What The Holy Hell Is Going On?

[walrus]

All the planes were 757 or 767 which have the same flight deck. If you can fly one you can fly the other. NBC is saying that it takes a skilled pilot to fly a plane that big into a small target. We all know that the American pilots would not fly them into a building.Amazing that these guys hate us so much that they will kill themselves without any regard. They also report that one of the pilots was from New Hampshire. May all the victims rest in peace.

[REDMEN2002]

also, my mom told me that she heard reports that one of the pilots of one of the two planes that crashed into the WTC was born in Lowell, and lived in Dracut, MA. He left behind a family of which he was a father and husband.....

[petey23]

God Bless America.

I pray for everyone who has any lingering doubrt about the safety of loved ones.

If Bin Laden is responsible, we should give Afghanistan 36 hours to turn him over, if not we should look upon that refusal as an act of support of these attacks on their part and level them.

The thing with these people is that it is the few rotten million that spoil it for the other 11.

[Chuck Murray]

There's a news conference right now from Dracut MA on WMUR-TV9 which I think is the brother of the pilot.

[Section96]

Keep up the posts, people - the radio reception in our office is spotty at best, and my wife only calls me so often......outstanding efforts from all of you. I, for one, am taking my family to church this evening to pray for those who lost their lives, and to pray for wisdom and guidance for our elected leaders - whether we like them or not. They need our prayers now more than ever.

[Jim W]

Originally posted by walrus
They also report that one of the pilots was from New Hampshire.

According to WMUR it's Tom McGinnis of Stratham, NH. My prayers go out to his family and friends, and those of all the other victims today.

[Da Big Bad Cow]

Originally posted by Jim W


According to WMUR it's Tom McGinnis of Stratham, NH. My prayers go out to his family and friends, and those of all the other victims today.

theres a blurb about him and the whole incident at www.fosters.com ......i havent had any problems getting on there for info

[Scarlet]

I'm typing this with tears in my eyes right now. USHR just reported that former BU Terrier Mark Bavis, now a scout with the LA Kings was on Flight 11. May God rest his soul and those of all the other victims, and may whoever did this burn in hell.

[Craig P.]

Another update from another forum:
To quiet some of the rumors: a good friend of mine is in the travel business, and he has access to the latest reports from the airlines. I just got off the phone, and here's what he had to say:

All airliners which were in the air are now on the ground.

Only four airliners were hijacked, and they are the ones which were flown into the WTT, Pentagon and the Pennsylvania crash. All other reports of hijackings and aircraft crashes are apparently false, including the Camp David report.Which suggests that ultimately, NO aircraft were shot down. Presumably, the one that hit the Pentagon <em>should</em> have been and some people will be in serious trouble because it made it through.

[TA Jen]

Originally posted by walrus
All the planes were 757 or 767 which have the same flight deck. If you can fly one you can fly the other. NBC is saying that it takes a skilled pilot to fly a plane that big into a small target.

Thanks for clarifying the point; I guess I didn't explain well enough. Add also that not only did they have to be skilled enough pilots to fly a large plane into a relatively small building, but also skilled enough to hit the buildings right where they needed to collapse them. I wouldn't imagine that's a small feat.

Which emphasizes the other point I was trying to make about having to treat this with a heavy hand. Extremist groups are known for having members willing to die for their causes. Somehow I don't think sacrificing these members, either to death in the act or 'legal actions' later, is going to be enough to prevent this in the future. Those people are already willing to sacrifice; taking action against them will not be effective. The problem is, as put by someone on NPR just a few moments ago, is who do we retaliate against?!? With Pearl Harbor, it was obvious. Not so now. I don't have a solution; just a strong feeling that someone or something needs to be crushed.

[Chuck Murray]

IF-IF-IF Bin Laden is indeed linked to this attack ...

... there is NO middle ground. This is a despicable attack on the civilians of our country, and on free peoples across the world.

Afghanistan, Iraq, whomever ... in clear terms they need to know that Bin Laden and his crew will either be turned over, or we're coming in to get 'em. Give them 24 hrs. That's plenty of time, and will ensure that they understand the urgency of the situation.

If not - we start bombing. Fight fire with fire. This is war, pure and simple. Harboring known terrorists is the equivalent of being an accomplice to the act, and those responsible should also be held accountable. If they co-operate now, the "penalty" softens.

But there still needs to be some sort of retribution. Now more than ever, we need to demonstrate to the world that the price for this type of terrorism is nothing short of obliteration.

My profession is one steeped in negotiation, and I'm a proponent of negotiation in 95%+ of all situations we face daily. But there are times when nothing short of a show of blunt force is needed. And right now is very definitely one of those times.

There has never been a more clear example of a heinous act that deserves the full force of peaceful people across the world.

I'm going back to the tube ... no way this situation is a McVeigh-type domestic operation ... :(:(

[TA Jen]

Would someone please explain to me why the Japanese crashing planes into Pearl Harbor is an 'act of war' and whoever crashing planes into the WTC and the freakin' Pentagon is 'terrorism'?

Excuse me, but as Chuck said, this is not Timothy McVeigh---this is god**** war.

On a calmer note, is there anyone around who was old enough to remember Pearl Harbor? My mom was only three, and my only surviving family member older than that is not with it enough. I'm curious to know if there was the same sense of 'everything will be normal in a couple days' that I'm getting in response to suggesting that the chances of my mother actually returning to Detroit from St. Louis by air on Sunday are slim to none. Maybe back then, people were primed because of the war going on around them; I don't know. I'm just a little thrown by how everyone seems to think life will be normal in a couple days.

Very sorry to hear about Mr. Bavis.

[Chuck Murray]

Originally posted by Scarlet
I'm typing this with tears in my eyes right now. USHR just reported that former BU Terrier Mark Bavis, now a scout with the LA Kings was on Flight 11. May God rest his soul and those of all the other victims, and may whoever did this burn in hell.

May God rest his soul. My prayers go out to his family and many friends throughout the college hockey community ...

[Da Big Bad Cow]

the free-lance video shot by the man being interviewed on abc right now is just incredibly devastating.....i cant even imagine.......


awful news about bavis.....and the other thousands involved

[gophergutz]

the only good that can come out of this is heigtened security measures in protecting U.S. soil. more money will be allocated to intelligence as i predict congress will pass some bill ......"WTC ACT for Defense" (an example)

people may think missile defense is a big joke, but it has underlying significance. it may not be the right thing to do, but has its points as many people were awaken too today.

we do need to act with authority, in other words open up a can of woop *****. bush must not sit on his dick like clinton did with the uss cole.

[Jim W]

Right on TA Jen, and we need to stop worrying about what the "world reaction" is to our retaliations. ***** them. We need to take care of whoever is connected, in any way, to this. If that means bombing Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Lybia, etc., then so be it. If anyone has a problem with that, they can stick it up their as<i></i>ses.

[Craig P.]

but also skilled enough to hit the buildings right where they needed to collapse them. I wouldn't imagine that's a small feat.There's nothing all that special about where to hit them... just about anywhere dead-center and not all the way up at the top would have a pretty good chance. I suspect if they'd hit lower down, the casualties would have been much higher. As it was, there weren't that many floors above the ones that took the impact, and there was a not insignificant period of time in which to evacuate before the supports on the damaged floors gave out.

Incidentally, if you haven't seen the footage, I saw it for one of them (don't recall which one) - the part above the impact dropped straight down as the supports failed, and the rest was unable to handle the force. It all went straight down, no tippage at all. Under the circumstances, probably the best possible outcome, I'd hate to think what might have happened had either of them tipped over, or had the pieces above the impact points fallen off.

[RoyalTea]

as a federal employee who lives within a mile of the pentagon, i am truly at a loss for words.

america can not look the other way this time.

the images of the palestinians celebrating on the streets may be even more disturbing and frightening than the image of the world trade center collapsing. this is absolutely sickening.

[Da Big Bad Cow]

they just reported on abc that earlier today a korean air lines plane was forced down by US and Canadian forces in Canada and then stormed by those troops when the plane landed...they didnt have any other details


that may be old news but that was the first i had heard of it

[petey23]

There have also been rumors that a plane leaving from Canada heading to a U.S. destination(not sure where) was told to land in Grand Forks and is now being searched after dogs detected "hotspots" within the plane----just rumour at this point.