No trace of Flight 93

Claim

There is absolutely no evidence of a plane crash at the Pennsylvania location.

Background

This claim was made on 911facts.dk’s Facebook debate page on 15 May 2021 by the user Matthew Maguire, who, according to his information on Facebook, also calls himself “Last Prophet”, lives in Caseyville, Illinois, USA, and has studied at St. Matthew High School in Ottawa, Canada and works as “Jesus Christ”. ⁰

In its entirety, the post with the claim looks like this:

”Where should we start? How about there is absolutely no evidence of a plane crash at the Pennsylvania location well except what was given to the court which was a passport a bandanna and a box cutter. Everything else like wheels, engines, wings, tail section,seats, human remains or even blood. Nothing there. i will continue when you answer these instances one at a time.”¹

Facts

There are plenty of remains from Flight 93’s crash, which took place in the United States on September 11, 2001, at 10.03 a.m. local time on a field in Stoneycreek Township near Shanksville in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, approximately 240 km northwest of Washington D.C.²

Debris

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is usually responsible for the investigation of plane crashes in the United States and is regularly assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). However, in case of a suspected crime in relation to the crash, the roles are swapped with the FBI leading the investigation while the NTSB assists.³

According to the FBI, thousands of pieces of debris from the plane were found and collected at the crash site. Most of the pieces are not very large, but several are recognizable. ⁴

Quite a few of the photos of the debris have even been published, primarily during the subsequent lawsuit against the so-called 20th hijacker, Zacharias Moussaoui.⁵

95% of the debris found have since been handed over to the owner of the plane, United Airlines, and a few pieces have been put on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. ⁶

As the plane collided with the ground at about 900 km/h, it was ripped into small and larger pieces⁸, many of the latter plunging deep into the ground forming a 12 meter wide impact crater, while others – the smallest parts – spread over a larger area. Some were even carried several kilometers by the wind, as described in more detail in this article: “Flight 93 was shot down. Nevertheless, rather large and easily recognizable pieces of debris from an aircraft have been recovered, e.g. this part of the fuselage:

A number of smaller but recognizable items have also been recovered, including personal belongings and the crew’s logbooks.⁹

Black boxes

Among the debris, both of the plane’s black boxes were found in a condition where it was possible to access both the plane’s technical data and the sound recordings from the cockpit.

Body remains, DNA and dental records

Also found were remains of all the passengers, including the hijackers at the crash site.¹⁴ Not surprisingly, the remains were shattered, as most skeletal and tissue parts were almost consumed in the violent heat caused by the plane colliding with the ground. The largest piece of human remains was a spine joint.¹⁵ However, the parts were large enough for DNA to be identified from everyone on board and thus in combination with sets of teeth confirm each person’s identity. The hijackers’ DNA was identified by the exclusion method. The bodies of the passengers and crew have been handed over to the relatives so they could have something to bury.¹⁶ The hijackers’ body parts have been handed over to the FBI.¹⁷

Passenger manifests

It is standard practice on all commercial flights worldwide to keep accurate lists of everyone aboard, including passengers. In the event of a plane crash, the passenger manifests are crucial documentation, confirming or denying victims and missing persons, e.g., if they have disappeared at sea.

The passenger lists were used for this on all four hijacked aircraft ¹⁸, but also to identify the hijackers, a fairly simple investigative task given the hijackers were the only people on the four planes who could be linked together. This process is described in more detail here: The hijackers were identified too quickly.

Radar data and air traffic communication

The authorities have published radar data and transcripts of the communication ¹⁹ between the cockpit of the aircraft and the air traffic control in the area. Coupled with flight data from one of the plane’s two black boxes, the so-called Flight Data Recorder, Flight 93’s route and maneuvers have been completely mapped from start to finish.²⁰

Weapons

The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) reports that they found 14 knives and parts of knives at the crash site, including a box cutter²¹ and a knife hidden in a cigarette lighter.²² Some of the passengers stated in telephone calls made from the plane that one of the hijackers had a bomb attached to his body. However, no trace of explosives was found at the crash site.²¹

Missing aircraft

United Airlines is missing their aircraft with registration number N591UA, which is of the type Boeing 757-222, which is identical to the registration that the NTSB made during their investigation of the accident, before the case was handed over to the FBI.²³

Relatives

The relatives of the 40 innocent people on board are missing their loved ones and have witnessed the burials of their earthly remains. Among them, the airline also is missing the two pilots and five cabin crew members. The 40 people and their efforts in the fight against the terrorists are commemorated and honored, among other things in a national memorial, Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, built in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, not far from the crash site.^{24, 25}

Witnesses

Several witnesses saw Flight 93 crash, and their testimonies are preserved. ²⁶

Add to this the many investigators and rescuers who arrived at the crash site shortly after, together with a number of journalists and other representatives of the media²⁷ as well as the 400 volunteers who helped.²⁸

Photos

A number of photos were taken shortly after the crash and in connection with the rescue and investigation work.

Video

One video was recorded shortly after the crash, and a number of videos have been recorded at the crash site in connection with the rescue work and media coverage.

Phone calls

37 phone calls were made by 13 people aboard Flight 93 after the hijacking. 35 of the calls were made via so-called air phones, which were mounted on the back of the last nine rows of seats. These calls have subsequently provided important information about what was going on. Not only do they confirm the hijacking itself; we have also learned that the hijackers used knives, that they forced their way into the cockpit, that they might have had a bomb, that they wore red bandannas, that the passengers were forced to the back of the plane, that at least one passenger was stabbed to death, that two people lay lifeless on the floor, presumably the captain and co-pilot, and that a member of the cabin crew was killed.²⁹

The press and other media

Newspapers and media from around the world have described the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including Flight 93, in countless articles from virtually every angle. ³⁰ In addition, countless books have been written and documentaries have been film based on facts about Flight 93.³¹

Summary

In other words, there is a considerably large and varied amount of evidence of Flight 93. The authorities have even published far more evidence from this the case than they would normally do in criminal cases.

Logic

The claim that there is no evidence of Flight 93 contradicts another claim from the Truth Movement and its allies, namely that Flight 93 was shot down. That claim is based on the fact that there were indeed debris from the aircraft, which the claim in this article says was not the case. Both claims cannot be true at the same time.

Even if the claim did not contradict another claim, it is still unlikely, because if it were true, it would involve an insurmountable coverup. It would include thousands of people such as relatives, rescuers, investigators, and authorities who would be lying and acting and continue to do so after all these years.

Conclusion

In the light of facts and logic, the claim is thus:

• Not true
• In contradiction with other claims
• Unlikely

Sources

0. Matthew Maguire(Last Prophet)
1. Facebook thread
2. United Airlines Flight 93, Wikipedia
3. The NTSB and Parallel Law Enforcement Investigations, Holland & Knight
4. Frequently Asked Questions, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
5. United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui, Criminal No. 01-455-A, Prosecution Trial Exhibits, Phase 1
6. The Logbook From Flight 93, Smithsonian Magazine
7. Flight 93, The Fourth Jet Commandeered on September 11th, 911research.wtc7.net
8. Airplane fragments, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
9. Flight 93 crew material, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
10. Flight Data Recorder, National Transportation Safety Board
11. NTSB (accidents)
12. Cockpit Voice Recorder, transcript.
13. Ziad Jarrah, YouTube
14. At a 9/11 Site, a ‘Last Funeral’, The New York Times
15. On Hallowed Ground, The Age
16. Flight 93 Remains Returned, CBS News
17. 9/11 terrorists’ remains are turned over to FBI, DeseretNews
18. Passenger manifest
19. United Airlines Flight 93 Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript
20. Flight Path Study – United Airlines Flight 93, National Transportation Safety Board
21. Frequently Asked Questions, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
22. Revised 9/11 Report Reveals New Details, Fox News
23. Factual Report Aviation, National Transportation Safety Board
24. Factual Report Aviation, National Transportation Safety Board
25. Flight 93 National Memorial, Wikipedia
26. Flight Path and Witness Locations, Friends of Flight 93
27. Investigation of United Flight 93, FBI
28. Flight 93 Remains Returned. CBS News
29. Phone Calls from the Passengers and Crew of Flight 93, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
30. United Airlines Flight 93, The New York Times
    George W. Bush: Jeg troede, de havde skudt flight 93 ned på min ordre, Politiken

31. Flight 93, IMDB.com

Q & A