TWA investigation costly
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April 15, 1997: 7:46 p.m. ET
NTSB estimates $100 million to investigate TWA Flight 800 crash
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The mysterious crash of TWA Flight 800 is already the most expensive crash investigation in U.S. history, but before it is over, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board speculates it may cost the various agencies involved close to $100 million.
Speaking in Miami Tuesday, NTSB chairman Jim Hall estimated that all the direct and indirect costs to investigative agencies, private businesses and public safety would go far beyond the $27 million the NTSB has requested from congress for it's part in trying to find the cause of the crash.
One big ticket expense not calculated in the NTSB's crash budget is the cost of three U.S. Navy ships that spent months supporting divers and pulling up airplane wreckage.
NTSB spokesman Peter Goelz said it would be impossible to calculate how much money was spent by Boeing and TWA on employees who have been unavailable for regular work because of their reassignment to the crash investigation.
Extended food and lodging expenses for investigators working out of the hangar in Calverton, New York, and salary and overtime costs for federal employees all contribute to expenses that Hall considered in making the $100 million estimate.
In January, New York State requested $11 million from the federal government as reimbursement for the costs it incurred as a result of the crash.
Goelz also told CNNfn the NTSB is planning a public hearing to be held sometime this summer, after the first anniversary of the July 17, 1996 crash.
At the same time, Goelz says the agency plans to release the cockpit voice recording and FAA air traffic control conversations along with other factual data related to the crash.
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