Transcript of Hearing 12/12/97 - TWA Flight 800 Investigation

1WITNESS McSWEENEY:1209I would then add, because23that is what I thought the answer would be, that it isreally not, first of all, a paper study. It is an4engineering study,it is a risk assessment study.56Anything you do in that fuel tank is going toadd risk. Whatever it is, you have to make sure it is7dealt with.Even foam adds risk to the maintenance8cycle. We heard that yesterday. It --9CHAIRMAN HALL:My only concern on that, Mr.1011McSweeney,of ’96.is why that work didn’t begin in the summer12WITNESS McSWEENEY:In the summer of ’96, I131415don’t think it was clear to anybody as part of thataccident investigation that foam was the immediatesolution to that problem.16CHAIRMAN HALL:I am not saying foam, I am171819saying looking at all these military alternatives thathad been available and had been used, some since theearly 60’s.20WITNESS McSWEENEY:As I said earlier, our21folks began very soon,within a few weeks after the22accident,looking at all possible causes, which then232425led us to all possible solutions. So, we have beenlooking at things.DR. ELLINGSTAD: Excuse me. Could I followCAPITAL HILL REPORTING, INC.(202) 466-9500