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.

But Lee Kreindler, 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.

Kreindler said he filed the federal lawsuit Monday on behalf of the survivors of Leonard Johnson of Virginia, accusing TWA and Boeing of willful misconduct and negligence.

“It seems inconceivable that someone can come up with what happened without even reviewing anything from the flight,” said TWA spokesman Mark Abels.