A year after TWA Flight 800 went down the mystery of it's crash remains unsolved. Theory after theory appears, trying to explain just what really happened. 
One theory remains ignored. 
Could a common astronomical occurrence be the cause? 
You be the judge. 

A METEOR DOWNED TWA FLIGHT 800 
(C)1997 Lloyd L. Mielke & ICSTARS Astronomy 

On July 17,1996 a TWA 747, Flight 800, left New York City for Paris as it had done every day for 27 years. Off the coast of Long Island, New York while only eleven minutes into the flight the plane suddenly exploded and 230 people lost their lives. 

This terrible tragedy began the most extensive investigation of any accident since the Challenger. It has  been conducted by Trans World Airlines (TWA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and  National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and many other groups and  dedicated people. All are to be congratulated for their dedication and the immense effort they have spent in this investigation.  

Several theories have been explored. Many witnesses stated they saw a streak of light heading for the aircraft. This led many to believe that a missile was accidentally fired at the aircraft. Some had expressed a belief that a meteor had hit the aircraft. The belief that a terrorist bomb was certainly high on the list of possibilities. Another was that the center wing fuel tank exploded.  

The fuel tank explosion was quickly discounted by TWA and the TWA retired engineering and maintenance people. The most common remark was that there was no source of ignition. 

It is obvious then that the other causes should be reviewed. In discussing the accident with various witnesses and others who have studied the accident one can only concur with the findings of the FBI and NTSB that a missile or bomb was not the cause. 

Since so many people sighted a streak of light in the vicinity of the 
aircraft and it was not a missile, then what could it be?  

With experts carefully analyzing these streaks of light it was possible to determine the path of a meteor. Experts could then determine its size, speed and its flight path. In this case the meteor approached the aircraft from the south west. These meteors are normally called stony meteors (chondrites) because they are approximately 75% stone the balance is iron or nickel. 

When meteors enter the earth atmosphere the speed of some is approximately Mach 4 ( four times the speed of sound).  At this speed the force of air pressure on the meteor could be about 200 g's, a force great  enough to shatter the meteor. This point is referred to as the bolide. In this case it is estimated the bolide occurred at an altitude of approximately 9 miles which was approximately six miles above and 10 miles southwest of the aircraft. This fragmentation delivers a spray of objects, one or several could have hit the aircraft. Other fragments may have landed in the water closer to the Long Island shore and in more shallow water. The sonic booms heard on shore were caused by these fragments. 
  
Very extensive data on the meteor was developed  by Michael E. Davias of Milford, Connecticut. For myself I am a retired structural engineer. I was trained by TWA for 39 years to always consider all the data. Also being somewhat of an amateur astronomer gave me some knowledge of meteors. 

When the NTSB accepts the premise, it can obtain sufficient data to prove it was a meteor that brought down Flight 800. 

While the theory of a meteor hitting an aircraft is incomprehensible to most people, we have had many cases of meteors hitting various objects such as cars, trucks, dogs, mailboxes and people. Substantial size meteors hit the earth at a rate of approximately 3,000 a month. 

Lloyd can be reached at his Email address: