Six former investigators want the U.S. government to reopen its probe of the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800. The plane went down shortly after takeoff from New York City, killing all 230 people on board.
The investigators are petitioning the National Transportation Safety Board. They say radar and forensic evidence point to an external explosion destroying the jet -- not a short circuit in the fuel tank as the official investigation concluded.
The NTSB is considering the request to reopen the case, but says its investigation lasted four years and was one of the most thorough probes ever.
TWA Flight 800 blew up over Long Island, New York on July 17, 1996 just after taking off from John F. Kennedy airport for Paris.
A number of witnesses say they saw a streak of light seconds before the explosion, leading some experts to speculate that a missile or a rocket hit the plane.
