Breakup Sequence of the TWA Flight 800 Airplane: How it was Determined That an Explosion of the Wing Center Section Fuel Tank Initiated the Breakup

A group composed of representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board and the investigation parties used fire and soot patterns, recovery positions of the pieces, witness marks, fracture directions, deformations, and stress analysis to document the breakup sequence of the TWA Flight 800 airplane and to determine that an explosion of the wing center section fuel tank initiated the accident.