Trawler Scoops Up Wreckage Hundreds More Pounds Of Flight 800 Recovered

Scallop trawling already has produced hundreds of pounds of more wreckage from TWA Flight 800, encouraging investigators who are counting on finding key parts of the plane.

“We’re very surprised at the amount we’re bringing up and we’re obviously very happy about it,” Shelly Hazle, a National Transportation Safety Board spokeswoman, said Wednesday.

Since the trawlers began raking the floor of the Atlantic Ocean early Monday, dozens of bagsful of debris have been hauled ashore. Some pieces of larger wreckage are as wide as 2 feet.

A boatload that was brought up Wednesday included metal beams and one of the Boeing 747’s tires, investigators said.

The Paris-bound jetliner exploded July 17 shortly after taking off from Kennedy Airport, killing 230 people aboard. Wreckage scattered over a 5-mile radius.

More than three months of diving 110 feet beneath the ocean’s surface failed to produce enough clues for investigators to determine whether the plane was brought down by a bomb, a missile or a mechanical malfunction.

The wreckage being pulled up by trawlers is being taken to a large hangar where investigators are reassembling the plane.