The 1996 Crash of TWA Flight 800 (Patreon)
Content
While looking into the background of this disaster, I was surprised to find that this is not the first time a Trans World Airlines Flight 800 has crashed. A previous accident destroyed a plane with the same flight number decades before in 1964.
The two accidents were quite different. The 1964 crash took place after an aborted take-off. As pilots struggled to get the plane back down on the ground it struck a vehicle, before coming to rest a little further along the runway. Before everyone on board could evacuate, the plane burst into flames and exploded.
In many cases, when an accident takes place, the flight number of the accident plane will be retired… both due to public perception and to avoid any confusion. For some reason (and somewhat uniquely) this simply wasn’t done in this case. If anyone knows if there was a specific reason why, do let me know!