I think the “five jets” thing was a bit of confusion.
During the morning, I was watching NBC’s coverage and talking to my Mom long-distance. I’d heard about 1) the first plane that hit the WTC 2) the second plane that hit the WTC 3) the plane that hit the Pentagon and 4) the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Mom had heard about one that crashed “headed toward Camp David.” She asked me where Camp David was. I said it was in Maryland. So we both assumed this plane crashed in Maryland, and that there were five.
Later I found out that the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania and the one “near Camp David” were the same plane.
A plane as large as a 757 would probably not explode like a fighter might if it were hit with an air-to-air missile.
The first thing that I thought when I heard that the 4th plane crashed in PA was that our F14s or F16s had shot it down. This kind of action is one that must be made in this type of situation. Who knows how many people could have been killed if it had made it to its target?
I prefer to believe that the courageous passengers aboard Flight 93 made the ultimate sacrifice and downed the plane themselves.
Possibly. It was loaded with a lot of jet fuel, but a lot would depend on whether it was a direct hit or proximity damage, number of missiles fired, etc…
If it was shot down, I would have no problem. It would have been the right decision. I would commend the fighter pilot for being able to carry out such a morally difficult action. I just think it’s stupid for people to keep bringing up government-conspiracy viewpoints without a single shread of evidence.
We do have some evidence about the plane, and it looks like the passengers took the plane down themselves.
Yes, and that would explain the erratic maneuvers that witnesses saw. I have the horrible vision of the passengers, after incapacitating the terrorists, with the pilots dead or unconscious, struggling frantically to fly a plane…
It was just reported that a second debris site was located in Pa 6 to 8 miles from the main crash site. Fits with the shoot down theory though I have a tough time believing that the military would feel it necessary to lie about taking that action. Perhaps overstressed during the eratic flight.
Wouldn’t it be something to have a plane hundreds of miles inland shot down by a U.S. NAVY fighter? You don’t often see Navy aircraft carriers plowing through the farmlands of southern Pennsylvania. Do you think they do that by just steaming into land really fast and sliding all the way across the continent, or do they fit big wheels to them and roll them down Interstates? It would certainly cut transit time thru the Panama Canal.
This has all the fittings of an urban legend that will haunt us for decades to come. I’m sure Pierre Salinger will soon write a story about how the entire thing was orchestrated by the CIA.
http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=220355
The employee also told the newspaper that FAA air traffic controllers in
Nashua learned through discussions with other controllers that an F-16
fighter stayed in hot pursuit of another hijacked commercial airliner until
it crashed in Pennsylvania.
By 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, the military had taken control of U.S. airspace,
the employee said. Hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field
in Pennsylvania at 10:37 a.m.
Although controllers don’t have complete details of the Air Force’s chase
of the Boeing 757, they have learned the F-16 made 360-degree turns to
remain close to the commercial jet, the employee said.
“He must’ve seen the whole thing,” the employee said of the F-16 pilot’s
view of Flight 93’s crash.
While they are still denying military intervention in the crash of flight 93 (which I certainly believe, given reports of the heroic actions of the passengers on that flight), Vice President Cheney has admitted today that “President Bush authorized the military to shoot down any unauthorized civilian aircraft that might have been heading toward the White House or the Capitol…”