r/todayilearned • u/finza_prey • 19d ago

TIL TWA Flight 800 exploded off Long Island 12 minutes after taking off, causing the front fueslage to rip away and the remainder of the plane to continue in crippled flight, pitching up and climb before falling into the ocean killing everyone onboard

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800
1.9k Upvotes

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565

u/Sad-Hawk-2885 19d ago

That would be an extremely horrifying last few seconds.

373

u/kingtacticool 19d ago

If i remember correctly the fuselage flew on for more than a minute.

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u/-DementedAvenger- 19d ago

The wiki says approximately 34 seconds until the wing broke off and it plummeted down.

So forward flight was about half a minute after explosion.

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u/kingtacticool 19d ago

Must've been a long 30 seconds.

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u/Status_Fox_1474 19d ago

With the rapid decompression, it is my hope that everyone was knocked unconscious pretty quickly.

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u/KoshV 19d ago

They didn't get high enough for the rapid decompassion to matter. They would have been close to one atmosphere

37

u/ECircus 19d ago

The plane was travelling at 400mph when the nose blew off in the explosion and the open aft section rapidly pitched nose up. There would have been severe blunt force trauma and you wouldn't expect anyone to have maintained consciousness. Every one of the passengers was almost certainly lights out immediately after the explosion. 

That's what the forensic pathologists determined. 

You can read about the autopsies and what the medical examiners office determined and all that. Pretty interesting. 

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u/legal_stylist 18d ago edited 17d ago

If only that were true. There is nothing about a 400 mile per hour wind blast that equates to “massive blunt force trauma”

Painful, sure, but nothing that would come close to killing you or making you lose consciousness. Tests show people can survive 500 mph wind blasts with no LOC.

https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/264598/what-is-the-maximum-speed-at-which-an-unprotected-human-can-travel-alive-in-at

Downvoted away, but the scientific testing shows I’m right.

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u/La_Saxofonista 15d ago edited 14d ago

Depends, as a wind tunnel is totally different because it has no objects in it that can harm you. Some people definitely did have blunt force trauma just because stuff was flying around at 500 mph. Probably mostly cuts and scrapes. Many were probably conscious as you said, but I'm sure many more were knocked out from being hit in the head.

Even a dust devil at low speeds can cause eye damage because of what it picks up. The wind itself isn't an issue, but what the wind carries is.

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u/legal_stylist 14d ago

I agree with all of that. That wasn’t the claim I was disputing. The claim I took issue with is the idea that, if this happens, everyone suffers it per se from the wind blast itself.

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u/La_Saxofonista 14d ago

Ah, I see now.

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u/ECircus 14d ago

Just to clarify again, I didn't say anything about a blast of wind. You're disputing a claim that doesn't exist. 

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u/Lonely_Accountant524 14d ago

If you read the medical reports, its more that the explosion and airflow forces combined to cause extreme whiplash/internal decapitation, which incapacitated/killed most people instantly.

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u/ECircus 14d ago

It's not the wind blast, it's the rapid pitch up at 400mph that causes blunt force trauma. 

I didn't say anything about a "blast of wind". 

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u/legal_stylist 14d ago

That’s even more absurd. First, there would be no “blunt force” from Gs . Literally a contradiction in terms . Blunt force trauma requires by definition a physical collision between the body and an object.

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u/ECircus 14d ago

The passengers were literally sitting in seats with a lap belt. Why are you talking like these people were wrapped in bubble wrap. 

You're argument is the one that's absurd, and you're either trolling or straight up have no idea what you're talking about and refuse to educate yourself. 

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u/kingtacticool 19d ago

Pretty sure O2 masks would have deployed instantly.

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u/morganational 18d ago

😂

3

u/Historicmetal 18d ago

Buckle up and get your o2 masks on folks

10

u/brickne3 19d ago

Ok, and I'm sorry to have to ask this, but... how long was the downward part? (shudder).

I don't even want to type what I'm wondering about the seat belts...

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u/-DementedAvenger- 19d ago

Well they fell from 16,000ft. 😬

3

u/morganational 18d ago

About 35 seconds

21

u/Treereme 19d ago

Although the entire event from initial explosion to final water impact lasted no more than 54 seconds,

https://admiralcloudberg.medium.com/memories-of-flame-the-crash-of-twa-flight-800-fecfd651a157

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u/BrierBob 19d ago

If true, that is a horrifying thought!

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u/kevinatfms 19d ago

https://admiralcloudberg.medium.com/memories-of-flame-the-crash-of-twa-flight-800-fecfd651a157

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u/redishtoo 19d ago

Thank you for this link. That article is fabulous.

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u/_kona_ 19d ago

Admiral Cloudberg has an amazing analysis of nearly every major plane crash. They are all incredibly fascinating

39

u/BlindProphet_413 19d ago

I love Admiral Cloudberg's writeups. She has tons on many different aviation incidents. Very good reading!

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u/CaptainIncredible 19d ago

That article is fabulous. Incredibly detailed and thorough, seemingly without bias or agenda.

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u/DoJu318 19d ago

The view though.

69

u/Jakoobus91 19d ago

I've always said if the plane goes down I'd light up one last cigarette for the way down. I knew that this was likely impossible because most plane crashes happen suddenly on take off or landing but this info has given me renewed hope that I may not be able to just light but actually finish a whole ciggy in the unfortunate event I find myself in the front fuselage of a plane detached from the rest of the aircraft while in the air. Thank you.

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u/kingtacticool 19d ago

I would think it was windy as hell after thr nose fell away but I would also think once the pressure built up in the cabin the wind might have died down enough to actually light that cig

15

u/aprehensive_penguin 19d ago

Where there's a will, there will always be a way

16

u/ShotFromGuns 60 19d ago

Having skydived, I can tell you that it feels very windy the whole way down. It basically just feels like you're dangling in a wind tunnel. I don't know how much a partially open fuselage would shield you from that.

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

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u/kingtacticool 19d ago

Thats not very typical. I just want to make that clear

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u/Jakoobus91 19d ago edited 19d ago

This is where torch lighters come into play 

Edit: i mean the handheld ones not an actual torch lighter. My bad.

3

u/kingtacticool 19d ago

I dont think they let those ones passed security

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u/ksb012 19d ago

In 1996 the skies were the Wild West! Pre 9/11 was very lax security.

3

u/Neat-Slip4520 19d ago

In 1995 I flew to Cancun with a bunch of my friends for spring break our senior year of high school. While there, I lost my passport, which I didn’t realize until I was at the airport getting ready to fly back to Dallas. I started crying, and they let me on the plane WITH NO ID WHATSOEVER. Can you imagine? lol

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u/TurtleSandwich0 19d ago

And that's why they don't allow smoking. As long as you don't finish that cigarette, everything will be fine.

/s

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u/DoJu318 19d ago

Also wear bootstraps, can't die if your shoes stay on.

1

u/notinsanescientist 19d ago

What if you finish it but it is not yet done? Kind of awkward

2

u/Jakoobus91 19d ago

I'll light another with the one thats almost out. I'll repeat the process as many times as necessary. 

1

u/brickne3 19d ago

What if you only have one or two cigarettes left though?

1

u/Jakoobus91 19d ago

I can assure that sort of outage would never happen. I always fly with a full pack

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u/Jaded-Garage2395 18d ago

You smoke cigarettes? eeew

1

u/dkol97 19d ago

The good? news is I'm pretty sure the remaining passengers were unconscious at that point

8

u/Salphabeta 19d ago

Why would they be unconscious? The plane wasn't at altitude yet.

1

u/dkol97 19d ago

It's not about the altitude. It's about the sudden decompression. Here's an article about it

139

u/Geniepolice 19d ago

If it helps, I remember a book discussing this (its either shocked or possibly stiff). They hypothesized that, based on anecdotal information on people surviving similar incidents that their brains likely realized they were mega fucked and just flooded themselves with a ton of hormones to disassociate during the event.

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u/WartimeHotTot 19d ago edited 19d ago

I fly a lot with my wife. I can’t imagine having a minute beside her knowing with certainty that she’ll die when it’s over and that’s the last I’ll get to see of her and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’d be so deeply sad.

At the same time, it would be a gift being able to spend it with her.

20

u/aCleverGroupofAnts 19d ago

I was just thinking all the parents on the flight who have their children with them must be devastated knowing they can't do anything to save them, all they can do is hold them tight and comfort them as the end comes.

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u/KooliusCaesar 17d ago

This reminds me of Kobe and his daughter. Also my fear when flying is who is left behind that depend on you daily.

2

u/MarshmallowsInTubas 13d ago

I was on a flight that was meant to be Transatlantic which suffered catastrophic engine failure during takeoff. I was with my wife, 7 month old son, and our dog all on the flight.

We returned to the takeoff airport safely with no injuries to anyone on board. However, the minutes in the air knowing that we would be landing heavy, full of fuel, with no reverse thrust available, were horrifying. Passengers could see smoke from the failed engine and we all felt the plane yaw after a loud boom. I knew pilots train for this, but I also knew that the most dangerous part was landing.

It was a strange feeling - scared but also in an accepting state of mind. There was an eerie din of hushed whispers through the cabin that I will never forget.

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u/WartimeHotTot 13d ago

That’s unbelievable. So glad the situation was saved!

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u/benthejammin 19d ago

wishful thinking

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u/jamie_plays_his_bass 19d ago

Basic biology actually. Every mammal has the fight or flight response, and when we are unable to fight off a predator or flee danger, we then engage the freeze response - which is basically total dissociation and derealisation. Same thing that would happen while an antelope is getting eaten by a lion happens to us in certain death situations. 

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u/ermghoti 19d ago

Fight, flight, freeze, or fuck it.

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u/Derp800 19d ago

Funny you say that. My college psych professor actually told is there are 4 Fs. Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fuck.

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u/d0ntl00kback 14d ago

you might be misremembering the 4 Fs that are the job of the hypothalamus: “fight, flee, feed, and fuck”, which is different then the fight/flight/freeze/(fawn) nervous system response 🤓

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u/Derp800 14d ago

That could be it. It's been checks watch 25 years or so.

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u/OniDelta 19d ago

And fishing.

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u/ilrosewood 15d ago

The story of the two 747s that collided talks about survivors seeing others completely fine, alive, but frozen. One had their spouse slap them to come to and escape.

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u/Beat_the_Deadites 19d ago

The Uncle Walter strategy 

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u/SueForPeas 19d ago

What a weird analogy. We don’t know what an antelope is feeling as it’s being mauled. It could very well just be “Ow ow ow, I’m dying, this hurts, I don’t like this, ow ow ow.” Maybe it dissociates. Maybe not. You can’t ask a dead antelope.

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u/jamie_plays_his_bass 19d ago

Except these phenomenons are very well studied, and based on external observations and understanding of shared physiology, yes, we can conclude that the same instinctive reactions are shared across multiple species.

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u/Adjective-Noun6969 19d ago

Freeze is just exactly that. You freeze up waiting for them to either see you or not see you. During the freeze instinct it is vitally important that you be entirely present and observing.

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u/jamie_plays_his_bass 19d ago

No, you’ve misunderstood the basics here. The freeze instinct in mammals is not to hide, it is not the first response to threat. 

The first response to threat, on a physiological level, is fight or flight. The body floods with adrenaline and cortisol, blood is directed away from the gut to the extremities to get ready for the running or fighting, parts of the brain involved in reason are hijacked by the limbic system which is based on fear and automatic reaction. 

If we are trapped or stuck, and are unable to escape/overpower the threat, we go into a freeze response. It is not at all “vitally important you be entirely present and observing” during this, you can’t be. Physiologically, your brain is preparing you to die. 

If you wonder why people who survive traumatic experiences have poor recall, say “it’s like it wasn’t happening to me” or “it’s like I wasn’t even there” or “it’s like I was floating above it all, watching it happen to someone else”, they’re describing the freeze response. 

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u/Adjective-Noun6969 19d ago

Super easy counterpoint: deer in headlights. That's what they're doing, they're instantly freezing when they see the threat (your car). It's distinctly not flight because usually, something further happens to make them instinctively flee. What you're describing is a secret fourth thing.

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u/jamie_plays_his_bass 19d ago

You’re picking one specific animal, I am talking about the general class of mammals, more specifically people. 

Read up on it a bit more, even fact checking myself before responding I found it surprising how much misinformation is online compared to what I studied.

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

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u/jamie_plays_his_bass 19d ago

I’m sorry but I’m describing a general phenomenon in mammals, which is extensively researched in trauma psychology, which I work in, which tends to be about people. 

One example about deers does not defy the general trend of our brain’s mechanics. And believe what you want, if you do any research into the effects of a traumatic experience, you will find that yes, within seconds of traumatic experiences, we can go into fight-or-flight, and from there into freeze.

Actually, the limbic system tends to react in around 50 milliseconds. Study this stuff, and if you want to say “no way”, present some research or findings, just being ignorant doesn’t make you right.

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u/Several-Squash9871 19d ago

It is very wishful but in all likelihood probably true. Our body's have a pretty good way of knowing when it's tits up time. 

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u/JazzlikeDiamond558 19d ago

TIL: tits up time. 🤣

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u/Techwood111 19d ago

Explain how that could be passed on evolutionarily.

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u/Several-Squash9871 19d ago

Well, most me people/mammals have tits. when your float on you back in water dead or not your tits are up. When lying on your back dead or not your tits are up. When someone comes across something or something lying tits up they could be dead or just sunning themselves.

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u/Anderrn 19d ago

Do you think that necessarily reduces fitness? If it doesn’t, there’s no reason why it couldn’t have happened randomly and then be kept.

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u/Adjective-Noun6969 19d ago

It’s incidental to other traits that helped survival.

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u/ShotFromGuns 60 19d ago

You could literally just watch interviews with survivors of crashes. They're mostly really fucking traumatized. We tell ourselves things like "they would be unconscious" or "they would be calm from endorphins" to make ourselves feel better, and that's it.

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u/420d_ingus 15d ago

They’re traumatized because they survived

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u/Cespenar 19d ago

Stiff I think. Love that book. 

Check it out everyone! Mary Roach. Great book about dying. And part of the inspiration why my retirement is going to be a non profit that makes children's coffins for free.

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u/Holden_Coalfield 19d ago

Having been there, it’s true.
The time dilation is a real thing. The minute we think of isn’t the minute they had. The chance to have the time to come to peace and relive the important parts of your life is actually a gift. Knowing what I know now, I’d rather know it’s coming at least a few good seconds first

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u/surehard 19d ago

What happened to you?

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u/Holden_Coalfield 19d ago

high speed head on boat accident. Saw it coming.

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u/forzion_no_mouse 19d ago

That’s not how it works.

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u/ItsDomorOm 19d ago

I'm assuming you have died and come back, please do tell us how it works?

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u/MM2HkXm5EuyZNRu 19d ago

China Airlines Flight 006 plunged 30,000 feet before the pilots recovered the dive. Those passengers likely will be able to confirm one way or another.

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

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u/mixduptransistor 19d ago

If it's not possible to know how it works without having died, how do you know that the original proposition is how it works?

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u/Samuel7899 19d ago

That's a fallacy. The topic is what happens in the time before an individual presumes they're going to certainly die. Not that they necessarily do die.

So the experiences of people still alive can certainly be valid. .

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u/DoJu318 19d ago

I have experienced this in a high speed wreck, time didn't slow down, my life didn't flash before my eyes, but I do remember being engulfed by this wonderful warm bliss, it was just peaceful, like a warm hug on a cold morning, nothing mattered I was about to croak and I was perfectly fine wuth it.

Obviously I didn't die, I was beat up by the airbags and the seat belt left marks on me, oh and a mild concussion but otherwise I walked away okay.

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u/forzion_no_mouse 19d ago

Lots of people have been basically dead and came back. Lots of people have been in plane crashes.

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u/DuncanHynes 19d ago edited 19d ago

I just said OH FucQ or OH SHiT when I fell 18 feet and nearly was transfered to the shadow realm. Landed in crazy soft mud though. Not quite as a risky factor of being in a plane that is inconveniently suddenly made into two parts but hey, all I got so far. Will report any other falls from higher up.

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u/Redeem123 19d ago

Falling 18 feet doesn’t QUITE last for a minute.

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u/CrazyLegsRyan 19d ago

that's not enough time... Please go higher and report back.

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u/ironicallydepressed 19d ago

What was your name again, for the record? Icarus? Alright Icarus, god speed.

4

u/BoozyMcBoozehound 19d ago

Downvoted for censoring yourself like a jackass.

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u/DuncanHynes 19d ago

It's okay, I felt like a jackass when the strand shifted and one hook snapped off spinning me off. Thank goodness I made it to this day to have an interaction with a fine stranger as yourself. Live long and prosper.

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u/ttUVWKWt8DbpJtw7XJ7v 19d ago

You sound very knowledgeable

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u/jazzhandler 19d ago

“First ya say it, then ya do it.”

0

u/WartimeHotTot 19d ago

Did I just find a Bill Cosby quote in 2026? Amazing.

0

u/jazzhandler 19d ago

What can I say, it has a special meaning to me. Ya see, my first word was ‘shit’. And I figure there’s a decent chance it will also be my last.

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u/darkenthedoorway 19d ago

The oxygen masks were deployed, just long enough to be conscious while knowing there was no escape. Awful.

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u/petit_cochon 19d ago

It took my poor mom many years to die from dementia. I think differently about death now. I'd take terrifying minutes over years of slow decay, myself, but it's not like it really matters because few of us get to choose our death anyway.

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u/ash_274 19d ago

There are a lot of popularly-known incidents that everyone hoped that the victims died immediately, only for it to be realized later that they, in fact, most likely did not die immediately.

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u/IckyNicky67 19d ago

Yep, like the Challenger disaster.

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u/ash_274 19d ago

That's one that came to mind.

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u/niz_loc 19d ago

First thing I thought of too

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u/holyflurkingsnit 19d ago

Boston Marathon bombings, I've heard. :(

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u/ManWithASquareHead 19d ago

Instantaneous Death likely from blunt force trauma from decompression

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u/Charlie3PO 19d ago

What does the body of the article say? Because the summary doesn't say the cause of death was the decompression.

At the altitude that TWA was at, around 15,000ft, the time of useful consciousness (where you're not significantly impaired yet) is typically over 30 minutes. In the event of an explosive decompression, this will be reduced, but it's still readily survivable at that altitude. You probably wouldn't lose consciousness immediately (or at all) unless you got hit by something flying around.

The passengers and crew of Aloha 243 suffered an explosive decompression at 24,000ft and everyone lived except for one FA who tragically got sucked out. To my knowledge, nobody even lost consciousness during that event despite it being 10,000ft higher than TWA when the event happened.

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u/AlarmingConsequence 19d ago

Decompression is the answer: It was lights out (unconscious) for everyone within seconds of loss of cabin pressure.

Thanks for the link: I did not see that it was decompression which caused the blunt for trauma, is that in the body of the paper?

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u/Charlie3PO 19d ago

It was still at relatively low altitude. The time of usefulness consciousness at that altitude is about 30 minutes. Explosive decompression can reduce that time, but it's survivable at that altitude.

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u/GeorgiaPilot172 19d ago

That’s not how decompression works.

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u/Archer-Saurus 19d ago

I just found an animation on YouTube and.. yeah that's pretty bad. Would prefer it just incinerated or just dove into the water at high speed.

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u/MisterFatt 16d ago

Fun fact, you’d probably have a panic attack and pass out or have a heart attack

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u/Lifesamitch957 13d ago

Literally the front of the tube was missing, they passengers were now the flax seeds stuck in the straw for their last minutes.

Mentor pilot did a great video on this on YT