WEDNESDAY, JULY 17

8:40 a.m., EDT TWA Flight 881 departs Athens bound for New York.

5:00 p.m. TWA Flight 881 arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where a faulty engine pressure guage is changed.

8:02 p.m. Flight 800 pushes back from gate in New York.

8:19 p.m. Flight 800 takes off from runway 22-Right.

8:30:19 p.m. Flight crew makes its final transmission to air traffic control, acknowledging clearance to fly at 15,000 feet.

About 8:30:30 p.m. Cockpit voice recorder suddenly stops recording, ending with an unidentified sound.

Shortly after 8:31:10 p.m. Flight 800 disappears from radar.

THURSDAY, JULY 18

2:15 a.m., EDT More than 30 people, unaware that Flight 800 has exploded, arrive at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris to greet passengers scheduled to arrive 8:15 a.m., local time.

8:00 a.m. TWA begins to notify victims’ families after New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani criticizes the airline for not making the calls quickly enough. 100 bodies recovered to date.