Posted on 08/07/2003 4:22:34 PM PDT by dead
WASHINGTON - U.S. investigators now believe that a hijacker in the cockpit aboard United Airlines Flight 93 instructed terrorist-pilot Ziad Jarrah to crash the jetliner into a Pennsylvania field because of a passenger uprising in the cabin.
This theory, based on the government's analysis of cockpit recordings, discounts the popular perception of insurgent passengers grappling with terrorists to seize the plane's controls.
The government's findings — laid out deep within the report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that was sent to Congress last month — aim to resolve one of the enduring mysteries of the deadliest terror attacks in U.S. history: What happened in the final minutes aboard Flight 93?
The FBI strenuously maintains that its analysis does not diminish the heroism of passengers who — with the words "Let's roll" — apparently rushed down the airliner's narrow aisle to try to overtake the hijackers.
President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft have regularly praised the courage of those aboard Flight 93, some of whom told family members by telephone they were planning to storm the cockpit.
"While no one will ever know exactly what transpired in the final minutes of Flight 93, every shred of evidence indicates this plane crashed because of the heroic actions of the passengers," FBI spokeswoman Susan Whitson said Thursday.
Thirty-three passengers, seven crew members and the four hijackers died.
Citing transcripts of the still-secret cockpit recordings, FBI Director Robert Mueller told congressional investigators in a closed briefing last year that, minutes before Flight 93 hit the ground, one of the hijackers "advised Jarrah to crash the plane and end the passengers' attempt to retake the airplane."
Jarrah is thought to have been the terrorist-pilot because he was the only of the four hijackers aboard known to have a pilot's license.
Mueller's description was disclosed in a brief passage far into the 858-page report to Congress. Previous statements by FBI and other government officials have been ambiguous about what occurred in the cockpit.
Mueller's explanation was based on the FBI's efforts to decipher the cacophonous sounds on the cockpit recorder and produce a comprehensive transcript, said one official, speaking only on condition of anonymity.
The FBI is convinced it may never know for certain what transpired in those final moments, but Mueller represented the information as the FBI's leading theory, this official said.
The same cockpit recording was played privately in April 2002 for family members of victims aboard Flight 93, and the FBI also provided them with its best effort at producing an understandable transcript.
Some family members indicated afterward they were led to believe that passengers used a food cart as a shield and successfully broke into the cockpit.
The FBI has been loath to publicly put forward a contradictory theory out of sensitivity to the families and because of uncertainty about what happened.
People who have heard the recording describe it as nearly indecipherable, containing static noises, cockpit alarms and wind interspersed with cries in English and Arabic. Near the end of the tape, sounds can be heard of breaking glass and crashing dishes — lending credence to the theory that passengers used the food cart to rush the jetliner's narrow aisle.
Separately, the data recorder showed the plane's wings rocking violently as the jet flew too low and too fast for safe flight.
Intelligence officials believe the likely target for Flight 93 was the White House, based on information from Abu Zubaydah, a senior al-Qaida terrorist leader in U.S. custody who is believed to have played a key role in organizing the Sept. 11 attacks.
Prosecutors have sought a U.S. judge's permission to play recordings from Flight 93 during the terrorism trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only defendant in a U.S. case prosecutors have directly tied to the attacks. Moussaoui is accused of conspiring with the hijackers.
The government has said it can link Moussaoui to Jarrah, using a telephone number found on a business card recovered at the Shanksville, Pa., crash site. Prosecutors believe the card belonged to Jarrah and that Moussaoui had called the same number.
Moussaoui has acknowledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida but says he was not involved in the attacks.
___
Answer me this: If the passengers did not gain access to the cockpit (ie. the cockpit was sealed with the hijackers commanding the plane) then why would the hijackers deliberately crash the plane? It doesn't make sense.
I have to admit to being confused here.
There are any number of plausible scenarios, but the plane came down because of the actions of the passengers, not of the terrorists. The terr's would have fulfilled their objective by any means.
And you think the woman who worked at the airlines and told that to investigators----that that's what she heard Beamer say, and it so happened that that was Beamer's typical saying when the family was about to set off on an outing---that was all concocted?
How sad for you that you can't see the plain and simple truth.
Why would that woman lie? She would not. She told too much of her conversation with Beamer that verifies how he was--and she told it before she ever spoke with Beamer's wife.
It, unfortunately attempts to change the original media perception, that our people made it in to the cockpit.
Our people might have prevented further destruction by simply making an attempt.
If true...then our lost souls are just as brave for not allowing any continuation of an original plan...something of which we can speculate.
This theory, based on the government's analysis of cockpit recordings, discounts the popular perception of insurgent passengers grappling with terrorists to seize the plane's controls.
The authors conclusions are not supported by the facts in the article. The If the passegers had not attempted to take control of the plane, the hijackers would have either crashed their plane into the White House or the Capitol unless an Air National Guard plane (unarmed) had rammed Flight 93 first.
The passenger were heroes. They new that if they did nothing they would be dead, and that their plane would be used to kill hundreds or thousands of people on the ground. They also knew an important landmark building would be destroyed. No, contrary to the leftist drivel of this Reuters article the passengers were heroes. Also, the hijackers proved themselves to be cowards like all the islamonazi jihadists.
Tin-foil hat alert.
*Some* of the hijackers were minimally-trained pilots. Those aboard Flight 93 may have gotten the right one.
It also appears that the terrorists aboard Flight 11, the one with Mohammed Atta aboard, hedged their bets.
-archy-/-
Doesn't matter. Whether they gained the cockpit or not has no bearing on their actions.
A WINNING RECIPE FOR "ANTI-BUSH ADMINISTRATION SURPRISE"
(This is better than what I heard from a liberal relative last year. Said our own military shot down Flight 93.)
Because the hijackers figured that if the passengers had retaken control of the cabin, they were about to retake control of the cockpit, and the hijackers, chickensh*ts that they were panicked.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.