TWA 's worst accident occurred on July 17 , 1996 , when Flight 800 , a Boeing 747 en route to Paris , exploded over the Atlantic Ocean near Long Island , killing all 230 people on board . The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the most likely cause of the disaster was a center-fuel-tank explosion sparked by exposed wiring . In their subsequent coverage , the media focused heavily on the fact that TWA 's airline fleet was among the oldest in service ( the 747 used for Flight 800 was manufactured in 1971 , making it 25 years old at the time of the incident ) . The flight was under the command of Captain Steven Snyder , a veteran TWA pilot
Flight 800
TWA Flight 800
Trans World Airlines