I was going to post some eyewitness testimony from a terrific site that I don't think has been mentioned in this forum -- the Marriot Hotel Survivors site -- to show that there were many people who saw the second plane hit the towers.
http://www.sept11marriottsurvivors.org/survivors_stories.phpFunny thing is, the first witness statement I opened, by James Caleca, says he did not see a plane, and if I am going to be fair, I guess I have to post information that actually goes against my own conviction, as someone who was in lower Manhattan on 9/11, that planes hit the towers:
http://www.sept11marriottsurvivors.org/survivors_stories.php?storyfile=JamesCalecaI was attending a seminar on the 3rd floor of the Marriott at the time. When the first plane struck the North Tower it shook violently and felt like an earthquake accompanied by a loud deep boom. I leaned back in my chair and could see a huge ball of flame and debris falling. I told everyone that we needed to get out immediately and we left the room and took the stairway down to the lobby. After exiting through the Marriott lounge doors onto Liberty St. I went across from the WTC at an angle that allowed me a view of both towers. I was absolutely stunned and horrified by the sight of the tower on fire and instinctively began thinking that I had to get out of Manhattan before things got worse. My first inclination was that I believed a bomb had exploded and as I tried to call my wife and my office I overheard a passerby say that a plane had hit the building. This gave me a tiny bit of relief thinking that maybe it was, in fact, an accident. This minor relief was immediately replaced with additional horror from the sight of bodies falling from the WTC.
As I stood in shock at the unbelievable sight before me I witnessed the attack on the second tower. My horror turned into an indescribable terror at the instant realization that this was a deliberate act.
From my perspective at street level the second plane looked like a cruise missile to me and I thought that the United States was under attack. It was traveling so fast and slammed into the building with such force that I did not see the wings of the jetliner. I immediately turned and ran towards Battery Park. While repeatedly trying to reach my wife and my office I tried to think of how I could get out of Manhattan. I knew that if I could reach New Jersey, that I could rent a car and drive home. My only focus was getting to my family and I didn't yet know that it was two planes that had caused this carnage.
When I reached Battery Park
I heard someone say that it was a plane that hit the second tower and I challenged them that it was a missile. They said that they had seen the plane themselves. I was sick to think that this was a terrorist act and within minutes heard on a radio that the Pentagon had been hit as well. My despair and fear grew. I didn't know anyone in New York and kept thinking that the situation was only going to get worse. I asked someone how to get out of the city and was told that all bridges and were closed and that the ferry boats were not running. I did learn that the ferry boats departed from right near there and made my way towards that area.
Within 10-15 minutes a ferry boat arrived and I was fortunate enough to make it on. As I was boarding I heard a loud rumbling noise and realized that it was getting very smoky. As the boat began to pull away from the dock it was completely engulfed in smoke and dust from, what I later realized, was the collapse of the first tower. While it was very difficult to breath, it was nothing compared to what everyone that did not make that first ferry boat had to endure. Nor was it as uncomfortable as it must have been for anyone in closer proximity to the disaster
<end quote>
I post this at the risk of feeding the "no plane" theories. In fact the majority of the stories by people who witnessed the second hit confirm that there was a plane that hit the south tower. But my point really is that in the chaos and terror of the moment people perceived completely different things.
For example, Denise Campbell says she saw the plane:
http://www.sept11marriottsurvivors.org/survivors_stories.php?storyfile=DeniseCampbellThe alarm I woke to was much different than that to which I am routinely roused out of bed each morning. I jolted out of bed at the moment the first plane hit tower one and immediately thought I had brought the trend of Richter breaking earthquakes with me from LA. I quickly grabbed my flip-flops out of my suitcase and picked up my purse. My heart was pounding but I was annoyed, not fearful at this time. I started out the door but knew I should call my parents so I stepped into the bathroom and just pulled the cell phone out of the charger and ran. Shoes and purse in hand I got to the stairwell and only noticed a few people following me down. The alarms had just started going off so people were slowly coming out of rooms and down the hall. We started down the stairs with a few people but by the time we got to the ground level there were probably 30 people on their way out together. The Marriott staff were lined up and were telling us in a firm tone to hurry outside due to an accident.
It wasn't until I stepped outside the building (we exited at tower two) that I realized there was glass everywhere. I put my shoes on and looked ahead and noticed people on the other side of the street staring above and behind me. Then, I turned to the right and saw the first building on fire. The uniformed men signaled for our group to run across the street. As we started running and my fear starting setting in the man in uniform screamed "don't look up, run" and then ran himself. A huge noise came--we ran across the street.
That was when I heard and saw the second plane hit the building directly above where I was standing. There was concrete evidence that my fear was justified. I started shaking terribly. I can't explain the explosion--other than comparing it to a human fireball. People screaming, the sound of enormous breakage, the smell of smoke. Absolutely terrifying.
Everyone was stunned. It seemed like minutes however I'm sure it was just seconds that the hundreds of people in the street were frozen, all staring up at two burning buildings. This is when we, a frightened group of strangers, all witnessed the people jumping out of buildings afire and falling to their death. A uniform sigh of terror came from the crowds as people jumped alone, in groups--such an unimaginable sight to see. Some speculate that these people were too hot to withstand the fire on the upper floors of the towers. Whatever the case, it was awful to witness. Debris from the plane and building started hurling in all directions.
I ran towards the water. My instinct led me to do so.
As I ran a man beside me lost his right arm to a flying piece of building or plane. He screamed and fell behind. I did not stop. I couldn't. People were falling down due to injury and possibly to their death. The pieces of building were flying everywhere. You couldn't tell who was hurt or dead. I was afraid. I covered my head with my purse. People were grabbing each other. I grabbed people and people grabbed me. I'm not quite sure why but I held hands with a few strangers in those brief moments. I was screaming. Everyone was screaming. I ran.
<end quote>
At any rate, it is a very moving site. Please try to read the stories and download them, because over time many of the links are disappearing.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
