Indian Lake
CLAIM: "Residents and workers at businesses outside Shanksville, Somerset
County, reported discovering clothing, books, papers and what appeared to be
human remains," states a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article dated Sept. 13,
2001. "Others reported what appeared to be crash debris floating in Indian
Lake, nearly 6 miles from the immediate crash scene." Commenting on reports
that Indian Lake residents collected debris, Think AndAsk.com speculates:
"On Sept. 10, 2001, a strong cold front pushed through the area, and behind
it--winds blew northerly. Since Flight 93 crashed west-southwest of Indian
Lake, it was impossible for debris to fly perpendicular to wind direction.
... The FBI lied." And the significance of widespread debris? Theorists
claim the plane was breaking up before it crashed. TheForbiddenKnowledge.com
states bluntly: "Without a doubt, Flight 93 was shot down."
FACT: Wallace Miller, Somerset County coroner, tells PM no body parts were
found in Indian Lake. Human remains were confined to a 70-acre area directly
surrounding the crash site. Paper and tiny scraps of sheetmetal, however,
did land in the lake. "Very light debris will fly into the air, because of
the concussion," says former National Transportation Safety Board
investigator Matthew McCormick. Indian Lake is less than 1.5 miles southeast
of the impact crater--not 6 miles--easily within range of debris blasted
skyward by the heat of the explosion from the crash. And the wind that day
was northwesterly, at 9 to 12 mph, which means it was blowing from the
northwest--toward Indian Lake.
Map by International Mapping
F-16 Pilot
CLAIM: In February 2004, retired Army Col. Donn de Grand-Pre said on "The
Alex Jones Show," a radio talk show broadcast on 42 stations: "It [Flight
93] was taken out by the North Dakota Air Guard. I know the pilot who fired
those two missiles to take down 93." LetsRoll911.org, citing de Grand-Pre,
identifies the pilot: "Major Rick Gibney fired two Sidewinder missiles at
the aircraft and destroyed it in midflight at precisely 0958."
FACT: Saying he was reluctant to fuel debate by responding to
unsubstantiated charges, Gibney (a lieutenant colonel, not a major) declined
to comment. According to Air National Guard spokesman Master Sgt. David
Somdahl, Gibney flew an F-16 that morning--but nowhere near Shanksville. He
took off from Fargo, N.D., and flew to Bozeman, Mont., to pick up Ed Jacoby
Jr., the director of the New York State Emergency Management Office. Gibney
then flew Jacoby from Montana to Albany, N.Y., so Jacoby could coordinate
17,000 rescue workers engaged in the state's response to 9/11. Jacoby
confirms the day's events. "I was in Big Sky for an emergency managers
meeting. Someone called to say an F-16 was landing in Bozeman. From there we
flew to Albany." Jacoby is outraged by the claim that Gibney shot down
Flight 93. "I summarily dismiss that because Lt. Col. Gibney was with me at
that time. It disgusts me to see this because the public is being misled.
More than anything else it disgusts me because it brings up fears. It brings
up hopes--it brings up all sorts of feelings, not only to the victims'
families but to all the individuals throughout the country, and the world
for that matter. I get angry at the misinformation out there."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
REPORTING: Benjamin Chertoff, Davin Coburn, Michael Connery, David Enders,
Kevin Haynes, Kristin Roth, Tracy Saelinger, Erik Sofge and the editors of
POPULAR MECHANICS.
PHOTOGRAPHY RESEARCH: Sarah Shatz.
SOURCES: For a list of experts consulted during the preparation of this
article, click here.
PM consulted more than 300 experts and organizations in its investigation
into 9/11 conspiracy theories. The following were particularly helpful.
Air Crash Analysis
Cleveland Center regional air traffic control
Bill Crowley special agent, FBI
Ron Dokell president, Demolition Consultants
Richard Gazarik staff writer, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Yates Gladwell pilot, VF Corp.
Michael K. Hynes, Ed.D.,
ATP, CFI, A&P/IA president, Hynes Aviation Services; expert, aviation
crashes
Ed Jacoby Jr. director,
New York State Emergency Management Office (Ret.); chairman, New York State
Disaster Preparedness Commission (Ret.)
Johnstown-Cambria County Airport Authority
Cindi Lash staff writer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Matthew McCormick manager, survival factors division, National
Transportation Safety Board (Ret.)
Wallace Miller coroner, Somerset County, PA
Robert Nagan meteorological technician, Climate Services Branch, National
Climatic Data Center
Dave Newell director, aviation and travel, VF Corp.
James O¹Toole politics editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pennsylvania State Police Public Information Office
Jeff Pillets senior writer,
The Record, Hackensack, NJ
Jeff Rienbold director, Flight 93 National Memorial, National Park Service
Dennis Roddy staff writer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Master Sgt. David Somdahl public affairs officer,
119th Wing, North Dakota
Air National Guard
Mark Stahl photographer; eyewitness, United Airlines Flight 93 crash scene
Air Defense
Lt. Col. Skip Aldous (Ret.) squadron commander,
U.S. Air Force
Tech. Sgt. Laura Bosco public affairs officer,
Tyndall Air Force Base
Boston Center regional air traffic control
Laura Brown spokeswoman,
Federal Aviation Administration
Todd Curtis, Ph.D. founder, Airsafe.com; president, Airsafe.com Foundation
Keith Halloway public affairs officer, National Transportation Safety Board
Ted Lopatkiewicz director, public affairs, National Transportation Safety
Board
Maj. Douglas Martin public affairs officer,
North American Aerospace Defense Command
Lt. Herbert McConnell public affairs officer,
Andrews AFB
Michael Perini public affairs officer, North American Aerospace Defense
Command
John Pike director, GlobalSecurity.org
Hank Price spokesman, Federal
Aviation Administration
Warren Robak RAND Corp.
Bill Shumann spokesman,
Federal Aviation Administration
Louis Walsh public affairs officer, Eglin AFB
Chris Yates aviation security editor, analyst, Jane¹s Transport
Aviation
Fred E.C. Culick, Ph.D., S.B., S.M. professor of aeronautics, California
Institute of Technology
Robert Everdeen public affairs, Northrop Grumman
Clint Oster professor of public and environmental affairs, Indiana
University; aviation safety expert
Capt. Bill Scott (Ret. USAF) Rocky Mountain bureau chief, Aviation Week
And More. Now can we get back to the problems of Democracy in the real
world? Avis
New Pacifica Working Group
http://www.egroups.com/group/NewPacifica
'Save Our Stations!'
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewPacifica/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
NewPacifica-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/