FBI probes 5th flight for hijackers, Plane grounded on day of attack

Chicago Tribune ^ | 18 Sept 2001 | Stephen J. Hedges, Naftali Bendavid

[RoughDobermann]

So if one hit one tower, another hit the other tower, the third hit the Petagon, and the fourth one crashed in PA (headed for the White House(?)) then the fifth one may have been headed for the Statue of Liberty - No?

I'd guess the Capitol building.

[John Jamieson]

Your exaggerated injuries comment just sunk your battleship. I guess the flaw in my logic was so obvious that you forgot to address it.

I pretty much agree with the rest of what you said. AF1 was never a possible target of any attack that we know of.

[Osinski]

I don't think those slimeballs figured the FAA could shut things down so fast...

In retrospect, shutting down the air traffic was the most brilliant of tactical moves. Gives ya a little faith in the people in charge. Bush Administration should be commended.

[RoughDobermann]

What was the destination for flight 43??

Newark to LAX

[Real Cynic No More]

Not necessarily fly back to D.C., but maybe to attack Bush's ranch as a symbolic statement?

[John Jamieson]

A good job on the Capitol would require 2 or 3 planes. I don't believe either the White house or the Pentagon were primary targets.

[syriacus]

WTC: First plane was too high, Second plane was 18 minutes late, not level or centered.

You're right.

Many evacuees had enough time to escape before the buildings collapsed. If the planes would have hit simultaneously and a little later in the morning (AFTER most people in the district had arrived at work) it would have been even worse.

[RoughDobermann]

Or was it Logan to LAX?

[Reeses]

First plane was too high, Second plane was 18 minutes late, not level or centered.

Even with all the H1-B visa layoffs they may have found it difficult to hire experienced suicide pilots.

[ladyinred]

I am in the bay area on business right now, the town I am in has the highest number of Afganies in the US. When I heard this on the local news after settling into the hotel, I was not a happy camper. Although I am told by the newsreaders not to be afraid of all Arabs, when they tell you on the news these are mostly followers of ole Bin, I think I have a reason to be fearful!
It is known they are still lots of them out here, I was just lucky enough to have to come here! Yikes!
How are we supposed to know who is a terrorist and who isn't? Clearly, we are in for a long period of uncertainty. Everyone needs to be as careful as you can be.

[Hugh Akston]

Second plane was 18 minutes late

Almost certainly this was by design. These planes were so close together at one point that it would have qualified as a "near miss" under normal guidelines. The second plane decided to hit when it did. It held off on purpose.

Why? So that there would be time for television coverage to get there. They wanted the entire world to watch their handiwork, live, as it happened.

[Goetz_von_Berlichingen]

"I think the delay was planned so that live TV news cameras would se it. If that was the plan, it worked perfectly."

In my opinion, this delay was a classic terror-bombing tactic, as used in WWII. First strike brings out the rescuers and firefighters. Follow-up strike kills them.

[Diddle E. Squat]

OK, I may have been a bit harsh, but why would injuries be exaggerated? The number is basically inconsquential when you have 5000 deaths. Same for the idea that they could have killed more if they hit both towers at the same time. Would it really matter a whit to our reaction and response if it was 20,000 instead of 5,000? And trust me, one plane would have decimated the Capitol. Why would they hit the statue of liberty if they could hit an even bigger symbol, that of the gov't itself, and kill much of the leadership of this country, and throw us into political turmoil?

[lawyamike]

Yes. Consider that at least one of the hijackers studied urban planning as an undergraduate before attending flight school in the United States. Again, that appears to indicate that leaders of these cells had plotted and members of these cells had prepared for more than six years.

The Washington Post reports that a few of the hijackers lived with their families -- wives and children -- in suburban parts of the United States. Their children played with other children in the neighborhood. At least one of the hijackers' families hosted a pizza party for local children a week before the incidents, with his wife explaining that it was an Arab custom to plan a celebration upon departing, so as to impart good memories on those left behind.

It is chilling to consider that some of these sleepers still reside in our neighborhoods, that their children still play with our own.

[Azzurri]

Does everyone think that the terrorists believed the entire towers would collapse? I'm thinking perhaps they thought the upper floors would collapse but the lower ones remain intact. After all, there was no rush to evacuate the first tower hit because nobody expected it to collapse.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Oh but don't worry, the Port Authority is assuring you that you have nothing to fear out there, just return to your desk, please.

[leftcoaster]

So if one hit one tower, another hit the other tower, the third hit the Petagon, and the fourth one crashed in PA (headed for the White House(?)) then the fifth one may have been headed for the Statue of Liberty - No?

I don't think the SoL is a target consistent with the others. She is symbollic, yes, but not enough deaths caused on the ground, nor is she of governmental or economic importance.

Attacking the Capitol would have been at least as symbollic, and caused more deaths and disrupted the functions of our government tremendously. The Pentagon attack should have caused more damage and death, it just hit the "wrong" place (section that was just reinforced) at the "wrong" time (low occupation).

Good analysis on this thread. As bad as it was, it's nice to note how many times worse it could have been.

[Ann Archy]

I thought Bush gave the orders to shut the flights down!! I would be surprisedif the FAA could decide something so quickly that concerned the ENTIRE country.

[piasa]

Here's the big question: hitting the US as hard as they did is going to get them eradicated...but hitting us as hard as they evidently had planned, and doing so successfully... for what purpose? Wouldn't they think we would utterly waste the entire mideast if we found ourselves under such a massive attack, and destroy the jihad along with every living thing there?

Surely he must have expected some global 'friends' to join him in further bringing down the US so that we would be unable to strike or to overwhelmed to strike.

This HAD to be state sponsored, and my bet is that it wasn't just middle eastern or just nearby asian states involved. Since they didn't succeeded in their full attack, perhaps the other 'aiders and abetters' decided to leave Usama out to dry and pretend to have no part in it. We were not sufficiently weakened to warrant they stick out their necks.