On July 17, 1996, TWA flight 800 broke up over the Atlantic Ocean and crashed about 8 miles off Long Island, New York, killing all 230 people on board. The National Transportation Safety Board inquiry determined that the cause of the crash was an explosion of a combustible mixture of fuel and air in the center wing fuel tank. The investigators believed that the explosion was caused by an electrical short circuit that affected fuel gauge wiring within the tank.
However, numerous conspiracy theories arose. Notably, some people believe that flight 800 had been shot down, either by terrorists or by the U.S. military in a disastrous mistake.