9/11 Commission records unsealed

[MikeW]

Why are their names there? Were they cited by WR? Wonder if they were perhaps inteviewed? If so, that might explain that the commission did not pay attention to Rodriguez's claims of explosions, associating them with the elevators instead.

They aren't listed in the Finder's Aid, so probably weren't interviewed by the Commission, at least. I don't see anything in the Rodriguez MFR that required the Commission to "pay attention", though. As the CNN footage shows, he initially associated what happened with the elevators, too.

 

[Gravy]

Thanks MikeW - that's an extremely valuable load of information. Going back to WR's MFR:


A couple of names caught my attention on the last manuscript page: Carmen and Arturo Griffith (although it appears to be spelled Griffin - I'm not good with handwriting though).

I can't post links yet (I even had to delete the link coming in MikeW's quote - will take some time to reach the 15 post mark necessary at this posting frequency) but many people probably know about the 911stories.googlepages.com site (maintained by Gravy, if I understand correctly).

Why are their names there? Were they cited by WR? Wonder if they were perhaps inteviewed? If so, that might explain that the commission did not pay attention to Rodriguez's claims of explosions, associating them with the elevators instead.

Rodriguez may have mentioned them as people he knew who were injured. I don't see why they would have been interviewed, as they were injured early on and didn't play a significant role in events. There was nothing unusual (for 9/11) about Rodriguez's account of explosions. They correspond to all the other accounts.

Does anyone have a clue about a MFR that accounts for this?

(from the 9/11 Commission, cited in the section called "Inside the North Tower: Witness Accounts, Plaza Level & Concourse Lobbies, Basements" of the 911stories web).

That's likely this MFR, which does not appear to be available. It was the only Port Authority first responder interview on 10/14/03, which is the interview date according to the Commission report footnotes. He issued an evacuation order for the complex before flight 175 hit, but it was only heard over certain PAPD radios. The radio transcripts don't identify the speakers unless they identify themselves, but I believe this was Captain (now Deputy Chief) Anthony Whitaker.

Edit: yes, it's Whitaker. "At the time of the attacks, Chief Whitaker was the police captain responsible for all Port Authority officers assigned to the World Trade Center. He played a major role in directing the evacuation of the complex after the attacks. He also narrowly escaped death by dodging a fireball of jet fuel that exploded from an elevator shaft." http://www.panynj.gov/abouttheportauthority/presscenter/pressreleases/PressRelease/index.php?id=260

"Whitaker saw a fireball burst through the front doors of the north tower. It chased some people, engulfed others." http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&star...3MS8Bg&usg=AFQjCNHSH8_OKdLtKa1-n3qkm-P9xNTSKQ

"When Flight 11 hit, he had been standing in front of a Banana Republic store in the enclosed shopping mall and concourse beneath the two towers, a spot he occupied four mornings a week and where thousands of people exiting the subways could see him. Whitaker had been stunned by a fireball that ran down an elevator shaft in the north tower." 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn, 2006. MacMillan, New York. p. 78

 

[MikeW]

I've just uploaded another new 9/11 Commission, the companion to Belger's interview from yesterday: it's the MFR of their interview with FAA administrator Jane Garvey.

Most of the interview deals with pre-9/11 things, security, awareness of terrorist threats and so on. But there are some interesting items from the day of 9/11, especially with regard to the Norman Mineta story.

So, for instance, Mineta says she left after the second crash: Garvey says it was after the first.

Mineta says he arrived at the White House PEOC at 9:20. However, Garvey seems to place this later, if a little ambiguously, by talking about what happened after the 4th crash and saying "Mineta and Flaherty had left for the White House by this time".

Mineta told the 9/11 Commission that "Mr. Flaherty reported to me that Jane Garvey had phoned to report that the CEO of Delta Airlines had called the FAA and said it could not yet account for all of its aircraft", and places this before he leaves for the PEOC, which would have to make it at around 9:10 at the latest (if he's to be there for 9:20). But Garvey reports "some concern... about a loss of communication with certain Delta flights" as happening "sometime between the Pentagon and Pennsylvania flights", another clue that his claimed 9:20 arrival time is incorrect.

If you sometimes get involved in discussions re: Mineta then you need this document, then - download it here.

 

[MikeW]

I've uploaded another new 9/11 Commission folder. This one includes useful FAA timelines constructed by Mike McCormick, as well as the FAA's Eastern Region Operations Centre Log for 9/11 (what they knew about hijacked planes and other threats, and when they knew it). If you're at all interested in the stand-down, FAA and NORAD debates then it's going to be very useful; but if you're not I'd give this a miss, as it's nothing more than a list saying "x happened at y time".

You'll find the document here (1.6 MB PDF).

 

[MikeW]

And let's have another new Commission record. This one includes:

• A Dulles Tower timeline describing the approach of Flight 77
• A statement from Victor Padgett of FAA Potomac TRACON describing what he saw and did just before the Pentagon attack
• An FAA press release of August 2002 containing a timeline of events (some times are incorrect)
• The ATC flight strips for Flight 11 (have we seen this before?)

If any of this sounds interesting then you'll find the 2.8 MB PDF file here.

 

[MikeW]

Finishing the day with the 9/11 Commission copy of Mike Woodwards notes, the ones he made of his conversation with Amy Sweeney on Flight 11. The folder also includes the transcript of a Primetime Thursday TV programme telling the story of the call.

I'm in two minds about posting this, because at one time the family did want to keep it private (there's a note to that effect in the file). The reality is it's now been made a public document, though, and I see nothing here that hasn't already been told by Woodward in various interviews. And as some people continue to deny that the calls were real, I think there's a case for making all the evidence available.

The folder mostly has a sad historical interest, then, but if you'd like a copy then look here (10.42 MB PDF file).

 

[Gravy]

Thanks for doing all this, Mike.

 

[Cheap Shot]

Mike, I have to concur with Gravy, I wish I had the time to get to the site, up until now I have only had the chance to browse it a little, keep up the good work.

 

[MikeW]

Thanks for the support, guys! I know these documents don't seem essential any more because truthers rarely want to argue the evidence anyway, so most people are bored with low-level research, but I still think the process of detailing what happened is an important one.

Cheap Shot - make time! Seriously, I'd value any input and thoughts you can offer.

 

[BCR]

Good work MikeW!

 

[MikeW]

I found time to squeeze in another, the 9/11 Commission documents relating to Honor Wainio in their "Flight 93 calls" folder. No revelations really, the only information relevant to our discussions here is an FBI interview saying she used an airfone, so this won't be worth the download to most people. But if you are interested then you'll find the document here (6 MB PDF file).

 

[MikeW]

Today's Commission document is one that contains the airfone records for all four flights. And in a readable form, too, not the reformatted garbage of that FBI printout I posted before. So this is a much more worthwhile folder, and I'd say grab it if you're at all interested in the "airfones or cellphones" debates. Download it here.

 

[T.A.M.]

Nice file except I think I need a phone company employee to translate the American Airlines Data...Russian to me.

TAM

For starters, I think the times are Mountain time, as they seem to be 2 hours behind.

 

[MikeW]

Nice file except I think I need a phone company employee to translate the American Airlines Data...Russian to me.

Skip to the last few pages for clearer summaries. (77 is missing, not sure if it's that way in the original file, or the pages just didn't make it to me.)

Also I do have a document that explains the terminology, I think. Probably should have posted that first! I'll try and find it for tomorrow.

 

[T.A.M.]

cool man. That would be helpful for this simple mind.

TAM

Edit: In terms of the summaries at the end, I only see UA flights.

 

[MikeW]

The good news - I found the explanations!

The bad news - they were for the other format of phone records, not these (sigh). So we'll have to make do with guessing for the moment. I'm just taking a look at the ground stations on some of the calls, for instance, see what that says about the location of the plane at the time.

 

[T.A.M.]

Based on comparing the moussaoui trial data with this pdf, I get the following:

Betty Ong's Call is Call#10 in the AA Flight 11 List:
------------
Call Started: 8:18:47 AM (EST)
Billing Started: 8:19:03 AM (EST)
Call Ended: 8:46:03 AM (EST) - Via Air Party (onboard) disconnect
Duration: 1620 seconds
Receiving #: 800-433-7300 (American Airlines - Charlotte)
Method of payment = AT&T CIID (891 Calling Card) Card#8440417162

The rest I cannot, on first scan, figure out.

TAM

 

[T.A.M.]

Madeline Sweeney's Connecting Calls are Call #'s 8,15,16 on the AA Flight 11 List

All of her Call Types were "Dial to Dial" as opposed to Ong's, which was Call Type="Free"

-----------
1st Call
Call Started: 8:25:20 AM (EST)
Billing Started: 8:26:00 AM (EST)
Call Ended: 8:27:47 AM (EST) Via Ground Party Disconnect
Duration: 107 seconds
Receiving #: 617-634-XXXX (American Airlines - Logan Airport)
Method of payment = NPT Card#8707936486

2nd Call
Call Started: 8:29:25 AM (EST)
Billing Started: 8:29:59 AM (EST)
Call Ended: 8:30:42 AM (EST) Via Air Party Disconnect
Duration: 43 seconds
Receiving #: 617-634-XXXX (American Airlines - Logan Airport)
Method of payment = NPT Card#8707936486

3rd Call
Call Started: 8:32:39 AM (EST)
Billing Started: 8:33:24 AM (EST)
Call Ended: 8:46:37 AM (EST) Via Air Party Disconnect
Duration: 793 seconds
Receiving #: 617-634-XXXX (American Airlines - Logan Airport)
Method of payment = NPT Card#8707936486


TAM

 

[MikeW]

I've just uploaded a particularly large file, and probably a more accessible one for most people: "Four Flights - Phone Calls and Other Data".

It's mostly about FBI interviews with people regarding the phone calls from Barbara Olson, Peter Hanson, an unnamed flight attendant, Renee May, Betty Ong, Amy Sweeny, CeeCee Lyles, Ed Felt, Mark Bingham, Marion Britton, Garnet Bailey, Linda Gronlund, and Thomas Burnett.

There's a quote the truthers can grab, too: the FAA's Dave Canoles characterises the last manoeuvres of Flight 175 and 77 as "indicative of piloting skills and extraordinary navigation skills".

Anyway, this file comes strongly recommended for anyone who might ever follow threads about the 9/11 phone calls, and you can download a copy here (25.6 MB PDF file).

 

[T.A.M.]

MikeW:

Interesting little tidbit I had never heard of before on page 20 of that document. One of the AA employees is interviewed, and makes comment that earlier that day (9/11/2001) she had received a call from a woman who complained that 2 days earlier, while her father was on board flight AA2076, his toiletries had been replaced with "switches and mechanisms", also seemingly described as "fuses", and that along with them was a 5 page arabic fax of Arabic text.

Maybe unrelated and just coincidence, but interesting none the less.

TAM