Fight for Flight 800 Transparency

I’m Dr. Tom Stalcup, a physicist whose work on TWA Flight 800 was featured in a documentary that the New York Times described as "serious and somber". For over two decades, I’ve pursued hard evidence through Freedom of Information Act litigation and related federal actions.

In 1996, 230 people died when TWA Flight 800 exploded off Long Island. Many witnesses saw a streak of light shoot up from the ocean and hit the plane, but those accounts were suppressed. More recently, I spoke at MIT on the subject, deposed high ranking officials involved, and inspected the reconstruction of the plane.

During that 2023 inspection on behalf of a group of victims' families, I found that a crucial fuselage panel—LF-24A—had been flattened while in government custody, obscuring a clear missile-blast signature. This is proven through original NTSB photos, 3-D analysis, and federal-court filings. Scroll to the bottom of this court filing to see these photos and analysis.

Your donation today enables me to continue assisting the families of TWA 800 victims in their wrongful-death case — helping them pursue justice against the well-funded defense contractors and government agencies they are challenging.

The Full Story

TWA Flight 800 was the Boeing 747 that exploded off Long Island’s south shore in 1996, killing 230 passengers and crew. Hundreds of witnesses described a streak of light shooting upward from the ocean seconds before the blast — a missile-like event most likely from a test gone awry.

As a physicist and consultant for the victims’ families in their ongoing wrongful-death lawsuit against the Department of Defense and defense contractors (Krick v. Raytheon et al., U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York), I uncovered proof that evidence was altered in a manner that masks a missile blast signature.

During a 2023 inspection, I found that Left Fuselage 24A (LF-24A) — originally photographed by the NTSB as curled inward 180 degrees into the cargo bay, precisely where the jetliner broke in two in midair and consistent with an external explosion — had been flattened while in government custody before being mounted on the official reconstruction. Again, the deformation that pointed to an outside blast was pressed out of existence.

Photo 1: LF-24A in its current, flattened state. Note the inward pillowing of adjacent parts, as well as nearby frame fracturing.

Photo 2: The same photo, with LF-24A's original inward curl shown in a 3D model of the part based on original photos taken prior to it being placed onto the reconstruction. Scroll to the bottom of this court filing for the original NTSB photos.

This discovery is not speculation; it’s documented in my certified motion before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (Stalcup v. DOD, No. 22-1405), complete with original NTSB images, 3-D reconstructions, and side-by-side comparisons. And a federal magistrate in this case had already described the government’s handling of still-withheld Navy radar data of the event as “very stark and… ominous.” See page 2, paragraph 2 in the above court filing. Official radar analyses were then were released describing an object "heading straight for" TWA 800 prior to "impact".

Just before the NTSB destroyed the full reconstruction in 2023, the families succeeded in preserving LF-24A and other crucial sections for further forensic analysis. These tests could finally reveal what truly happened that night — but they depend on continued litigation and technical support.

Major media outlets and corporate organizations are rarely the catalyst for challenging powerful government agencies engaged in such misconduct. They typically echo official pronouncements and maintain favorable relationships — which means the truth sometimes stays buried.

That’s why this fight, right now, depends entirely on ordinary citizens. Your donation — whether $25, $50, or $100 today — directly funds forensic analysis and legal work in ongoing TWA 800 litigation. Every contribution helps keep this case alive and ensures that critical proof cannot be suppressed or forgotten.

Don’t let one of America’s worst aviation tragedies be rewritten by those who controlled — and altered — the evidence.

Stand for transparency. Stand for accountability. Donate now.