Monday, August 21, 2006

What If Flight 93 Is a Myth?

"Let's roll!" The story of Flight 93, the passengers who fought back on 9-11 and crashed in a Pennsylvania field the plane destined to slam into the White House, has become an iconic American story, It is an image of pure, selfless courage on par with Davy Crockett standing on the battlements of the Alamo swinging his empty musket like a bludgeon, fighting the Mexican Army to his last breath. In the wake of 9-11, I was like every other American. I hoped, if I had found myself in that situation, I would have had the courage to face certain death by fighting the evil before me.

But, what if the passengers efforts were a meaningless gesture? What if Flight 93 had been shot down?

British author Rowland Morgan has made a second career investigating the 2001 terror attacks. I haven't read his first book, 9-11 Revealed. His second book, on Flight 93, is due out next month and was previewed by the author in the London Daily Mail last Saturday.

The Case For Myth
It is clear that the Boeing 757 broke-up prior to impact. The impact crater is too small, there was too little debris at the crash site and too much debris scattered miles away. Why did it break up? The official story that the plane disintegrated on impact is unbelieveable given the other evidence.

Numerous eyewitnesses reported a "white plane" following Flight 93. No pilot has ever come forward and the FBI instructed at least one witness to change her story.

The official time of the crash, according to the 9-11 Commission, is 10:03. Seismographic evidence puts the time of the crash at 10:06. That gap is suspicious.

The last phone call from Flight 93 is curious. Passenger Ed Felt was calling from the toilet. He told Emergency dispatch supervisor Glen Cramer that that he heard an explosion and was seeing white smoke. The FBI confiscated the tape of that call and ordered Cramer to keep silent.

Two years ago, Donald Rumsfeld said the plane had been shot down.

So What?
What difference does it make if the Air Force shot down Flight 93? It was a decided threat and it would have been irresponsible not to shot it down. It is possible that the heroic "Let's roll" story had become established before the facts were known and it was officially decided not the let the truth get in the way of a good, patriotic fiction. Certainly, the Bush Administration has lied about more substantive matters than this. The truth would even make the government look a little better. They did something on that day, not just sit around with their collective thumbs up their noses.

People who know me know I love a good conspiracy theory but I won't wrap my life around them. For me this is just further proof our government lies reflexively. Every myth told to make America look good makes true stories of goodness and heroism less believable.

The Research List
Kiltown's comprehensive look.
What Really Happened.
A right-wing wacko proves conspiracy theorists are non-partisan.
Eight unanswered questions.
Think and Ask.
Accuracy in Media from December 2001.
A FAQ.
YBBS discussion.
Flight 93 crash.

tag:

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I don't think that there's any question that the plane was shot down. I also don't think that there's any question that we'll never know the whole truth, and I agree with you that it doesn't matter one bit, with the exception of how it reflects on our government's willingness to be truthful with us.