25 years later: TWA Flight 800 victims, investigator remembered, wreckage to be destroyed

NEW YORK - It has been a quarter-century since TWA Flight 800 crashed off the coast of Long Island. The crash killed all 230 people on board. Saturday, loved ones will gather for a service at the memorial at Smith Point County Park, the closest point on land to where the plane went down.

There are several developments as the 25th-anniversary approaches. The NTSB announced that it is decommissioning the reconstructed wreckage that since 2003 has sat in a hangar in Virginia. It has been used as a training device, but advancements in technology rendered it unnecessary. Once the wreckage is thoroughly documented, it will be destroyed out of respect for the families.

Also as the 25th anniversary drew near, James Kallstrom, the lead FBI agent investigating the crash, died of cancer at the age of 78. Kallstrom, who became the public face of the probe, initially suspected terrorism but came to peace with the NTSB conclusion that an explosion caused by faulty wiring in the center wing fuel tank brought down the 747.

Despite the NTSB report, some still suspect that a Navy missile or terrorism caused the crash.