TWA Pilot Testifies About Flight 800
By Richard Pyle
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, April 8, 1999; 1:04 p.m. EDT

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- A former TWA pilot who helped
investigate the crash of Flight 800 admitted today telling a
writer he would give ``priority'' to finding a piece of
evidence that might prove the plane was shot down by a
missile.

But Capt. Terrell Stacey testified that even before meeting
author James Sanders, who was writing a book on the 1996
crash, he had become frustrated and concerned over the way
the FBI and National Transportation Safety Board were
conducting the investigation.

In reply to questions, he said the agencies seemed to be
ignoring or pushing aside certain aspects that he considered
worth closer scrutiny.

The jet exploded off the Long Island coast on July 17, 1996,
just minutes after leaving Kennedy Airport for Paris. All
230 people aboard were killed, including 53 TWA employees.

The government says the Boeing 747 jumbo jet was destroyed
by a fuel tank fire of unknown origin.

Stacey is the government's star witness against Sanders, 53,
and his wife, Elizabeth, 52, a former TWA flight training
supervisor. They are accused of stealing documents and a
swatch of seat fabric allegedly stained with missile fuel
residue. The FBI says the stains actually were from glue.

Stacey -- a 33-year TWA veteran who had flown the doomed
plane from Paris to New York the day before the crash -- was
originally charged along with the Sanderses. He agreed to
testify against them, and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
He faces up to a year in prison.

Stacey admitted earlier to agreeing to steal the cloth at
the alleged urging of Mrs. Sanders, who wanted to ``bring
the information to the American public'' about the plane's
being downed by a missile.

In the phone conversation with Sanders, Stacey -- unaware he
was being taped -- said he was ``making it a priority'' to
get the fabric, and also would look for other materials as
soon as investigators moved out of a certain area of the
Long Island hangar where they wreckage was being
reassembled. Today, he acknowledged it was his voice on the
tape.

Stacey testified that Mrs. Sanders first contacted him about
helping solve the crash mystery. At the time, her husband
was writing a book claiming that the U.S. Navy had
inadvertently shot down the jumbo jet, and then engaged in a
coverup.

Stacey had been assigned by the TWA to assist investigators.

``I was quite nervous and uncomfortable,'' he said of his
meetings with Sanders. ``The confidentiality had to be
maintained, and it compromised my position in the
investigation.''

The main prize for Sanders was a small scrap of seat fabric
bearing a mysterious, reddish stain. The author had it
tested by a laboratory, which found the stain ``consistent
with solid missile fuel residue'' -- a discovery described
in his 1997 book, ``The Downing of TWA Flight 800.''

The FBI said the stain was from the glue used to fasten seat
covers.

* * *

Former TWA Pilot Testifies
By Richard Pyle
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, April 8, 1999; 2:16 a.m. EDT

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- A former TWA pilot said his
frustration over the FBI's probe of the Flight 800 crash led
him to steal evidence from the wreckage and give it to an
investigative writer.

Capt. Terrell Stacey testified Wednesday that he gave
documents to James Sanders, who was trying to prove his
theory that the aircraft was shot down by a missile.

Stacey said he thought the investigation was taking too
long, and that the FBI was withholding key information from
the National Transportation Safety Board and the airline.

The jet exploded off the Long Island coast on July 17, 1996,
just minutes after leaving Kennedy Airport for Paris. All
230 people aboard were killed, including 53 TWA employees.

The government says the Boeing 747 jumbo jet was destroyed
by a fuel tank fire of unknown origin.

Sanders, 53, and his wife, Elizabeth, 52, are charged by the
federal government with stealing documents and a swatch of
seat fabric from the wreckage. They face up to 10 years in
prison.

Stacey -- a 33-year TWA veteran who had flown the doomed
plane from Paris to New York the day before the crash -- was
originally charged along with the Sanderses. He agreed to
testify against them, and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
He faces up to a year in prison.

Stacey testified that Mrs. Sanders, at the time a TWA
training supervisor, first contacted him about helping solve
the crash mystery. At the time, her husband was writing a
book claiming that the U.S. Navy had inadvertently shot down
the jumbo jet, and then engaged in a cover-up.

Stacey had been assigned by the TWA to assist investigators.

``I was quite nervous and uncomfortable,'' he said of his
meetings with Sanders. ``The confidentiality had to be
maintained, and it compromised my position in the
investigation.''

The main prize for Sanders was a small scrap of seat fabric
bearing a mysterious, reddish stain. The author had it
tested by a laboratory, which found the stain ``consistent
with solid missile fuel residue'' -- a discovery described
in his 1997 book, ``The Downing of TWA Flight 800.''

The FBI said the stain was from glue used to fasten seat
covers.

* * *