[applemac_g4]

"A: A terrorist plane filled with high-energy explosives. This is a complex story, one that would have been difficult to explain to the American people in 1996 – or now."

If what he's suggesting is that terrorist loaded an aircraft with explosives and subsequently flew that airplane into TWA 800, he's totally off base.

That having been said, the fuel tank explosion theory is a virtual impossibility - 800 was shot down or brought down by explosives.

[_Jim]

That having been said, the fuel tank explosion theory is a virtual impossibility

That ranks up there with "Man will never fly - for he has no wings."

From the NTSB's report:

1.18.1 Accident Record and History of Fuel Tank Fires/Explosions on Airplanes

The Safety Board has participated in the investigation of several aviation accidents/incidents involving fuel tank explosions. According to a list prepared by the FAA, since 1959 there have been at least 26 documented fuel tank explosions/fires in military and civilian transport-category airplanes ...

The Safety Board conducted a special investigation of the May 9, 1976, accident involving an Iranian Air Force 747-131, as it approached Madrid, Spain, following a flight from Iran. All 17 people on board the airplane were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. Witnesses reported seeing lightning strike the left wing, followed by fire, explosion, and separation of the outboard wing before the airplane crashed. Examination of the wreckage revealed evidence of an explosion that originated in at least one of the left wing fuel tanks near a fuel valve installation. The airplane.s fuel tanks contained a mixture of JP-4 and Jet A fuel. The Board's report noted that almost all of the electrical current of a lightning strike would have been conducted through the aluminum structure around the ullage but discussed how some energy might have entered the fuel tanks. Although the Board's report did not identify a specific point of ignition within the tank, it noted that discharges could produce sufficient electrical energy to ignite the fuel/air mixture and that energy levels required to produce a spark will not necessarily damage metal or leave marks at the point of ignition. Upward flowing burn patterns were observed on the compensator that the FAA considered a potential ignition source for the surge tank fire.

The Safety Board also participated in the investigation of a May 11, 1990, accident, involving a Philippine Airlines 737-300 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, Philippines, in which the Jet A fuel/air mixture in the CWT exploded as the airplane was being pushed back from the gate. Of the 120 people on board the airplane, 8 were killed, and 30 were seriously injured. As a result of this accident, the Safety Board issued Safety Recommendations A-90-100 through -103 to the FAA. In its safety recommendation letter, the Board noted that the exact source of ignition had not been established. However, lightning damage and damaged FQIS wires were found. The Board stated that "it is possible that the combination of a faulty float switch and damaged wires providing a continuous power supply to the float switch may have caused an electrical arc or overheating of the switch leading to the ignition of the center fuel tank vapor".