The crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996 originated the use of the hotel facilities for guest housing , bereavement-related services and news gathering for crash-incident-related purposes . Ying Chan , Jose Lambiet and Jere Hester of the '' Daily News '' wrote that for the families the hotel became " a makeshift grief counseling center " . Many waited there for the remains of their family members to be recovered , identified and released . U.S. President Bill Clinton visited the hotel while it housed TWA Flight 800 next of kin . The hotel also hosted families of Swissair Flight 111 ( 1998 ) , EgyptAir Flight 990 ( 1999 ) and American Airlines Flight 587 ( 2001 ) victims
American Airlines Flight 587
American Airlines Flight 587
Ramada Plaza JFK Hotel