Boeing 747 TWA 800 red paint smears and missing red paint above forward cargo door.
First bare aluminum, then primer, in this case, green primer, then white paint over entire airframe, then selected areas of red trim on top of the white paint. All metal, then all green primer, then all white, then selected red trim. Underneath the red trim is the white paint. Underneath the white paint is the green primer. Underneath the green primer is the bare metal.
The red paint between the passenger windows is not supposed to be there. It is on top of the white paint. There are areas of white paint exposed where red paint is supposed to be. There is added red paint in some areas, and missing red paint in other areas. The explanation is similar to UAL 811, where paint transfer marks were noted when forward cargo door opened in flight and slammed the door and skin into the area above. In TWA 800's case, the forward cargo door ruptured/opened in flight and the red hinge and red skin immediately above slammed up and put the red paint in between the passenger windows at the same time removing the red paint in the trim exposing the white paint underneath.
The conclusion that can be reached is that the forward cargo door opened flight based upon this evidence and other evidence of outward peeled skin and petal shaped outward bulge at the aft midspan latch.
Boeing 747 Outward peeled fuselage skin of right side of nose of TWA 800
Boeing 747 Outward petal shaped bulge at the aft midspan latch of the forward cargo door TWA 800
Boeing 747 TWA 800 red paint smears and missing red paint above forward cargo door.
Contents
Boeing 747-131
Trans World Airlines Flight 800
Debriefing
Boeing 747-237B
Air India Flight 182
Debriefing
Boeing 747-121A
Pan Am Flight 103
Debriefing
Boeing 747-122
United Airlines Flight 811
Debriefing
The Type Airplane
The Damage Starts
The Radar Blips
The Sudden Loud Sounds
The Abrupt Power Cuts
The Fodded Engines
The Inflight Damage
The Missing Bodies
The Torn Off Noses
The Wreckage Plots
More Similarities
The Red Herring: Bomb!
Inadvertent Opening of the Forward
Cargo Door in Flight
Forward Cargo Door Section
ejection.html
314summary.html
314accidentreport.html