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Article overview Published on the 2nd anniversary of the accident, this is a critic of how the media took advantage of the tragedy of Flight 800. Originally published in July 1998. Re-edited in May 2002. |
 uly 18, 1996. Charles-de-Gaulle airport, Paris, 7 AM local time. The flight information panel shows the arrivals for the day. Among them, flight "TW800" appears, and surprise: the comment "Annulé - Cancelled" appears next to it...
A few hours earlier, the very same "TW800", known by most people simply as "Flight 800", dissapeared from the Air Traffic Control screen in New York. Simple transponder problem? No, the red-striped Boeing 747-100 of Transworld Airlines exploded near the Long Island Coast, killing the 230 passengers and crew onboard. It had taken off from the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York less than an hour earlier. For the friends and relatives of the victims of Flight 800, it is the end. For the TV networks, the newspapers, the radio stations and the news web sites worldwide, it is the beginning of THE news coverage of the year.  "We interrupt this program..."The news of the crash is known almost instantly. From the moment Flight 800 disappears from the ATC screen, the press agencies worldwide are notified, followed by the TV Networks. The event occurs in the middle of primetime, and the special news coverage begins. Most of the networks freeze the current program schedule to keep the viewers informed. 
But, informed about what? The accident happened less than an hour earlier and what kind of information can the media give? Nothing. Nothing but "A 747 operated by TWA has exploded NEAR 8:40PM off the Long Island coast"... and show the dark pictures of the burning wreckage. In the early hours of the disaster, the news are far from being photogenic.
Information: N/AThe press conference by a spokesperson of TWA follows. The information given is very low. It is to wonder the use of this press conference when all that could have been said was already said on the press release? The only answers were the aircraft type, the flight number, the destination (Charles-de-Gaulle, Orly or... Le Bourget Field???), the number of passengers (which was very approximate, ranging from 200 to 300 by some TV networks)... Causes: N/AThe first question and the one that has no answer YET is "Why it happened?"... The very same question applies to all air crashes in history, but people still ask it a few hours after the crash. I guess people, particularly journalists, don't seem to understand that the cause is not available immediately, but requires an investigation that is done over WEEKS and possibly MONTHS.  There is however one particular reason to be worried about the cause of the disaster. The plane didn't crash into the sea, it EXPLODED, according to eyewitnesses in the air, i.e. pilots from other commercial flights in the area. Speculations already start, saying that the plane was brought down by a bomb. Terrorist groups claim responsability for the crash, which occured three days prior to the opening ceremony of the Atlanta Olympic Games. Other say that the plane was brought down by a missile, a speculation feeded by the ATC screen recording, apparently showing a blip going towards the 747 before dissapearing. The classic possibility of a mechanical failure is mentioned, but it doesn't seem to attract attention.
The special news coverage on many TV networks are easy on speculation and biaised information. For example, on its special breaking report, Radio-Canada/CBC informed its viewers that 280 people perished in the accident. CNN shows an extensive special coverage, including an "expert" panel speculating about the crash. Among those aviation connoisseurs, viewers meet people that have dealt with airplane bombing cases, such as Pan Am flight 103, known also as the Lockerbie crash. And, in the middle of a news bulletin in a major French channel, the announcer comes with a news flash stating that "the black box" was retried from the plane. Of course, this information was unconfirmed... and false. Live drama stories on TVThe media doesn't spare us the emotions. It shows the friends and relatives at Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris, crying, grief-stricken, hands on the head, greeted by the trauma center. TV also shows the touching images of people that see their relatives coming from New York, greeted by hugs, kisses and tears. For once, they feared their death as the New York - Paris became on that day the most dramatic route in the world.  The Montoursville High School in Pennsylvania is also the theater of very dramatic scenes. 16 students and 5 adult chaperones were on Flight 800 as part of a field trip for a French language immersion. They spent the whole year collecting funds to finance the trip. Unfortunately, this trip ended a little too soon. The picture of the two students from Montoursville sharing the despair together has made its way around the world (see right).
The airline is slow on showing the full passenger list. However, it is quick on helping the friends and relatives of the victims cope with the aftermath. As some air carriers have done in the past, it offers free travel to New York, the city where the plane took off, to arrange for body identification and other formalities. Again, TV shows us the families in tears as they discover the "contents" of the dark long bags aligned by rows, symbol of the disaster that has stricken not only the friends and relatives, but the world. Huge disasterThere are worse disasters that have happened in the world, but with little coverage, compared to the Flight 800 tragedy. There have been sea disasters that could have easily been called the "Titanic" of modern times, like the "Estonia", which sunk, killing 854 people. Remember the mid-air collision in India, caused by a heavy communication error, killing 349 people? And what about all those earthquakes in the highly sismic areas in the Middle-East, India, Southeast Asia or Central America, killing hundreds of people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless? Death tolls like these are frightening, yet catch little attention. But in this case, 230 people have perished on a regular flight. It happened on a specific key time, when the minds of the world were focusing on the upcoming Olympic Games, and at a time the media technology allows the entire world to be aware of what's going on... in the United States. So, any deadly tragedy, especially in the host country of the Olympics, looks like it deserves the full attention. Of course, it isn't to think that the tragedy of TWA flight 800 is not important and doesn't deserve our attention. But the technology concentrates the attention of the world to the United States.
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Flight arrivals panel: by Sergio Ortega.Wreckage and Montoursville students: original from Time Magazine TWA Boeing 747: from Airliners.Net, photo by Olav Rhensius. © 1998-2008, airodyssey.net. All rights reserved. Disclaimer, trademarks, privacy policy. | |||||
