TWA 800

Image: U.S. Coast Guard
 

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary assisted Coast Guard cutters at the crash site of TWA Flight 800 in the Atlantic Ocean off Long Island in July 1996 - one of the deadliest accidents in U.S. aviation.

A total of 200 auxiliarists from 28 flotillas took part in the operation, including auxiliary aircraft, according to John Tiley's history of our service.

Members also filled in at Coast Guard stations for several weeks. 

Arnold Michels, an auxiliary coxswain and World War Two veteran, spent 10 hours aboard the cutter Adak, assisting with the recovery of the bodies of the 230 passengers and crew. 

The captain of the cutter Juniper, Commander Tim Sullivan, said it was difficult duty. "When you see a burned teddy bear and kids' shoes and stuff -- I can tell you as a father of four, it affects you," he told The New York Times. 

The explosion of flammable vapors in the Boeing 747's center fuel tank was the likely cause of the accident. More than 95% of the jumbo jet's wreckage was recovered, Wikipedia says.

TWA Flight 800 was flying to Paris and Rome from New York.