Ntsb Hearings To Examine The Cause Of 747 Crash

Confident no terrorist caused the explosion that tore apart TWA flight 800 17 months ago, the National Transportation Safety Board opens a week of hearings Monday to answer the twin questions that still haunt air travelers - what made the huge Boeing 747 explode, and could it happen again?

Hearings are conducted after all major plane crashes. But these are the biggest ever staged by the safety board, which employs fewer than 400 people. About 550 journalists will cover the proceedings in the Baltimore Convention Center. One hundred fifty relatives of crash victims plan to attend, as well as some 300 others.

In contrast, typical plane crash hearings are in hotel meeting rooms, with no more than 200 people attending. Typically, too, the hearings are about six months after an accident. The long time lag since the crash in the summer of 1996 reflects the complexity and thoroughness of the detective work, and its frustrations.

After months of exhaustive work, the FBI recently ended its investigation into the crash, which occurred shortly after the plan took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport en route to Paris. The bureau said it couldn’t find a trace of a bomb, a missile or sabotage.

That leaves it up to the National Transportation Safety Board to find a mechanical failure that was responsible for bringing down the plane.

Investigators already know that vapors in the nearly empty center fuel tank exploded. But they don’t know the source of the spark that ignited the jet-fuel vapors.