Summary
Trans World Airlines, or TWA, was one of the earliest operators of the Boeing 747, and flew them almost until the airline’s demise in 2001.
Incredibly, despite flying some of the oldest 747s ever produced, some of these aircraft still exist today, and are even still flying. Read on to find out more.
TWA Boeing 747 History
TWA, was once one of the major airlines in the United States.
It was founded in 1930 as Transcontinental & Western Air and pioneered air travel on both domestic and international services.
Always one to seek new technology, TWA was the first to fly the Douglas DC-2 and Lockheed Constellation, and it flew many other piston and jet types over the years.
TWA was one of the first US airlines to introduce the Boeing 747, when it entered service in 1970. In fact, its first example was the fifth 747 built, N93101.
The airline’s plan initially was to use them on trunk domestic routes between Kansas City and both New York and Los Angeles. TWA was an early adopter of the hub-and-spoke system used by many airlines today.
This later expanded to include transatlantic and other international services, alongside its Lockheed L1011 and Boeing 767 fleets.
TWA flew some 35 Boeing 747s, across three variants; the 747-100, -200B and SP. The last one was retired in 2000, and the carrier was acquired by American Airlines in December 2001.
TWA800 Crash
Partial remains of N93119, the accident aircraft, reconstructed in a hangar.
The darkest day in the history of TWA’s Boeing 747s was 17th July, 1996.
The airline’s 747-131, N93119, was scheduled to operate a flight from New York JFK to Paris Charles de Gaulle. On board were 212 passengers and 18 crew.
Following a delay of around an hour, and a number of small maintenance works, the aircraft eventually departed. It followed air traffic control vectors and began its transatlantic crossing, climbing out to the south of Long Island.
Around 15 minutes after departure, aircraft in the area reported seeing an explosion in the air and debris falling into the sea. Vessels in the area raced to the scene to confirm burning debris and no survivors. All onboard had died.
The subsequent investigation, during which recovered debris was reconstructed in a hangar at Calverton, NY, eventually concluded that arcing on electrical wiring passing through the aircraft’s fuel tanks had sparked a huge explosion.
At the time, this was the second-deadliest aircraft accident in the United States.
Some 25 years after the accident, the reconstructed wreckage was decommissioned and destroyed.
Where Are TWA’s 747s Now?
umayadonooil RYO.A
Here’s a summary of the former TWA Boeing 747 fleets, by variant, and their known fate
Boeing 747-100
N129TW at Marana (c) Mark Murdock
- N128TW 747-143 – Scrapped
- N129TW 747-128 – WFU Marana Pinal Air Park, AZ
- N133TW 747-156 – Broken up 1999; Fuselage moved to Japan
- N134TW 747-156 – Scrapped
- N17125 747-136 – Sold to Tower Air; damaged beyond repair and scrapped 1995.
- N17126 747-136 – Scrapped
- N53110 747-131 – Scrapped
- N53111 747-131 – Sold to Iranian Air Force; crashed 1976.
- N53112 747-131 – Now EP-NHT with Iranian Air Force; believed to be grounded.
- N53116 747-131 – Scrapped
- N753PA 747-121 – Scrapped
- N93101 747-131 – Now EP-CQB with Iranian Air Force; believed to be grounded.
- N93102 747-131 – Now 5-8106 with Iranian Air Force
- N93103 747-131 – Now 5-8108 with Iranian Air Force
- N93104 747-131 – Scrapped
- N93105 747-131 – Scrapped
- N93106 747-131 – Sold to Tower Air; now forms part of a house in Malibu, CA
- N93107 747-131 – Scrapped
- N93108 747-131 – Scrapped
- N93109 747-131 – Scrapped
- N93113 747-131 – Now 5-8103 with Iranian Air Force; believed to be grounded.
- N93114 747-131 – Now 5-8105 with Iranian Air Force; Preserved at Tehran Mehrabad.
- N93115 747-131 – Scrapped
- N93117 747-131 – Scrapped
- N93118 747-131 – Now 5-8107 with Iranian Air Force
- N93119 747-131 – Crashed 1996; TWA 800
Boeing 747-200B
- N301TW 747-282B – Scrapped
- N302TW 747-282B – Sold to Tower Air; now forms part of a house in Malibu, CA
- N303TW 747-257B – WFU Marana Pinal Air Park, AZ
- N304TW 747-257B – Scrapped
- N305TW 747-284B – Scrapped
- N306TW 747-206B – Scrapped
- N307TW 747-238B – Scrapped
Boeing 747SP
Steve Fitzgerald (GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html> or GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html>), via Wikimedia Commons
- N57202 747-SP31 – Scrapped; Upper deck used as training aid at Luxembourg Airport
- N57203 747-SP31 – Became P4-FSH with Ernest Angley Ministries; Stored at Marana Pinal Air Park, AZ
- N58201 747-SP31 – Sold to Las Vegas Sands Corp as VP-BLK; believed to be active.
Did you ever fly on a TWA Boeing 747? Do you remember seeing them at airports when spotting? Leave a comment below!
7 comments
I flew TWA round-trip to England summer 1996. It was either May or June. I’ll never know if it was the plane that crashed as flight 800.
I just saw a TWA plane today, 19 February, 2024. It was leaving Cozumel, Mexico airport (CZM) what seems to have been likely north or west. I had to look up “TWA” because I had never heard of or seen that airline, and we don’t get that many flights here on the island. It was a surprise to find out the airline not only doesn’t exist, but according to this post, there isn’t one operating outside of the Iranian Air Force…
Hi, this will probably have been the retro TWA livery plane flown by American Airlines.
I’m sitting in the airport in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and a plan with TWA just pulled in from JFK, NYC
Hi Terry, American Airlines flies one of its planes in a retro TWA livery to commemorate the lost airline. It was probably that one which you saw.
Thanks for sharing!
Matt
My very first international flight was a high school exchange program. There were 20 of us from Curtis High School on Staten Island. In January we hosted the students from Liceo Linguistico Allessandro Manzoni in Milan. Then, in April, it was our turn. I still vividly remember walking through the TWA terminal at JFK. I feel lucky that I was able to experience that. I had never been to Europe and I had definitely never been on a plane with a second floor! We were all so excited! A handful of us were so excited, we couldn’t sleep. I also remember roaming around the plane while everyone else was asleep. We wanted to see what was upstairs and we did- until a flight attendant asked us to go back downstairs and try getting some rest. I don’t think I did. And I’m sorry to the “grown ups” for our childish behavior. The very next year I would fly on another TWA 747 for yet another exchange program this time to Paris CDG. It was only 2 years later when I was in college and heard the news about TWA flight 800. It really shook me because I realized it might’ve been the exact same plane that took me to Milan or Paris.
Thanks for the great memories, TWA!
Several times, ageing equipment, once the had to cover my reading light with foil as would not switch off. Very nice staff and very capable ground staff..