrust reverser on the Number 1 engine spontaneously deployed in flight. That had never happened before, has never happened since, and did not lead to a grounding of 767s.
That, to me, is the clincher. A plane blows up in mid-air because the fuel tank is (apparently) susceptible to such things -- and they never even attempted to look at or fix all of the other planes??
No way. They knew the fuel tank excuse was hooey.
Nonsense. They never grounded the worldwide fleet of 747s, but they most certainly "attempted to look at or fix all of the other planes." (link).
In early August 1991 Boeing gave an alert to airlines stating that over 1,600 late model 737s, 757s, 767s, and 747s had thrust reverser systems common to that of OE-LAV. On Monday 9 September 1991 the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group asked its customers to replace a valve in the thrust reverser systems that may cause the thrust reverser to deploy in flight.
Nothing equivalent was done in the wake of TWA 800. What the NTSB did, instead, was to fiddle with the rules. And then, when the new Dreamliner could not meet the new rules, the NTSB waived the new rules.
It was merely a show. Kabuki theater. They never tried to fix a mechanical problem, because they knew that there was no mechanical problem.
The FAA does not believe detailed in-tank inspections of the FQIS components would be effective because the condition of in-tank component or wiring contamination and damage can be difficult to detect while the parts are installed. The agency believes the best approach at this time is to replace the current in-tank FQIS components with new parts, including replacement of silver-plated copper wires with nickel-plated wires.
The FAA is proposing that operators remove and replace FQIS components within 20 years from the date the airplane was manufactured, or within 24 months of publication of the final rule, whichever is later. Nickel-plated wire is much more resistant to corrosion in the presence of sulfur.
That's a rule change. It specifically says that an inspection would be impractical. They didn't look at the planes. They just changed the rules for maintenance.
To FReepers:
I signed up for a trial a year ago and never got any spam.
FWIW.
I just signed up again for TWA800. I’ll post after I watched the documentary (waiting for the wife’s movie to get over...our day-off).
The NTSB made 15 recommendations based on their TWA 800 findings, and many more in the years following. When Boeing dragged its feet on implementing them the FAA fined them $13 million. Link
Reason #1 why I haven’t flown commercial since 1996. If I can’t drive, I ain’t going.
Hard to believe that was seventeen years ago.
Save
I just watched the documentary.
After reading all of the available evidence and witness statements it reinforces my own conclusions from > decade ago (which I will not comment on here).
The newly available evidence presented here (and review of other evidence) is damning and refutes the very premise that there ever was a responsible investigation.
By the by, David Mayer, the chief witness destroyer at the hearings, is NTSB’s Managing Director today.
Nice.
Also, if you own an Xbox you can stream it w/o the trial (just get the access code from Epix as it instructs).
I find that damning. A $13M fine?? Do you have any idea how large Boeing is?? They looked under the couch cushions in the executive lounge, found $13M and paid the fine.
This is called “going through the motions”. The NTSB pretends to get tough and serious. And Boeing pretends to feel enormous pain from a diddly little $13M fine. Everyone plays their part, and the “serious matter” of the center fuel tank is “dealt with”.
I think this is transparent Kabuki theater.
I followed this fairly closely at the time - There is tons of information here that I never saw before.
No doubt about the cover-up.
The ‘splatter pattern’ on the outside of the center fuel tank, and the fact that the seat damage pattern is different from the seat occupant damage pattern are 2 of the key pieces of evidence that support an external explosion.
Just saw the documentary on EPIX
There is enough here to reopen the investigation.
But the present administration is more corrupt than the Clinton’s.
I don’t see any resolution to this
The doc was good, but I don’t think it would do any good to reopen the investigation as there is probably no meaningful evidence left. I bet Kallstrom and Hall don’t even know what actually happened.
Are you saying something? If so, say it.
It’s repeated tomorrow afternoon, forget the exact time.
For me the telling points were:
ROV videos being edited (time gaps).
Tagging of evidence, interference with evidence after hours.
Witness being told “You saw nothing, understand ?”
Witness effectively told if she wants her naturalization to go ahead to say nothing.
Greek pilot was convincing.
Never heard claims there were three missiles before tho’
IMHO, after first WTC bombing, “Bojinka” plot foiled, OKC etc, they weren’t going to let it be terrorism that close to the elections. I don’t believe it was friendly fire as I can’t imagine the secret could be kept so long.
I remember Rush Limbaugh having Kallstrom on his show in 96 and 97, and Rush stood up for this guy as being a paragon of justice and virtue. Rush lost all credibility with me on Kallstrom. Having ZERO eyewitness testimonials at NTSB and congressional hearings, and Kallstrom demeaning the hundreds of eyewitness reports leaves me unbelievably outraged.
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