Explosive device detonated inside TWA passenger cabin

SMITHTOWN, N.Y. (AP) - Investigators have found chemical evidence that an explosive device detonated inside the passenger cabin of TWA Flight 800, The New York Times reported today.

However, investigators still haven't ruled out other scenarios, including the possibility that a mechanical failure caused the explosion that brought down the plane, a senior law enforcement official in Washington said.

Citing senior officials involved in the investigation, the Times said chemists at the FBI lab in Washington have found traces of PETN, a chemical in plastic explosives, on a piece of wreckage retrieved from the jet's passenger cabin between rows 17 and 27.

The finding provides evidence the jetliner was destroyed by an explosive device, but the Times said the chemical is commonly found in many bombs and surface-to-air missiles, making it impossible to know which type of device was involved in the July 17 crash that killed all 230 people aboard.

The senior law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Times' account was ''kind of exaggerated in saying we're down to two options, either a bomb or a missile.''

''All three of the theories, including a mechanical accident, are still being considered. None have been ruled out,'' the official said.

One official also suggested that there are other possible explanations for the existence of a trace amount of PETN: for example, a passenger, perhaps a soldier who worked with explosives, could have carried a trace amount of the material onto the plane inadvertently.

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