ASHBURN, Va. — The remnants of one of the nation’s most tragic air disasters are finally being dismantled in Loudoun County this week.
TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747, exploded minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport over the Atlantic Ocean in 1996, killing 230 passengers and crew members on board.
The National Transportation Safety Board reconstructed the wreckage at a facility in Ashburn, which has been used in training courses for nearly 20 years. An exhaustive four-year investigation determined there was an explosion in the center wing fuel tank after an electrical failure that ignited a flammable mixture in the tank.
NTSB confirmed the remains of the plane are being destroyed and disposed of in a secure manner this week. None of the parts will be recognizable or identifiable, according to an NTSB spokesperson.
An agreement with families of the victims indicated the reconstruction would be used strictly as a training tool and never as an exhibit.
NTSB first announced it would decommission the reconstruction by July 2021 as the lease on the 30,000-square-foot hangar was set to expire.
“Advances in investigative techniques such as 3-D scanning and drone imagery, lessen the relevance of the large-scale reconstruction in teaching modern investigative techniques,” said in the NTSB announcement.
The NTSB said it would document the reconstruction using 3-D scanning techniques for several months after the decommission. Officials said dismantling only started this week because there were logistical and legal issues involved, on top of the lease ending.
The last opportunity to see the wreckage was in 2021 when NTSB made the announcement, per a spokesperson.
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