TWA Flight 800
A thought-provoking documentary about the ill-fated Trans World Airline Flight 800 to Paris, France, which exploded on July 17, 1996 just 12 minutes after takeoff from JFK International Airport, killing all 230 people on board. The special features six former members of the official crash investigation breaking their silence to refute the officially proposed cause of the jetliner's demise and reveal how the investigation was systematically undermined.
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Save your money for something good and enjoyable
Sadly Over-hyped
Best movie ever!
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Writer-director Kristina Borjesson has assembled a fascinating, frustrating, anger-causing documentary on TWA Flight 800, the ill-fated Boeing 747-100 which, in 1996, exploded over the shores of Long Island just minutes after takeoff from JFK Airport en route to Paris, France. Borjesson is very careful not to immediately point fingers and declare a massive government cover-up (in the interest of a juicy exposé; we're all fascinated by conspiracies). Instead, she establishes a cover-up with her evidence. TWA Flight 800 was very clearly shot down by three separate missiles, all deliberately launched in order to take that plane down. The FBI, the CIA and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) each concluded there was no external foul play involved in the crash, that the internal problem was located in the plane's center fuel tank (it even says so on the memorial!). After viewing the witness testimonials and evidence, one can see this is utter nonsense. The underlying horror of this film is the fact the nightly news (via the powers-that-be) is giving falsified reports to the public--and the public is asked to believe every word of it because, after all, these guys are the experts. *** from ****
I wanted to believe that the scientist (physicist) who produced this documentary was right. I knew the official cause of the explosion, but always wondered if there had been something more menacing involved. This documentary is compelling.The problem is that the producer cherry-picks data and omits other data to support his hypothesis that a missile or similar rocket brought down the aircraft. In forming scientific hypotheses, the scientist is required to include all possible alternatives to results supporting his/her hypothesis.In TWA Flight 800 we hear all sorts of speculation from the producer and his witnesses. Together, the story presented is credible----- that a missile (described specifically by dozens of eye-witnesses on the ground) brought down Flight 800, and, that the government----- the FBI, NTSB, and DOD conspired to conclude that the cause was an explosion in the center wing fuel tank of the plane. The producer presents "chemical splatter" evidence on pieces of the recovered plane, explosive residue found on the parts, and variable injuries to passengers in different parts of the plane as evidence of an external explosive.Unfortunately, the producer fails to include in his documentary a very telling recorded comment (on the cockpit recorder) by the pilot about an inaccurate "crazy" reading of the fuel gauge of the #4 engine. This is critical because the NTSB speculated that the explosion was caused by an ignition source---probably fuel gauge sensor or (similarly located) wiring degradation/malfunction..In addition, the producer omits that there were previous center wing fuel tank explosions caused by the ignition of gas vapors in Boeing products, Avianca and Philippine Airlines for starters. These prior events are not referenced. This is critical because on the day of the crash of Flight 800, the plane was delayed over an hour with the air conditioning units running due to the hot weather. The units are located under the center wing fuel tank and would have contributed to the vapor buildup. This is what happened in the Philippine Airlines explosion, which occurred on the ground with the engines off.The producers do include that the plane was supposedly used for police canine training where explosive residues were used to train the police dogs on the plane at the airport, but he tries to refute that this training exercise took place as documented, casting doubt on the source of explosive residues from a benign source. Instead, he omits that the jet was used in 1991 to transport military equipment and troops exposed to explosive residue from the Gulf.Once I learned of these omissions, I could not believe anything the movie asked me to believe.While the official report can't say "with certainty" that the wiring in the center wing fuel tank caused the explosion, it does show significant evidence that this is the likely source of the ignition.As for the hundreds of well-meaning witnesses who believed that they saw a missile streaking up and striking the plane, well, all I can say is that eyewitness accounts are the LEAST reliable evidence.Once you look at other sources of information about the crash of flight 800, it is apparent that the likely scenario is the same as what was presented by the NTSB after four years of exhaustive investigation.
I am really not a fan of conspiracy theories and I generally try to avoid documentaries like this one, but The flight 800 crash did happen within a half hour of my home. For six months after the crash the local media was filled with arguments and doubt over what happened. Now, 17 years removed, I decided to watch this film, with the hope of finally learning the truth and I think I did. When a handful of people see something, it's easy to pass them over as a bunch of nuts, but what happens when 1000 people see something? The First Amendment gives people the right to say anything, but when you're going against the U.S. Government, you'd better have the evidence to back it up, the producers of this film have that and then some. In this film, the lead NTSB investigator, on the job for more the 40 years said that the FBI was on the scene in minutes, that they wouldn't let anyone in, and once he was finally allowed to do his job, evidence was removed and he was not allowed to submit his report. Medical examiners, on the job for half a century explained that their investigation was hindered as well, and that the injuries didn't fit the story. The film makers not only had this outrageous testimony, but they had experts who said the Government story was impossible. They prove this with formerly classified documents, radar evidence, and witness testimony. There is no doubt that this plane was brought down by missiles, so why did the Government cover it up? If it was an act of terrorism, there would be no reason to cover it up. Not to mention, if it was an act of terrorism, how did they get three missiles and two boats, without anyone noticing? Finally, most compelling of all, when a terrorist group does something, they want everyone to know about it, but no one ever took responsibility for doing this, which leads me to believe it was our own Government. There is a naval base in that area, who would have had the capabilities of doing this, the only question is, did the U.S. Government sacrifice 149 people to kill one person who they didn't want leaving the country? I don't know and neither does anyone else, but the truth is that the families of the victims deserve to know how and why their loved ones were killed. How can anyone expect to have closure when their is such an obviously lie being thrown at them? It really is a shameful display of Government abuse and all I can say is that I hope the real story does come out one day.
This documentary on the TWA 800 air disaster provides more than enough evidence to cast doubt on the official investigation and the ludicrous explanation that was made up out of thin air to explain why this fully loaded airliner ended up in the Atlantic Ocean.Anyone who has studied the TWA 800 event already knows that the official conclusion is completely absurd. Apparently we're to believe that a faulty wire caused the central fuel tank to explode. Yes, the FBI, CIA, and much of our government thinks the average citizen is actually dumb enough to accept this ridiculously implausible and unsubstantiated conclusion. Unfortunately much of the population accepted it without question and moved on with their lives, unaware of the treasonous and deceitful cover- up that was conducted by persons within the FBI, CIA, and NTSB. Missiles brought that plane down. The citizens demand to know why!