In order to better determine whether a fuel/air vapor explosion in the CWT would generate sufficient pressure to break apart the fuel tank and lead to the destruction of the airplane , tests were conducted in July and August 1997 , using a retired Air France 747 at Bruntingthorpe Airfield , England . These tests simulated a fuel/air explosion in the CWT by igniting a propane/air mixture ; this resulted in the failure of the tank structure due to overpressure . While the NTSB acknowledged that the test conditions at Bruntingthorpe were not fully comparable to the conditions that existed on TWA 800 at the time of the accident , previous fuel explosions in the CWTs of commercial airliners such as Avianca Flight 203 and Philippine Airlines Flight 143 confirmed that a CWT explosion could break apart the fuel tank and lead to the destruction of an airplane
Philippine Airlines Flight 143
Philippine Airlines Flight 143
TWA Flight 800