Originally Posted by
ffsim
This is a really good point, of course. But the one thing I keep coming back to is this: the reconstructed remains of TWA 800 have been used as a training tool for (hundreds of? thousands of?) NTSB investigators. Did everybody not notice anything and/or stay silent?
Well, if it's a training tool, they are likely being
told what they are seeing, which is not the same thing as already being trained and experienced and approaching with an open mind.
It reminds me of a fairly recent case (not the first, unfortunately) where a re- investigation of an old arson decided that the original investigator was wrong. IIRC, the first findings were challenged in court at the original trial, but emotions ran high and an innocent man was wrongly convicted and served many years for a 'crime' that never happened. The fire wasn't arson.
I haven't looked into it, but it still sounds as though there may have been differences of opinion during the original investigation, but the 'official' story won out. That doesn't always mean it was the true explanation. People make mistakes.