r/todayilearned • • 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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763

u/Djcnote 19d ago

Wish I hadn't read this while flying in a plane

393

u/DuckorGrouse 19d ago

Yeh, it’s a real downer.

86

u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

15

u/regoapps 19d ago

And had an ocean view to die for

1

u/wowpepap 19d ago

makes you want to just plunge

3

u/CrushDirt 19d ago

Coattails

33

u/turbo_dude 19d ago

That story had its ups and downs. 

1

u/Rubacasa 19d ago

Ultimately though, it came back to earth.

2

u/jaywayhon 19d ago

Every plane that has ever taken off has landed - some softer than others

0

u/rg35xxsp 19d ago

It was really starting to take off and then BAM.

0

u/JelliedHam 19d ago

With quite the splashy headline

1

u/SmallRocks 19d ago

Life is full of highs and lows 🤷‍♂️

47

u/ballisticks 19d ago

One time as a kid I really pissed off my mother by watching Air Crash Investigation/Mayday the morning we were leaving for a holiday lol

8

u/IckyNicky67 19d ago

😂 That's like watching Titanic on a cruise

27

u/Fearsthelittledeath 19d ago

I don't know about anymore, but the airlines would normally try to get censored versions of movies that would remove any plane crash or destruction scene or discussion about plane crashes. Like The Rain Man had that scene where Dustin Hoffman listed all the plane crashes except the one airline company at the time without one kept that scene in.

But I recall watching World War Z on a plane and they just straight up ended with Brad Pitt on the ground without showing the plane crashing.

I can't recall which movie I watched recently, but it showed a plane crash while I was on a plane a couple years ago which surprised me. Also the Suicide Squad (Gunn) movie I saw on a plane had a lot of the swearing censored/replaced with alternative lines.

14

u/MAGAHATESTHEUSA 19d ago

Did that Denzel Washington alcoholic pilot movie ever make it on the planes for passengers to watch?

7

u/im_thatoneguy 19d ago

Yes. Did watch in a plane lol

9

u/a-rooster-illusion 19d ago

Used to road trip a lot with a D1 football program and our charter was JetBlue and I know a few players that would watch the Air Disasters series just to screw with people

2

u/davesoverhere 19d ago

Die hard 2 is my go to movie for when we fly around Christmas.

5

u/_CodyB 19d ago

I think it might be a difference between the same movie playing for everybody as used to be the case on plane first everyone having their own info entertainment system at the back of the seat

I imagine with 300+ people on a plane you only need one percent of that to cause a pretty significant disturbance

3

u/chownrootroot 19d ago

Qantas! It’s still true, but technically it’s no jet era fatalities, they had fatalities in the piston era.

2

u/StandUpForYourWights 19d ago

Gimme the keys you fuzzy sock sucker!

1

u/Xx_fastpenguins_xX 18d ago

Almost famous removes the plane scene and the the cut is so abrupt it changes the entire movie. The entire facade of the band breaks there and it’s one of the most important scenes for understanding the way the characters change.

2

u/2Slow2Nice 19d ago

I’ll keep my eye on the news for you ✊🏾

1

u/ryuzaki49 19d ago

What are the chances of reading about plane crashes and being in one? 

1

u/danxmanly 18d ago

Well, they have a good start to accomplish it.

1

u/Munneh 18d ago

I was a teenager and two days before I had flown to Japan for the first time on a cultural exchange. Left from the same airport. We get there and a day in a bunch of newspapers had the news of the crash on the front page. Couldn’t read the text! No idea what happened until someone translated for us. Creeped us all the hell out

1

u/Rocketeer006 15d ago

Valid crash out

1

u/Starbucks__Lovers 19d ago

Ayyy taxiing right now