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| Gov’t: Hijacker Crashed Flight 93 on 9/11 | |
| 2003-08-08 | |
| 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. This makes sense to me. It’d be pretty hard to get into the cockpit with four hijackers in the way. Not that it couldn’t be done but this seems more likely. 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. Damned right — otherwise this plane would have hit the White House. 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. Four terrorists and forty heroes. 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. The congressional report describes the hijackers wearing bandanas and carrying knives, and several passengers reported seeing the captain and co-pilot lying on the floor of the first-class section, presumably dead. 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. 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. Food cart? Clever! I’m going to remember that one just in case. "It is totally obvious listening to that flight recorder that they made it into the cockpit," said Deena Burnett, who lost her husband, Thomas E. Burnett Jr., on Flight 93. "You cannot listen to the tape and understand it any other way," Burnett said Thursday in a telephone interview. She declined to discuss specific things she heard on the tape because U.S. prosecutors have asked families not to describe the recording. She said she does remember hearing a hijacker telling Jarrah in Arabic to crash the plane deliberately, as Mueller described, and Jarrah refusing to crash it. Burnett also said U.S. authorities, including Assistant U.S. Attorney David Novak, told families explicitly in April 2002 that the recording indicates passengers actually made their way 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.
Oh yeah, play the tape, I don’t think it will prejudice the jury any. 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. Going to take a while, Zac, but you’re going to burn. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #18 And to think the Bush Administration was cutting the budget so Air Marshalls wouldn't have to spend the night outta town--as in Boston-LA Newark-San Fran--anyone getting a clue? But we got plenty of money for a tax cut for the wealthiest 1%---oops forgot--they fly private jets |
| Posted by: Not Mike Moore 2003-8-8 11:20:45 PM |
| #17 OP--That's the spirit! :-) |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-8-8 7:35:26 PM |
| #16 "There are no dangerous weapons. There are only dangerous people. To the right person, everything is a weapon." Still can't remember who said it, but it's true. Pens, fingernail files, whatever. If it comes to either winning a fight or dying, sacrifice your watch - the crystal will make a dandy knife, if you break it right. Shoestrings can be used to make an improvised garotte. A woman's wooden sandal or 3-inch high heel is also a deadly device, used with the proper force at the right location. The real secret of being deadly is learning how to think deadly. If all else fails, stick your fingers in their eye sockets. That's a really, REALLY tender spot! And don't pull them back out - keep going farther and farther. Then close your fist and pull - face will come apart like a wet dishrag. Messy, but effective! |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-8-8 7:13:23 PM |
| #15 Bush was in FL reading to the little kids, it was the Congress -- I believe AQ is competent enough to read Ari Fleischer's briefings. |
| Posted by: Brian 2003-8-8 5:39:31 PM |
| #14 Raphael--yeah, that's another option. The more, the better. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-8-8 5:31:57 PM |
| #13 Ok, then how about this: learn a martial art, and your body becomes a weapon. Don't have to learn everything, just the moves that will prove useful. Or carry a hardened briefcase. That way you can sit anywhere and have a heavy blunt weapon. Problem is, if people keep doing this, security will keep banning things from carry-on luggage. |
| Posted by: Raphael 2003-8-8 5:23:12 PM |
| #12 Raphael--Actually, this is good stuff, and I'd like to hear more. It's a different world since 9/11. All of us who fly are potential victims, but it doesn't mean we have to accept it passively. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-8-8 5:13:51 PM |
| #11 If we as a nation want to stop the possibility or at least put a serious dent in airplane terrorism the answer is quite simple. Everybody on the plane travels nude, starkers, raw in the buff. This alone will keep the Islamofasicsts off of any and all US carriers |
| Posted by: Someone who did NOT vote for William Proxmire 2003-8-8 5:06:43 PM |
| #10 LOL, you guys are nuts :) |
| Posted by: Raphael 2003-8-8 4:59:03 PM |
| #9 11A5S - bingo - I've figured the fire extinguishers were the best "weapons" available, too. I fly biz class and always request an exit row seat, so I'll have access to one on the bulkhead right in front of me. Chuck's mentioning the fact that you can use the seat cushion as a shield is now on my mental checklist, as well. Thx! |
| Posted by: ·com 2003-8-8 4:08:57 PM |
| #8 I keep the elements of a garrote in my briefcase. I could put it together in less than a minute. Very effective if you can sneak up behind someone. He's dead or unconscious in seconds without a sound. And don't forget fire extinguishers. Use them first to blind and then immediately switch over to a bludgeoning attack. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2003-8-8 3:25:25 PM |
| #7 Sharpen the handle of a tooth brush and you have a short stileto. To sharpen it I need a knife. But if I had a knife, I wouldn't need a sharpened toothbrush :-) |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-8-8 2:15:22 PM |
| #6 Sharpen the edge of a credit card and you have a dandy improvised knife blade.A car key will due serious damage when jammed in an eye or raked down the side of a persons face.Sharpen the handle of a tooth brush and you have a short stileto. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-8-8 9:29:19 AM |
| #5 I don't think they got their virgins. They didn't fulfill their mission. what to do in case of a hostage/hijack No one can prepare for that. People will react differently no matter how well you train them. Better solution: Arm the pilots. Bulletproof cockpit doors. Use double doors to create a "man-trap". Strip search passengers. Open luggage. Interrogate. Profiling. Show up 6 hours in advance. Hell why not. |
| Posted by: Raphael 2003-8-8 9:21:58 AM |
| #4 Chuck--good observation. As I keep hearing about al Qaida's work to develop everyday items to become weapons or conceal weapons and the TSA's bend on ensuring passengers are totally defenseless, I'd like to hear more about how passengers can improvise weapons onboard to help prevent hijackers from succeeding. The TSA needs to realize that over 99.9999% of air passengers are not merely potential victims but also a resource to help fight terrorism. Why not enlist help from them as well? Offer potential guidelines on what to do in case of a hostage/hijack situation! I think we've learned since 9/11, being a passive victim is no longer an option. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-8-8 9:12:33 AM |
| #3 I'm sticking to the families's version of the tape until I can hear it for myself: "Expert witnesses" can talk obvious bullshit and get away with it. In one instance, an "expert witness" showed a video of a person in a "persistent vegetative state" VISIBLY reacting to questions and pinpricks, while stating blithely under oath that there was "no reaction"! Even if the hijackers crashed the plane themselves, they did so because they realized that the damn Kaffirs were revolting and stood an excellent chance of retaking the plane: No virgins for them if that happened. The security measures in place AT THAT TIME were enough to more than equalize the fight. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-8-8 9:05:31 AM |
| #2 And remember that the seats that act as flotation devices make a dandy shield. The straps fit over one arm, leaving the other one free to jab a Bic pen, say, or use a can of hairspray. They'll never crash a plane I'm on until I'm good and dea. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-8-8 8:32:12 AM |
| #1 Those forty people names will be remembered with honour. They were not selected volunteers just ordinary people who in an incredible moment fought an anonymous battle, with cutlery for weapons, trying to take back the plane. By their actions they saved many lives. |
| Posted by: Bernardz 2003-8-8 6:44:34 AM |