During the conversation, Hedlund pointed out the possibility of an electrical component in fuel tanks creating a spark, which could have ignited heavily aerated fuel.
The four-year investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was the most extensive and costly air disaster investigation in U.S. history. The NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the TWA 800 accident was an explosion of flammable fuel/air vapors in a fuel tank. While investigators could not make a certain determination, the likely cause of the explosion was a short circuit.
Interview date: 9-24-1996
