Disaster on Deadline — Uplink Archive

Newsday's newsroom mobilized quickly to cover the TWA Flight 800 crash. Reporters used computer-assisted reporting (CAR) to gather data from aviation databases, which helped give a fuller understanding of the plane's safety record. The coverage won a Pulitzer Prize for its depth and immediacy.

The jumbo jet that crashed in a fireball and lay burning on the rolling surface of the Atlantic off Moriches on a July night last year quickly transformed Newsday's newsroom into a rolling thunder of organized pandemonium. Reporters were dispatched to various locations including beaches, docks, airports, and police stations. Newsday's coverage of TWA 800 owes a deep debt to the technology of computer-assisted reporting.

Over the next few days and as the story stretched on into weeks and months, consulting the Internet, and querying safety databases became routine. The paper reported that the plane had no indications of trouble according to Federal Aviation Administration databases. TWA had an exemplary safety record. With a focus on the human tragedy, reporters compiled biographies of 100 victims for the paper shortly after the crash.

Reporters used websites and databases to follow family stories and conspiracies surrounding the crash. Newsday's database team leveraged safety databases for leads. Computer-assisted reporting was a tool that transformed public understanding of aviation safety, showcasing hard, careful work by a staff of 55 reporters.