Nearly two years ago TWA Flight 800 exploded and fell from the sky off of the coast of Long Island, N.Y. Investigators have since pointed to faulty wiring in the plane's fuel tank but have yet to find conclusive evidence of what caused the crash.

However, in an article in the April 8 issue of The New York Book Review, Elaine Scarry, Cabot professor of aesthetics and the general theory of value, alleges that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) overlooked a potential cause: electromagnetic interference (EMI) from nearby military activity.

In her article, the English professor details the danger EMI pose to aircraft and how EMI from nearby military aircraft and warships might have caused the guidance and electrical systems of Flight 800 to malfunction. This, she says, may have led to the catastrophic explosion that killed all 229 aboard.

The 19,000-word article addresses several perplexing coincidences, unanswered questions and intriguing leads.

"Each piece that came forward gave me more of an obligation to make it audible," Scarry said.

Her article has been distributed to NTSB staff and has garnered significant media attention, primarily overseas.

In a letter to Scarry dated April 21st, NTSB Chair Jim Hall called the article "quite interesting," and said thatpresently "the [NTSB] investigative team isworking with private concentrators and themilitary to determine the effects of EMI and [HighIntensity Radiation Fields] on Boeing 747s."

Rear Admiral Eugene J. Carrol Jr., a formercarrier group commander and now deputy director ofthe Center for Defense Information, a privateconsulting firm, takes a stronger stance. He urgesa full reopening of the investigation.

"I think NTSB and the FBI really shouldevaluate Professor Scarry's hypothesis," saidCarrol, whom Scarry quoted in her article. "NTSBneeds to review the investigation to see to whatextent the data they have gathered suggests anyother cause of the fuel tank explosion."

Invisible Interference

EMI describes an effect that occurs when energywaves collide. Most commonly seen as the fuzzylines that appear on a television when a hairdryer is turned on or the static heard on AM radiostations during a lightening storm, EMI is causedby the interaction of electric and magneticfields.

Small electrical devices can similarly distorta plane's navigational instruments. To preventjust such electrical interference, the FAArequires all passengers to "turn off allcomputers, headsets, radios and telephones" duringtakeoff and landing. Although the energy radiatedby these devices is small, it can travel outwardto antennas mounted on the skin of the plane,causing serious interference in the aircraft'snavigational instruments and guidance systems.

The danger of EMI is so great that it hasbecome an offensive military weapon. "Jamming," orthe use of EMI to disable enemy radar andcommunications systems, is an integral part ofmodern warfare. Planes, ships and ground-basedtransceivers equipped with jamming electronics canthrow millions, or in some cases, billions ofwatts of energy at enemy targets.

High intensity EMI can also cause sparks in thesame way metal leads to sparks in a microwave. Ifa spark is close to the fuel tank, as FAA reportsshow, the fuel tank can ignite.

"Physical arcing and overheating can beproduced with intense jamming," says Carrol. "Youhave an arc [in military planes], but it's not inthe middle of a bunch of jet fuel."

Military Cover-up?