The wreck of TWA Flight 800, which fell into the sea on July 17, 1996 shortly after taking off from New York JFK, has been cleared for scrapping by the US investigative authority NTSB.

The N93119, a Boeing 747-131, had been in the service of Trans World Airlines since 1971. On July 17, 1996, shortly after take-off at around 20:31 p.m. local time, the almost empty central tank of the four-jet engine exploded. The machine was torn apart in the middle. According to the NTSB and FBI, the official cause of the accident is that an explosive mixture of fuel and oxygen has formed in the almost empty central tank.

Since the machine stood on the apron for around an hour and the air conditioning was in operation, it heated the central tank to around 53 degrees Celsius. The flash point of the explosive mixture is only 38 degrees Celsius. A defective insulation on a wiring harness then led to a short circuit and thus to ignition.

The official cause of the accident is still massively controversial today, as eyewitnesses claim that they saw a bullet that hit the machine. The theory is still circulating that terrorists may have detonated a bomb on board. The NTSB said in 2013 that there was no evidence of a missile or bomb.

In the course of the investigation into the accident, many parts of the wreck were recovered from the sea and reassembled as well as possible to form a “Boeing 747”. Since this measure, the wreck stood in a hangar and was also used by the NTSB for training purposes. After digitization, the remains of the N93119 are to be scrapped. 230 people lost their lives in the accident.