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There is air in the tanks.

I am not disputing that there is air in the tanks. I am merely pointing out that at 13,000 feet, it is unlikely to be sufficiently dense to initiate combustion without being compressed to a higher density... and that's if you have a strong enough ignition source, which they didn't.

Go to page 131 of the NTSB report and you’ll find the extensive testing and research done on the flammability of the fuel air mixture in the center tank of TWA 800 at the accident altitude.

I am pretty sure I am going to regret wading through this section of document.

According to that report:

Published research involving pure hydrocarbon fuels260 estimated the LFL of these fuels at sea level to be a fuel/air mass ratio of 0.036 to 0.041. Published research involving Jet A fuels261 estimated the LFL for Jet A to be a fuel/air mass ratio of 0.032 to 0.035, for pressure between 0.4 and 1.0 atmospheres. Although the LFL was not explicitly tested for during CIT’s research, the lowest fuel/air mass ratio ignited was calculated at 0.038 at 13,800 feet msl, using 80 J spark energy.

80 joule spark energy? 80 amps for 1 second? That's trying pretty hard to light something on fire, don't you think? That would light paper on fire, let alone fuel vapor.

Also the report requires the fuel to be at a temperature of 96.4° F. Max temperature for that day was 86 degrees, presumably at the hottest part of the day.

Also the flight took place at 8:31 p.m., which was well after the peak heat of the day.

Looks like they are trying real hard to salvage that theory.

Also the report requires the fuel to be at a temperature of 96.4° F. Max temperature for that day was 86 degrees, presumably at the hottest part of the day.

Also the flight took place at 8:31 p.m., which was well after the peak heat of the day.

...

The fuel was heated by the air conditioning packs and calculated to be flammable at the time and altitude of the accident.