Originally Posted by
JammedStab
Not TWA but it appears that The Imperial Iranian Air Force 747 was a tanker. And I now finally have a conclusion as to why this aircraft exploded when hit by lightning. It wasn't just a regular 747, it had a heavily modified fuel system which makes it more understandable why it exploded, even if the exact details of why remain unknown.
The IIAF 747 that exploded in May 1976 was a freighter, not a tanker, and the investigation (in which the NTSB participated) did not identify any non-standard modifications to the fuel system.