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

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

[winstonchurchill]

Would you call DC a botched job?

Interestingly, there is very good evidence that the point of impact at the Pentagon was Providential to say the least. The director of the renovation project was on C-SPAN last Saturday with a briefing which clearly showed that the plane managed to hit the only spot on the building which had been reinforced (on the inside) and had it hit anywhere but "wedge 1" the damage would have been much, much greater.

No may have noticed the big "slab" of building leaning in. That was the reinforced segment. He also pointed out that the only windows which were out were those actually physically hit by the plane. The rest of the so-called "blast-proof" windows stayed in place.

And, of course, the offices (for the most part) weren't yet occupied. That also held casualties down.

In the face of that great tragedy, it was a wonderous thing that the Arab monkeys 'botched' their worthless entry into Hell.

[JRadcliffe]

"BTW, one plane hit the WTC to attract the media, the second came later to make sure it was seen on live TV."

I think you're on to something there! I take back every mean thing I've ever said about you. ;^)

[SKYDRIFTER]

The WTC strikes were difficult at best. The eye-hand coordination at those speeds is incredibly demanding - with or without the autopilot (which was probably used.)

Descending to the point they were at is equally demanding at those speeds. If other buildings were obstacles, they might have gotten conservative on the descent.

However, it is worth staying curious as to all three targets getting nailed at the least-impact points. Coincidence is more probable, but that got my attention.

I'm curious as to whether or not the aircraft in D.C. actually maneuvered. There has been some talk, but it doesn't convince me - yet.

I advise all those interested to pay close attention to the details. There is too much pre-existing intelligence being exposed to not question the 'official' claims of surprise.

[piasa]

I reckon you're right- if they were all that great at scheming, their timing would have been tighter and they wouldn't have been so stupid as to only want to learn how to turn a plane- something which should have made them stick WAY out. If they are that nutty then their folks are in deep, deep shiite now. The scary thing is the folks on our side were too stupid to wonder why these folks wanted to only practice turns.

[SKYDRIFTER]

A worthwhile account is at -

Airline Safety ‘Net

See- "Attack on America"

[piasa]

You'd think somebody would have tried to nail the CIA building, or doesn't video copyright infringement investigation mean as much to Usama/Osama as it did to the previous administration?

[sneakypete]

>> Second plane was 18 minutes late,<<

Who says it was late? Late for what? Certainly not for maximum social impact. Don't forget,the purpose of terrorism is to terrorize,and the best way to terrorize a population is for them to think "it's over!",and then strike again.

>>not level or centered.<<

That was on purpose,and smart. That is the reason why the second tower collapsed before the first one. It took out the corner supports and load bearing walls on one side,and on more than one level. If anything,the first pilot screwed-up by making a center hit.

[thinden]

thanx for #19

[sneakypete]

>>This is not a fact. <<

Yup,I may be wrong,but I believe the 50,000 figure is the total figure if ALL 8 buildings in the complex were full. This is the maximum capacity of the whole complex,not the actual number of people in the two buildings (later 3) that went down.

[John Jamieson]

I didn't know the second tower came down first. If it did, it might be because it was hit lower. More weight above.

[Publius6961]

but I hardly think that you can call what happened a "botched" job. 5000+ killed and the towers are gone...

I disagree.

It is certainly botched if their plans called for four to eight times times as many dead.

Note that they were going for body count, not "symbolism":
No Golden Gate Bridge, no Mt Rushmore, no St Louis Arch, no Seattle space needle...

Probably the three densest buildings in the country, population-wise.

[Overtaxed]

...experienced suicide pilots.

"So, Abdul, how many suicide missions have you completed successfuly?" (Sorry, I couldn't resist. :) )

[BruceS]

To all misguided FReepers making saints out of all Arabs and Muslims in America: wake up and smell the coffee. There are more sleepers out there.

Granted that there almost certainly are, what do you want to do about it? Re-open the WWII internment camps and lock up everyone of a certain religion or ethnicity? We have this little document called the Constitution that says the government can only deprive you of life, liberty, or property with due process of law.

Or maybe after the OKC bombing you wanted the government to lock up everybody who was a conservative?

You wake up and smell the coffee. Overreacting against innocent people who happen to of a certain religion or ethnicity will only trash our country. There is a danger in living in a (somewhat) free society. Get used to it.

[In mourning for six years]

I find it interesting that they are asking for interpreters to help speak to these suspects--I thought that these people blended into the neighborhoods and spoke English. Are they pretending not to understand to avoid answering questions? Also, those who are fluent in Farsi? That's Iran's official language, isn't it?

[ExiledinMD]

I remember during the initial reports on the attack on the Pentagon, news sources were saying that Rumsfeld was on the opposite side from the attack. It struck me at the time as being odd that we would be telegraphing to potential terrorists where to hit the next time.

It seems like this information on C-SPAN would also be unwise to divulge. Why tell people that if you take another shot, you will do much better because the rest of the building isn't reinforced?

I just don't get it. Our need for information surely doesn't include this type of information, does it?

[4CJ]

Thanks for the report. I haven't seen this anywhere else. Amazing how much the major media never reports.

[Andrew Byler]

Excellent article. As a trained Structural/Civil Engineer, I concur completely with your conclusions. It would not surprise me to find that the terrorists had checked bags with explosives or high combustibles onto their planes.

[Ciexyz]

Sheesh, maybe they train their people, let them loose, and then activate them with a phone call like in that Charles Bronson movie: "Miles to go before I sleep."

[carzieware]

Makes real sense when you consider that the one hijacker, Mohammed Atta was a former architectural planning student when in Hamburg.