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Events on Wednesday 17 July 1996 1
1996TWA Flight 800 Crashes off Long IslandBoeing 747 explodes shortly after takeoff, killing 230TWA Flight 800 exploded in mid-air and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off East Moriches, New York, minutes after departing JFK Airport for Paris. All 230 people aboard were killed. Investigators concluded the probable cause was an explosion of flammable fuel-air vapors in a nearly empty center fuel tank, though the crash also fueled persistent conspiracy theories.