abstract black granite statue of a lighthouse was added above a tomb holding many of the victims' personal belongings. The lighthouse statue was designed by Harry Edward Seaman, whose cousin died in the crash, and dedicated by George Pataki. Destruction of wreckage For almost 25 years, the wreckage of Flight 800 was kept by the NTSB and used as an accident-investigation teaching aid. By 2021, the methods taught using the wreckage were determined to no longer be relevant to modern accident investigation, which by then relied heavily on new technology, including three-dimensional laser-scanning techniques. The NTSB did not wish to renew the lease on the hangar it was using to store the reassembled accident debris, and decided it should be disposed of. Accordingly, the NTSB decommissioned the wreckage in July 2021. As the NTSB had agreements with the victims' families that the wreckage cannot be used in any kind of public memorial or be scuttled in the ocean, it plans to scan each piece of debris with a three-dimensional laser scanner, with the data being permanently archived, after which the wreckage will be destroyed and the metal recycled. Any parts of the plane that cannot be recycled will be disposed of in landfills. Destruction of the wreckage was scheduled for completion before the end of 2021. See also Boeing 747 hull losses Louis Freeh – director of the FBI from 1993 to 2001 who assisted in the crash investigation Night Fall – 2004 New York Times best-seller by Nelson DeMille that revolves around a couple who witnessed and videotaped the crash of TWA Flight 800 Pan Am Flight 214 – an aircraft that suffered a fuel-tank explosion in midair in 1963, after being hit by lightning Philippine Airlines Flight 143 – a similar incident in 1990 involving a 737, experienced a fuel-tank explosion on the ground, possibly caused by faulty wiring Thai Airways International Flight 114 - a similar incident in 2001 involving a 737, experienced a fuel-tank explosion on the ground, possibly as a result of running the pump in the presence of metal shavings and a fuel/air mixture South African Airways Flight 295 – another Boeing 747 crash giving rise to conspiracy theories Courtney Whitmore – a DC Comics character based on the disaster's victim Courtney Elizabeth Johns; the younger sister of Geoff Johns Notes References External links National Transportation Safety Board NTSB Aircraft Accident Report NTSB Aircraft