investigation. jim was the head of the new york city field office of the fbi. we talked about the possibility of a missile taking down the airplane. first time we ve ever said that in law enforcement in the united states. it originated and was sustained by many eyewitnesses. it looked like a little red dot that went up. it didn t leave a tail behind. reporter: she even drew a sketch for the fbi then drew it to me. the red dot went up like this, came to a point where little fireworks were going to come down or fade, and then like big, big these would be thick streams of fire coming down. reporter: another witness was mike wire, who said he saw a flare-like object head up into the sky and strike the plane. i think it was a missile that went up. reporter: a twa pilot who had on occasion flown the actual 747 that had been in the accident also believed the missile theory.
it. reporter: but a new documentary will try to convince viewers otherwise. the documentary s conclusion, it wasn t a mechanical malfunction, but instead, you guessed it, an external explosion, suggesting a missile. not only that, it says information was suppressed and some investigators were essentially coerced into supporting the mechanical failure explanation. former accident investigator hank hughes is one of the people in it. what would your analysis have been? the primary conclusion was the explosive forces came from outside the airplane, not the center fuel tank. reporter: the fbi and ntsb stand by their findings. but today, as the wreckage still sits in a hangar, authorities promise they are open to a new investigation if new evidence is presented. gary tuchman, cnn, atlanta.
done that. i don t question their motive. i just wish if someone felt that strongly about something like that, they could have brought it to someone s attention commensurate with the investigation and not wait 17 years till they get their pensions in their pockets and then come out with it. you mentioned pensions in their pockets. he said this is about personal integrity. he says he has no financial stake in this. it s about personal integrity. what do you think it s about? i don t know what it s about, and i don t challenge him on that. but why didn t he do that 16 1/2 years ago? i have no knowledge of any of these things he speaks about. first off, it s clear to understand one thing, the fbi and the ntsb are two separate agencies. the fbi has criminal jurisdiction under title 18 of crime aboard aircraft or destroying american flagged
a pilot was one of the people in the investigation. the fbi and ntsb are political animals. they ll do whatever it takes to cover their political rear ends. reporter: but there s never been any substantiation of evidence of an external explosion. and 16 months after the most thorough and extensive air crash investigation in u.s. history, the fbi announced no evidence had been found of a criminal act. the probable cause, an explosion of flammable fuel and vapors in the center fuel tank. as far as the eyewitnesses who thought they saw a missile, investigators explained that after the explosion, the front of the plane plunged into the water, but before that, the back after continued climbing, which could have appeared to look like a missile in the night sky. the man who led the investigation at the time was robert francis. a missile doesn t hit an airplane and you recover 98% of the airplane and still not see a single scratch or indication on the airplane that a missile hit
cover their political rear ends. reporter: but there s never been any substantiation of evidence of an external explosion. and 16 months after the most thorough and extensive air crash investigation in u.s. history, the fbi announced no evidence had been found of a criminal act. the probable cause, an explosion of flammable fuel and vapors in the center fuel tank. investigators explained that after the explosion, the front of the plane plunged into the water, but before that, the back after continued climbing, which could have appeared to look like a missile in the night sky. the man who led the investigation at the time was robert francis. a missile doesn t hit an airplane and you recover 98% of the airplane and still not see a single scratch or indication on the airplane that a missile hit it. reporter: but a new documentary will try to convince viewers otherwise. the documentary s conclusion, it