# Seen that picture of the tourist atop the WTC, plane in background? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 25, 2001, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745 "2001-09-25T18:15:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/1 "2001-09-25T18:15:04Z")
I’m sorry, I’m not enough of a computer whiz to know how to show it to y’all, but I’m sure a number of you have received it through the email grapevine by now. For those of you who haven’t: It’s a typical amateur tourist picture of a man posing against the railing on the roof, and behind him is a northward view of New York. An airliner is approaching the building dead-on from what appears to be a few hundred yards off. The camera’s automatic dating show’s the date of 09/11/01 in the bottom right-hand corner. The sender claims this picture was found in a tourist’s camera found in the rubble. Is this a hoax? It looks extremely real, but I know photos can easily be mocked-up nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/2 "2001-09-25T18:18:05Z")
It looks incredibly fake, and it is. See [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com) for details. ---
**Author:** ![Rosebud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rosebud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rosebud)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/3 "2001-09-25T18:22:27Z")
The Snopes link is loading slowly for me, so while I wait… yeah, I just got that pic moments ago from a friend at work (and can I start the betting pool on how many more times I’ll get it before the end of the week?). The first thing I really noticed is that he’s wearing winter clothing. It was pretty warm out that day, I remember walking through the Bronx wishing I’d worn a skirt to work because it was so hot walking. Granted it’d be breezier up top of the Trade Towers, but who wears a heavy jacket and a winter hat while sight-seeing in early September in New York? Also the plane does not appear to be casting a shadow, unless I’m mising finer details thanks to a crappy monitor. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/4 "2001-09-25T18:22:33Z")
Eh, I have nothing better to do at the moment than find [the direct link to it on Snopes](http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/crash.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/5 "2001-09-25T18:26:34Z")
Wow is that fake. I love the Snopes write-up on it too. While you are there looking at the picture, be sure to visit the page of ULs related to [Sept 11th](http://www.snopes.com/rumors). I had never heard the bound hands one, and then to find out it was one of the true ones. Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/6 "2001-09-25T19:36:06Z")
Thanks, everybody. I knew you’d know. Excellent point, Rosebud, about the winter clothing. That should have been my tipoff. Boy, I’m gullible. I also thought those “foreign sports” commercials were real for awhile, at least until the cliff diving one came up. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/7 "2001-09-25T19:46:17Z")
On top of everything else, I was just heading down into the subway when the plane flew directly over my head. The engines were damn loud, plus there was this high pitched whistling sound, like a bomb coming in. He’d be damn well shitting his pants by this point. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/8 "2001-09-25T20:12:11Z")
/Quote: pugluvr Thanks, everybody. I knew you’d know. Excellent point, Rosebud, about the winter clothing. That should have been my tipoff. Boy, I’m gullible. I also thought those “foreign sports” commercials were real for awhile, at least until the cliff diving one came up /Quote/ What “foreign sports” commercials. I’m missin’ sumthin. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/9 "2001-09-25T20:17:39Z")
Fox Sports Net has been advertising their _Regional Sports Report_ show (FSN has many regional divisions) with advertisments poking fun at the fact that many national sports shows spend most of their time not only on sports outside of your local team’s area, but outside the United States as well. FSN’s ads have shots of (mocked-up) sports reports featuring absurd sports from other countries. Each commercial ends with the tagline, “Sports from the only region you care about. Yours.” ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/10 "2001-09-25T20:29:00Z")
mobo, Thanks. I usually don’t miss stuff - but that Fox stuff went right by me… thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/11 "2001-09-25T20:29:00Z")
mobo, Thanks. I usually don’t miss stuff - but that Fox stuff went right by me… thanks. ---
**Author:** ![ladybug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2001, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/12 "2001-09-25T21:46:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by notcynical \* > \*\*On top of everything else, I was just heading down into the subway when the plane flew directly over my head. The engines were damn loud, plus there was this high pitched whistling sound, like a bomb coming in. He’d be damn well shitting his pants by this point. \*\* That was what I was thinking when I saw the picture. If I heard a plane that close I would _at least_ turn around and look. If by some chance the photographer was still there afterward, the only picture he’d get would be a blur of me running for my life. I’m surprised this hasn’t shown up in my inbox yet. ---
**Author:** ![labradorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@labradorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labradorian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/13 "2001-09-26T00:11:33Z")
Have any real photos or video of the events shown up, that were taken from the Empire State Building or some other such vantage point? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/14 "2001-09-26T14:22:12Z")
As I reported in the Pentagon thread, the FBI is reportedly reviewing a tape of Flight 77 on a course that would have overshot the White House. ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/15 "2001-09-26T14:26:29Z")
The other thing about this picture that should be a dead giveaway is that unless this “tourist” happened to have an unbelievably expensive camera with ludicrous-speed film installed, they wouldn’t have taken such a sharp image of a huge mofo jetliner travelling at several hundred mph. A vaguely plane-shaped blur would’ve been more appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![TripleAnt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e19adc/32.png) [@TripleAnt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TripleAnt)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/16 "2001-09-26T14:38:56Z")
My question is that was there an observation deck on the WTC like that? I wouldn’t think it would be outside, but rather inside the buildings. And wouldn’t it difficult to stand still if an airplane were that close? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/17 "2001-09-26T14:43:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TripleAnt \* > **My question is that was there an observation deck on the WTC like that? I wouldn’t think it would be outside, but rather inside the buildings.** Your answers is in the direct snopes link posted above, just wait for it to load. ---
**Author:** ![Tretiak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Tretiak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tretiak)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/18 "2001-09-26T15:09:13Z")
Have you guys seen the picture of the Canadian Radio commentator holding an American flag and wearing a T-Shirt that says “Nostradamus was right!”, on the roof of the WTC. In the background you can see one of the planes heading directly for the building and the face of the Devil in the clouds. It’s creepy. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/19 "2001-09-26T15:44:00Z")
Well, as expected, this “tourist” photo made its way to e-mail at work. And I dutifully told anyone who would listen to check it out on Snopes. Some day, they’ll check without me telling them. insanity… ---
**Author:** ![snopester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@snopester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snopester)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745/20 "2001-09-28T23:25:46Z")
Check out how fake (and sick, but incredibly funny) _this_ one looks: [http://161.58.206.206/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get\_topic&f=54&t=000006](http://161.58.206.206/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=54&t=000006) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seen-that-picture-of-the-tourist-atop-the-wtc-plane-in-background/83745.md?page=2)