(CNN) -- [Breaking News Update: 8:30 a.m. June 19,
2013]
A
coming documentary on the 1996 TWA Flight 800 disaster offers "solid proof
that there was an external detonation," Tom Stalcup, a co-producer of the
documentary, told CNN's "New Day" on Wednesday. "Of course everyone knows
about the eyewitness statements, but we also have corroborating evidence
from the radar data, and the radar data shows (an) asymmetric explosion
coming out of that plane -- something that didn't happen in the official
theory." The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that the explosion
was caused by an electrical short, most likely originating in a fuel gauge
line, which found its way into the center wing fuel tank, detonating the
lethal fuel vapors there.
[Previously Published Story]
Skeptics who have long theorized that TWA Flight 800 was brought down by
sinister forces will get a fresh surge of energy when a new documentary
attempts to disprove that the 1996 crash was accidental.
The
twist: It includes six members of the large accident investigation team who,
publicists say, will "break their silence" on the cause of the explosion.
They
will petition the National Transportation Safety Board to reopen its
investigation some 17 years after the B-747 fell in pieces into the waters
off of Long Island, New York.
They
include Hank Hughes, who served as a senior accident investigator with the
NTSB and helped reconstruct the aircraft following its destruction. Also
included, Bob Young, a top TWA investigator who participated in the
investigation, and Jim Speer, an accident investigator for the Airline
Pilots Association.
"These investigators were not allowed to speak to the public or refute any
comments made by their superiors and/or NTSB and FBI officials about their
work at the time of the official investigation," a news release announcing
the documentary said.
"They waited until after retirement to reveal how the official conclusion by
the (NTSB) was falsified and lay out their case."
The
documentary, "TWA Flight 800," will premiere July 17, the 17th anniversary
of the crash.
The
co-producer of the film, Tom Stalcup, is co-founder of the Flight 800
Independent Researchers Organization and has been a longtime and passionate
critic of the official investigation.
Suspicions that criminals or terrorists were behind the TWA 800 explosion
are not new. The FBI conducted a parallel investigation, but concluded that
the incident was not a crime or terrorist attack.
The
NTSB ultimately ruled that the explosion was caused by an electrical short,
most likely originating in a fuel gauge line, which found its way into the
center wing fuel tank, detonating the lethal fuel vapors there.
The
NTSB said Tuesday that it was aware of the pending release of the
documentary, which will air on EPIX TV network, and of the producers' intent
to file a petition to reopen the investigation.
"As
required by NTSB regulation, a petition for reconsideration of board
findings ... must be based on the discovery of NEW evidence or on a showing
that the board's findings are erroneous," NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said
in a statement. "At this point, the NTSB has not received a petition,
however, we stand ready to review one, should it be filed."
Petitions are reviewed and a determination typically is made within 60 days,
but the NTSB can take longer if necessary, she said. The safety board's
investigation of TWA 800 lasted four years and "remains one of the NTSB's
most extensive investigations," Nantel said.
Investigators "spent an enormous amount of time reviewing, documenting and
analyzing facts and data, and held a five-day public hearing to gather
additional facts before determining the probable cause of the accident," she
said.
But
her statement leaves open the possibility the case will be re-opened.
"While the NTSB rarely re-investigates issues that have already been
examined, our investigations are never closed, and we can review any new
information not previously considered by board," it said.
The
documentarians said they have a "trifecta of elements" that will "prove that
the officially proposed fuel-air explosion did not cause the crash." That
trifecta includes forensic evidence, first-hand sources and corroborating
eyewitnesses, and the whistleblowing investigators.
The
evidence proves that "one or more ordnance explosions outside the aircraft
caused the crash," the producers said. But it does not identify or speculate
on the source of the ordnance explosions.
All
230 people aboard TWA 800 died when the plane, headed for Paris, exploded
and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from John F.
Kennedy International Airport in New York. Scores of witnesses observed a
streak of light and a fireball, giving early rise to suspicions that the
terrorists had struck the plane with a rocket.
Investigators concluded the streak was likely burning fuel streaming from
the plane's wing tank.
