Did F77 hit the Pentagon? Eyewitness accounts examined.
[ Original page source for all 13 postings: http://hamilton.indymedia.org:8081/front.php3?article_id=1786&group=webcast ] T: I tried the original link but was not succesful, it is becoming history
by Gerard Holmgren
2:00am Mon Jun 17 '02 (Modified on 2:19am Mon May 5 '03)
Examines the apparent contradiction between photographic evidence and eyewitness evidence.
http://www.911dossier.co.uk/pen07.html has an anlysis of several witness accounts with maps ect, about Mike Walter I just found this:
"'I mean it was like a cruise missile with wings, went right there and slammed into the Pentagon,' eyewitness Mike Walter said of the plane that hit the military complex. 'Huge explosion, great ball of fire, smoke started billowing out, and then it was just chaos on the highway as people either tried to move around the traffic and go down either forward or backwards,' he said."
- "Witnesses and Leaders on Terrorist Attacks"
http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/attack.in.their.words/
CNN, 11 Sep 2001
A check of the original transcript ( 4.58 pm) shows that Walter does refer to seeing an American Airlines jet. His only quote with regard to the collision was the section quoted above. He doesn't actually say that he saw it slam into the Pentagon, but that might be what he meant. We can't tell from this quote, but we should be able to find plenty of media references to his testimony, because by an extraordinary coincidence, Mike Walter also happens to work for "USA today."
Bloomberg news reported on Sept 11 at 3.26 pm and again at 4.23 pm (so this interview is the earliest record of a Mike Walter statement, preceding the CNN quote by about 80 minutes)
Mike Walter, of USA Today, watched the plane descend as he was stuck in traffic. "I said 'that plane is really flying low,"' he said in an interview. "It disappeared and I heard the explosion and saw a ball of fire. It was an American Airlines plane. You saw a big silver plane and those double A's."
So in his first interview he clearly states that he did not see the collision.
The press association reported
Eyewitness Mike Walter, a journalist, said he had seen the flight crash as he drove to work.
"It was like a Cruise missile with wings," he said.
"I saw parts of the plane. The debris was on the overpass. I saw these military units run out with stretchers and set up a triage."
As we have already established, Walter has not actually made any statement to the effect that he saw the plane hit the Pentagon. This report has nothing to change that, but paraphrases in such a way that this misleading impression is conveyed.
On sept 12, the Baltimore Sun referred to Walter and but only quoted "I saw a big ball of fire". The same day the Boston Globe reported
Mike Walter, a reporter with USA Today, was stuck in traffic during his commute to work, listening to the radio reports of the World Trade Center catastrophe when he saw the American Airlines jetliner fly over too low and too fast. Still it took him several moments to realize what was about to happen. "At first it didn't register," he said. "I see planes coming into National [airport] all the time. But it was so low."
He watched the plane pass over a hill separating him from the Pentagon and disappear. Then the boom and the flames climbing into the air.
Again, an explicit statement that he did not see the collision, although this time stated by commentary, not Walter himself.
Also on Sept 12, The Milwaulkee Sentinel Journal quoted "It was typical morning rush hour, and no one was moving. I said to myself, that plane is really low. Then it disappeared and I heard the explosion and saw the fireball."
The Washington Times of Sept 12 picked up the CNN quote, almost word for word (without sourcing it) but added that Walter was on his way to work at "USA today's television operation". So where is USA today's TV report, featuring Mike Walter?
So all the interviews which Walter gave on Sept 11 clearly indicated that he did not see the collision. What did he say on Sept 12?
On Sept 12 6.00am ET, Bryant Gumbel from CBS interviewed Walter. Mr. MIKE WALTER (Witness): Good morning, Bryant. GUMBEL: I know we spoke earlier, but obviously, some folks are just joining us. Take us through what you saw yesterday morning.
Mr. WALTER: Well, as--as we pointed out earlier, Bryant, I was on an elevated area of Highway 27 and I had a very good view. I was stuck in traffic. We weren't moving and--and I could see over in the distance the American Airlines jet as it kind of banked around, pivoted and then took a steep dive right into the Pentagon. There was no doubt in my mind watching this that whoever was at the controls knew exactly what he was doing. It was full impact, a huge fireball, thick column of smoke and, you know, pandemonium after that. I mean, bedlam. Everyone was trying to escape the area; people very, very frightened.
GUMBEL: Did you see it hit the Pentagon? Was the plane coming in horizontally or did it, in fact, go on its wing as--as it impacted the building?
Mr. WALTER: You know, the--the--the--there were trees there that kind of obstructed it, so I kind of--I saw it go in. I'm not sure if it turned at an angle. I've heard some people say that's what it did. All I know is it--it created a huge explosion and massive fireball and--and you knew instantaneously that--that everybody on that plane was dead. It was completely eviscerated.
And from the same show
GUMBEL: Tell me, if you could, about the manner in which the--the plane struck the building. I ask that because, in the pictures we have seen, it appears to be a gash in the side of the Pentagon as if the plane went in vertically as opposed to horizontally. Can you tell me anything about that?
Mr. WALTER: Well, as I said, you know, there were trees obstructing my view, so I saw it as it went--and then the--then the trees, and then I saw the--the fireball and the smoke. Some people have said that the plane actually sent on its side and in that way. But I can't tell you, Bryant. I just know that what I saw was this massive fireball, a huge explosion and--and a--the thick column of smoke and then an absolute bedlam on those roads as people were trying to get away. I mean, some people were going on the emergency lanes, and they were going forward while others were trying to back up. But one woman in front of me was in a panic and waving everyone back, saying, 'Back up. Back up. They've just hit the Pentagon.' It was--it was total chaos.
Walter spoke to NBC at 7.00 ET the same day Mr. MIKE WALTER (Eyewitness): It kind of disappeared over this embankment here for a moment and then a huge explosion, flames flying into the air, and--and just chaos on the road.
So, on Tuesday afternoon, Walter was explicitly stating that he did not see the collision. It seems that he had a think about it overnight, and at 6.00 on wednesday morning, confidently told Bryant Gumbel that he had, but was so flustered by the simple question of whether he actually saw it hit the Pentagon, and what angle the plane was on, that he immediately backed off preferring to concentrate on the fireball and the panic, and by the time he spoke to NBC an hour later, had retreated to his earlier story that he didn't see the collision.
This is why eyewitnesses must be identifiable and available for questioning. It also demonstrates why extensive interviews carry more weight than short quotes which can't be subject to critical scrutiny. Who would have guessed the tangled mess of Walter's statements, if they had only seen this quoted ?
I had a very good view. I was stuck in traffic. We weren't moving and--and I could see over in the distance the American Airlines jet as it kind of banked around, pivoted and then took a steep dive right into the Pentagon. There was no doubt in my mind watching this that whoever was at the controls knew exactly what he was doing. It was full impact...
And let's take a closer look at this statement, made to Gumbel.
"I was on an elevated area of Highway 27 and I had a very good view. I was stuck in traffic."
An hour later he contradicted this with "It kind of disappeared over this embankment here for a moment "
But if the 6.00 statement was true, then lots of other people, stuck in the same traffic, should also have had a very good view. So presumably there should be plenty of other eyewitnesses who saw it " as it kind of banked around, pivoted and then took a steep dive right into the Pentagon." Keep this in mind as the search continues.
I searched about 100 more media reports of Mike Walter,and couldn't find anything different. Incredibly, I couldn't find a single interview with him or reference to him on USA today. This account is too confused and contradictory to have any credibility, and he explicitly stated several times, including his earliest statement, that he did not see the collision. On the one occasion when he changed this, he backed off under questioning. Mike Walter does not qualify as an eyewitness to a large passenger jet hitting the Pentagon.
