Accident investigators said Wednesday, July 2, they would not re-open the probe of the mid-air explosion that brought down TWA 800 nearly 18 years ago on July 26, 1996, killing all aboard. The decision by the National Transportation Safety Board dashed the hopes of a documentary film team claiming to have uncovered "solid proof" that investigators erred in concluding it was an accident. <br />Here, a section of the wing of TWA Flight 800, seen here a couple of days after the crash, floats in the Atlantic Ocean off Long Island, New York.
TWA Flight 800 —
Accident investigators said Wednesday, July 2, they would not re-open the probe of the mid-air explosion that brought down TWA 800 nearly 18 years ago on July 26, 1996, killing all aboard. The decision by the National Transportation Safety Board dashed the hopes of a documentary film team claiming to have uncovered "solid proof" that investigators erred in concluding it was an accident.
Here, a section of the wing of TWA Flight 800, seen here a couple of days after the crash, floats in the Atlantic Ocean off Long Island, New York.
JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
A member of the U.S. Coast Guard pulls a piece of wreckage from the waters on July 18, 1996.
TWA Flight 800 —
A member of the U.S. Coast Guard pulls a piece of wreckage from the waters on July 18, 1996.
JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
Ron Dwyer pauses to compose himself on July 20, 1996, as he speaks about his 11-year-old daughter Larkyn Lynn Dwyer, who was on TWA Flight 800.
TWA Flight 800 —
Ron Dwyer pauses to compose himself on July 20, 1996, as he speaks about his 11-year-old daughter Larkyn Lynn Dwyer, who was on TWA Flight 800.
STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
A warning sign on the dunes alerts beach-goers to watch for debris washed ashore at Smith's Point, Long Island, New York, on July 25, 1996.
TWA Flight 800 —
A warning sign on the dunes alerts beach-goers to watch for debris washed ashore at Smith's Point, Long Island, New York, on July 25, 1996.
JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
A police officer stands guard as part of the plane is transported from a dock in Brooklyn, New York, on July 19, 1996.
TWA Flight 800 —
A police officer stands guard as part of the plane is transported from a dock in Brooklyn, New York, on July 19, 1996.
STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
Wreckage of the front portion of the Boeing 747 aircraft is displayed in its reconstructed state on November 19, 1997, in Calverton, Long Island, New York.
TWA Flight 800 —
Wreckage of the front portion of the Boeing 747 aircraft is displayed in its reconstructed state on November 19, 1997, in Calverton, Long Island, New York.
Jon Levy/AFP/Getty Images
Parts of the aircraft's wing sit in the hangar on July 8, 1999, in Calverton, New York.
TWA Flight 800 —
Parts of the aircraft's wing sit in the hangar on July 8, 1999, in Calverton, New York.
JOHN CORNELL JR./AFP/Getty Images/FILE
The partially reconstructed fuselage of TWA Flight 800 is pulled out of a hangar in Calverton, New York, on September 14, 1999.
TWA Flight 800 —
The partially reconstructed fuselage of TWA Flight 800 is pulled out of a hangar in Calverton, New York, on September 14, 1999.
MATT CAMPBELL/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
Antonella Naglieri, whose relatives Giuseppe Mercurio and Anna D'Alessandro were killed in the crash, places a rose in the surf after a memorial service at Smith Point Park in Shirley, New York, on July 17, 2001.
TWA Flight 800 —
Antonella Naglieri, whose relatives Giuseppe Mercurio and Anna D'Alessandro were killed in the crash, places a rose in the surf after a memorial service at Smith Point Park in Shirley, New York, on July 17, 2001.
MATT CAMPBELL/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
Joanne Festa touches the memorial wall commemorating the victims of TWA Flight 800 on July 16, 2006, at the Smith Point County Park in Shirley, New York.
TWA Flight 800 —
Joanne Festa touches the memorial wall commemorating the victims of TWA Flight 800 on July 16, 2006, at the Smith Point County Park in Shirley, New York.
Sylwia Kapuscinski/Getty Images/FILE