Pentagon
Theory
American Airlines Flight 77 did not hit the Pentagon, but rather a missile did. This theory was originated by French conspiracy theorist, Thierry Meyssan, with his books: L'Effroyable Imposture (French), 9/11: The Big Lie (English), and later Pentagate. He suggests also suggests that the planes that hit the World Trade Center were remotely controlled by the U.S. government, and not piloted by the hijackers.
Fact
This claim ignores the fact that several passengers made phone calls and reported that the plane was hijacked.
- Renee May phoned her mother, and reported that the flight was hijacked.
- Barbara Olson called her husband, Ted Olson, and reported the hijacking. She also told her husband that the hijackers had knives and box cutters.
- See also: Phone calls
Eyewitnesses
The claim also ignores the numerous eyewitnesses who report seeing the plane crash into the Pentagon, but not one reports seeing a missile.
- Mike Walter (video)
- Terry Morin - eyewitness account
"There were pieces of aircraft spread all the way up the road, at least a third of a mile from the impact site." - a witness speaking to a local CBS reporter. [1]
Impact
Aircraft debris
- More photos and witness accounts: Pentagon debris
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- Pentagon & Boeing 757 Wheel Investigation - aerospaceweb.org
Hijacker's documents found
Victims' remains
- See also: DNA identification
Remains of the passengers and those victims on the ground at the Pentagon were found and identified.
Photographs of victim remains at the Pentagon were presented at the Moussaoui trial:
Remains of one passenger, Lang Steuerle, were recovered on the third floor. (see diagram)
Remains of additional passengers were recovered during debris sifting operations: Mary Jane Booth, Charles F. Burlingame III (pilot), David M. Charlebois (first officer), Eddie A. Dillard, Barbara Edwards, Dana Falkenberg, Stanley R. Hall, Yvonne E. Kennedy, Christopher C. Newton, Robert Penninger, Zandra F. Ploger, Lisa J. Raines, Diane M. Simmons, John D. Yamnicky, Sr., Shuyin Yang. Remains of other victims (non-passengers) at the Pentagon were also recovered during debris sifting operations: John J. Chada, Julian T. Cooper, Brenda C. Gibson, Ronald F. Golinski, ET1 Ronald J. Hemenway, James T. Lynhc, Rhonda S. Rasmussen, Antoinette M. Sherman.
Security video
Pentagon security video
In response to a FOIA request, the U.S. Department of Defense released security camera footage captured on September 11, 2001.
Fact
The camera is the only one to have captured the impact of American Airlines Flight 77, albeit with rather poor quality due to the slow frames per second rate. Both Judicial Watch and Flight77.info submitted FOIA requests for the video.
Compare the following images, the triangle shape that appears in the second image but not others, would be the aircraft's tail. Images of the actual aircraft are also available here
Screenshot:
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Aircraft superimposed on the image:
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Third image:
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Citgo
The nearby Citgo gas station had security cameras, as did the Doubletree hotel, located across I-395 from the Pentagon in Crystal City.
In September 2006, the footage was finally released. The quality of the video is rather poor, with the screen showing split views of six cameras. Two are from inside the store, with the people there blurred for privacy reasons. The video doesn’t show anything clearly of the crash of American Airlines Flight 77. The security camera was pointing away from the Pentagon entirely, towards the gas station entrance on South Joyce Street. Though, at 4:43 in the video, a flash is visible in the upper right, which is probably the impact.
Doubletree
The Doubletree security camera footage was released on December 7, 2006 to Judicial Watch and Flight77.info.
- Judicial Watch - press release
Sheraton
Some have purported that the “hotel” that the FBI took video from was the Sheraton. It did not have any video, nothing for the FBI to take.
“I also conducted a search of the FBI’s Electronic Case File system, Investigative Case Management system, and other evidence databases for any videotapes in the possession of the FBI from the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. I did not locate any such videotape”. - declaration of Jacqueline Maguire, FBI
The hotel in question is the Doubletree. Anyway, the Sheraton hotel is situated behind other buildings, which largely obstruct the line of sight between the hotel and the part of the Pentagon that was hit. As viewed from the Pentagon, the roof of the Sheraton is barely visible, peaking up from behind other buildings.
See also
- FBI releases Citgo security footage
- Analysis of Citgo security video
- Pictures of the Citgo and security camera
External links
- Flight77.INFO - Security camera videos and documents
- The Pentagon Building Performance Report - American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
- 911 Case Study: Pentagon Flight 77 - animation on YouTube, by mikejwilson
- Arlington Virginia After-Action Report
- Did a plane hit the Pentagon? - Identifying Misinformation, U.S. Department of State
- September 11, 2001 - 9/11 Attack Simulations Using LS-Dyna - Purdue University
- Getting the Facts Straight - Dennis Behreandt in The New American (August 23, 2004)
- Hunt the Boeing! - Snopes.com
- Boeing 757-223 #N644AA - photo on airliners.
- Attack on the Pentagon - Arlington Fire Journal
- Study on 9/11 Pentagon Attack Contains No Surprises - Engineering News-Record, January 27, 2003
- The Pentagon Attack on 9-11: Arlington County (VA) Fire Department Response - Fire Engineering
- Pentagon Battered but Firm - Architecture Week
Video
Eyewitnesses
- Cab driver Lloyd England (video - Windows Media format) - Speaking to NBC4 about the Zacarias Moussoui trial, and his experiences on 9/11 when a broken-off lamp post crashed into his taxicab.