DOWNED TWA HAD BEEN USED IN BOMB TESTS.Byline: Matthew Purdy The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Adding another twist to the search for the cause of the crash of Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines, commonly known as TWA, was a major American airline company that was acquired by American Airlines in April 2001. For many years it was headquartered at the Kansas City Downtown Airport, as well as midtown Manhattan in New York City. Flight 800, federal officials said Friday that the 747 jetliner was used during a test of bomb-detecting dogs six weeks before the crash, which they said could possibly explain the traces of explosives found on the wreckage of the plane. In the test, packages containing explosives were placed on the plane for the dog to find, the officials said. While emphasizing it is not at all certain that any chemicals from the test packages contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. the plane, the officials said the packages contained the same kinds that investigators found in testing pieces of the wreckage. The strongest evidence that the plane was destroyed by a bomb or a missile comes from the traces of two explosives detected on two pieces of wreckage from the passenger cabin. Officials said the discovery that the plane was involved in the bomb-sniffing test did not necessarily lower the probability that an explosive device caused the crash. But they said the fact that the bomb tests were conducted on the plane deepened the mystery of whether sabotage or mechanical failure caused the plane to explode July 17, killing the 230 people aboard. In a statement released Friday, the FBI said: ``As part of a routine recertification recertification Recredentialing Graduate education A process in which a professional is periodically re-evaluated–eg, every 10 yrs by an accrediting body to assure continued provision of safe, high-quality health care test for a dog, test packages containing explosive chemicals were placed aboard the aircraft, which could possibly relate to the trace residues previously identified. The test packages were removed from the plane at the conclusion of the exercise.'' After the crash, a microscopic trace of the chemical PETN PETN Pentaerythrite Tetranitrate (explosive) , a component of plastic explosives, was found on a piece of debris from a different part of the plane than places where packages were hidden during the dog-testing exercise, a senior law-enforcement official said Friday night. ``That could mean a lot, or it could not,'' the official said. ``We don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. . It's mystifying mys·ti·fy tr.v. mys·ti·fied, mys·ti·fy·ing, mys·ti·fies 1. To confuse or puzzle mentally. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. To make obscure or mysterious. . This could be an explanation of how some or none or all of the chemicals got on the plane.'' Several law-enforcement officials said Friday that the discovery of the bomb-sniffing test would make it nearly impossible for investigators to construct a circumstantial case that the plane was destroyed by an explosive device. Even after detecting the explosive traces on the plane's wreckage, officials said they needed clear evidence of metal deformed by a high-explosive detonation before they could declare the crash a crime. The traces of two chemical compounds, PETN and RDX RDX Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (CAS Number 121-82-4) Rdx Radixin RDX Russian Depositary Index RDX Research and Development Explosive (less common) RDX Hexahydro-Trinitro-Triazine , were not considered definitive proof of a bomb blast because they were not found blasted into metal wreckage of the plane. As ultimate evidence of a bomb blast eluded investigators, some officials at the National Transportation Safety Board began a re-examination of the possibility of a mechanical failure. But officials have said there was no indication before the crash that the plane was experiencing difficulty and no evidence has since emerged to point to a mechanical failure. The officials have said the plane's center fuel tank exploded, but they are are not certain what set off the explosion. A federal official familiar with the investigation said the fact that the jetliner was used in the bomb-detecting test was discovered Thursday after investigators traced the whereabouts of the plane in the months before the crash. The official said investigators did not learn earlier that the plane was involved in the test because it was not mentioned in records kept either by TWA TWA Time-weighted average, see there or the Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control . The test was performed by the FAA on June 10 while the plane was on the ground at the Lambert St. Louis International Airport, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. federal officials. A law-enforcement official involved in the inquiry said investigators were ``shocked that TWA or FAA didn't know about this and that this was only found out because the FBI put out an all-points bulletin for where the plane had been.'' |
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