Lawyer Sues TWA, Says He’s Solved the Crash Riddle

A lawyer claiming he knows what caused TWA Flight 800 to explode in the sky filed a $100-million lawsuit Monday, accusing the airline and Boeing Co. of failing to design and maintain the plane properly.

Federal investigators have not yet been able to determine whether a bomb, missile or mechanical malfunction caused the Paris-bound plane to explode July 17 shortly after takeoff from New York City. All 230 aboard died.

But Lee Kriendler, an aviation lawyer who won $500 million for victims’ families after the 1988 Pan Am jet explosion over Lockerbie, Scotland, said his experts have figured out the cause--from press reports, since they have not been allowed to examine the wreckage.

TWA spokesman Mark Abels found it incredible that a lawyer would declare the mystery solved before investigators reach a conclusion.

Kriendler’s theory was largely developed by Peter Jorgenson, a former Boeing engineer. Jorgenson believes a fuel pump on the center fuel tank exploded, causing burning fuel vapors to travel through the vent lines of the right wing.