It’s been exactly two decades since TWA Flight 800 crashed in the ocean near Center Moriches—killing 230 people. Yet the painful memories—and unanswered questions—linger on. Relatives who lost loved ones vividly recall their last goodbyes and the horror of learning what happened. Though the government has called the downing of Flight 800 an accident, critics point to evidence of a missile strike and a massive government cover up. Others ask if lessons learned from the crash have made airline passengers safer. Watch “TWA Flight 800—20 Years Later” – only on News 12 Long Island, as local as local news gets.
Airs 7/12: Richard Penzer’s sister Judy was an artist whose work still brightens the walls of his home. 20 years ago, Judy disappeared in a fireball over the Atlantic. Penzer still struggles to understand—and cope.
Airs 7/13: Was the crash an accident? The government says yes. But numerous eyewitnesses report seeing a missile rising to hit the plane. And a senior federal investigator assigned to the crash tells News 12 there is evidence of an official cover-up. After decades, the missile theory refuses to fizzle.
Airs 7/14:What was done---and not done---to improve passenger safety after the disaster of Flight 800?
Raw interviews with the key people featured in the three-part series and extended archival video.
Read important documents related to the crash of Flight 800 and the subsequent investigation.
An archive of News 12 Long Island's coverage of TWA Flight 800 dating back to 1996.
Photos of the recovery, investigation and aftermath of TWA Flight 800.
Additional resources for the series.
More in-depth coverage at Newsday.com.
Is your band ready for a battle?
Newsday is looking for the greatest band rocking Long Island, across all genres from country to metal. To get in on the competition, enter your band below before 11:59 p.m. New York time on July 11, 2017.
The following week, the contest will open for reader voting on Newsday.com — so be sure to share with your fans and encourage them to vote! A panel of music industry judges will then choose a contest winner from the Top 10 bands with the most reader votes.
The 2017 Battle of the Bands Contest champion will win an opening act slot at The Paramount in Huntington, plus a feature story by Newsday’s music critic in Newsday and on Newsday.com, plus major bragging rights as Long Island’s best band. Enter now for your shot at fame!
Muhammad Ali was the most transcendent sports figure in American culture.
Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight champion of hyperbole and showbiz as well as prizefighting, died at a hospital in the Phoenix area.
Robert Cassidy remembers his family’s encounters with Muhammad Ali: 'Dear Robbie, Your Daddy is the Greatest - Muhammad Ali.'
Nearly a half-century ago, Muhammad Ali was the object of vituperation and something close to hatred.
Muhammad Ali fought anywhere and everywhere across the globe, only to travel the world over again as an ambassador of goodwill.
With the possible exception of David vs. Goliath, the greatest rivalry in the history of individual human combat was the three-fight trilogy staged by Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier from 1971 to 1975.
Muhammad Ali may be the greatest boxer of all time, but that's just a small part of the impact he made on society as a whole. From his outspoken demeanor around boxing to his political views, from his converting to Islam to his refusing to be drafted into the Vietnam War, Muhammad Ali is a transcendent cultural figure.
Ali always will be recalled as a proud black man who changed his religion and name, risked his career on a divisive political stand then became a global ambassador for goodwill.
Bill Clinton was given the honor of the last words at Muhammad Ali's funeral, and he got them precisely right as he summed up a weeklong, global remembrance of the icon.
An MSG photographer gave Muhammad Ali the idea for the rope-a-dope style he used to beat George Foreman in the 'Rumble in the Jungle.
Thousands mourned Muhammad Ali, a man who held Islam close to his heart, in a hometown service open to all faiths.
Boxing has faded to the point that there is no modern context to what Muhammad Ali was and did.
After winning the final fight in his trilogy against Joe Frazier via TKO after the 14th round, Muhammad Ali said 'Closest thing to dying that I know of.'
Muhammad Ali debuted his rope-a-dope technique to knock out George Foreman and win back his heavyweight title on Oct. 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire.
When Joe Frazier met Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 1971, the storyline went much deeper than a title clash of two undefeated heavyweights.
Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, was a 7-1 underdog when he beat Sonny Liston in Miami Beach on Feb. 25, 1964. Liston gave up after six rounds.
In their third fight, Muhammad Ali retained the title by winning a unanimous decision against Ken Norton at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 28, 1976.
Born Cassius Clay in 1942, Muhammad Ali is many things to many people — social activist, cultural icon and the charismatic voice of the turbulent 1960s.
Nicknamed 'The Greatest,' Muhammad Ali became a once-in-a-lifetime personality.
Muhammad Ali was not the first athlete to understand and exploit modern media hype, but he was the greatest at it.
Muhammad Ali’s longest and most significant fight occurred outside the boxing ring.
He was recognized in every country on every continent. And he electrified us all when he lit the torch at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Muhammad Ali had the opportunity to go out on his own terms at boxing’s pinnacle when he retired with the heavyweight title in 1978, but he couldn’t make it stick.
See reactions to Ali's death from across the globe.
Muhammad Ali's death drew responses from around the world of sports and beyond.
A fire badly damages the college’s Vanderbilt mansion, the institution’s main building. It is later rebuilt.
Norman Smith, who was credited with bringing Wagner College on Staten Island back from the brink of closure in the late 1980s, becomes Dowling president.
The deal with the academic partner stalls, a state senator announces.
Dowling says it will affiliate with an unnamed academic partner to remain afloat.
Dowling’s faculty union approves $4.7 million in contract givebacks to help close the 2014-15 budget gap.
Dowling agrees to pay more than $400,000 to Gaffney in a settlement of his lawsuit against the Oakdale school.
Standard & Poor’s Rating Services indicates a poor outlook for Dowling, dropping its long-term debt rating from B to B-minus.
Dowling names Albert F. Inserra, chairman of Dowling’s doctoral program in educational administration, leadership and technology, to be the college’s chief.
Moody’s says the school is “likely in or very near default” on bonds issued by the industrial development agencies of Suffolk County and the Town of Brookhaven.
In recent weeks, Dowling lays off staff members and reassigns others in a downsizing because of declining enrollment and struggling finances.
The board of trustees names Elana Zolfo interim president.
Astronaut Wally Schirra opens the college’s new transportation campus in Shirley.
The Dowling campus in Oakdale on Aug. 5, 2010. (Credit: Michael E. Ach)
Moody’s Investors Service downgrades $14.1 million of Dowling’s already junk-rated bonds.
Dr. Jeremy D. Brown gives the commencement speech at Dowling on May 19, 2012. (Credit: Heather Walsh)
Jeremy D. Brown, the former head of Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pa., begins his tenure as Dowling’s president.
Facing outrage from students and employees over an announcement the previous week, Dowling says its aviation school will remain open. It had said it would stop training pilots to focus on aviation-management classes.
Gaffney resigns and is succeeded by Scott Rudolph, a trustee.
Gaffney is pictured on Sept. 19, 2002. (Credit: Newsday / John Paraskevas)
Robert Gaffney, the former Suffolk County executive, becomes Dowling president.
A late-night vote by the faculty on a new contract ensures that professors will be in the classroom for the first day of the fall semester.
Victor Meskill, one of the longest-tenured college presidents on Long Island, is forced out by the board of trustees, who in previous years had lavished on him a large salary and a host of pricey fringe benefits that included a house near the campus and a personal loan so that Meskill could buy a condominium in Montauk.
Five top administrators are fired as part of a reorganization plan.
A student carries his belongings as he leaves Dowling College on June 1, 2016. (Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara)
Dowling announces it is shutting down.
