Unseen Cameras: Pentagon On 9/11

On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, killing 189 people. The Defense Department released footage of the crash, recorded by Pentagon security cameras, in May 2006. The footage shows a thin white blur skimming close to the ground before slamming into the Pentagon, followed by a white flash, a huge orange fireball, and a tower of gray-black smoke. This official release aimed to address conspiracy theories and honor the memory of the victims. While some claimed that the footage showed no evidence of plane debris, this was proven false, as the full footage and photographic evidence confirmed the presence of small aircraft pieces at the crash site.

The Pentagon released footage of the attack to the public in 2006

On May 16, 2006, the Pentagon released footage of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the Pentagon, recorded by security cameras outside the building. The video was released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by Judicial Watch, a public interest group, in December 2004.

The video shows a thin white blur, which is the plane, skimming close to the ground before slamming into the Pentagon at ground level. This is followed by a white flash, a huge orange fireball, and a tower of grey-black smoke. One of the videos also shows a Pentagon police car heading towards the impact point shortly after the crash.

The footage was previously withheld by the government, citing concerns that it might taint the jury pool in the sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, a confessed 9/11 conspirator. However, after the trial concluded, the Pentagon released the video to the public, and it can be found on their website.

The release of the footage aimed to dispel conspiracy theories and honour the memory of the victims. While the video is distressing to watch, as stated by Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, it provides important evidence of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The footage showed a thin white blur skimming the ground before hitting the Pentagon

On May 16, 2006, the Defense Department released video footage of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the Pentagon during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The video, recorded by Pentagon security cameras, was made public following a Freedom of Information Act request by Judicial Watch, a public interest group.

The attack set off fires in a portion of the Pentagon and resulted in the tragic loss of 189 lives, including 125 people inside the building, and the 59 passengers and crew on the plane. The five men who hijacked the plane at Dulles International Airport were also killed.

The release of the Pentagon footage addressed long-standing conspiracy theories surrounding the events of 9/11. Some had claimed that no airplane debris was found at the Pentagon, and that it was not American Airlines Flight 77 that hit the building. However, the footage, along with eyewitness accounts and photographic evidence, confirmed the presence of plane debris at the crash site.

The video provided a critical piece of evidence, dispelling rumours and honouring the memory of the victims. By making the footage public, the Defense Department took a significant step towards transparency and ensuring an accurate historical record of the tragic events of that day.

The plane was travelling at an estimated 530 mph when it crashed into the building

The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people, including those on board Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, who heroically fought back against their hijackers. The Pentagon attack in particular, which occurred at 9:37 a.m., stands out as a tragic and devastating incident that left an indelible mark on the nation's history.

The Defense Department released video footage from Pentagon security cameras, providing a glimpse into the harrowing events of that day. The images, made public in May 2006, depict the American Airlines Flight 77 aircraft as a thin white blur, moving swiftly towards the military headquarters building. The plane was travelling at an estimated 530 mph when it crashed into the southwest side of the Pentagon, creating a white flash and an immense orange fireball upon impact. The resulting explosion generated a towering column of gray-black smoke, signalling the catastrophic nature of the event.

The sheer speed of the plane, coupled with its estimated velocity of 530 mph, contributed to the extensive damage and loss of life caused by the impact. The force of the collision not only set off fires in the Pentagon but also resulted in the tragic deaths of 125 individuals inside the building, as well as the 59 passengers and crew on board, and the five hijackers. The attack's impact extended beyond the immediate physical destruction, as it left emotional scars on those who lost loved ones and witnessed the horrific event.

The release of the Pentagon video footage was significant in addressing conspiracy theories and honouring the memory of the victims. Despite previous leaks and circulation of the video on the internet, the official release by the Defense Department aimed to provide transparency and clarity to the public. The video's availability on the Pentagon's website allowed a wider audience, including family members of the victims, to access and analyse the footage, contributing to a more informed understanding of the events of 9/11.

The plane's velocity, estimated at 530 mph, underscores the severity and impact of the attack on the Pentagon. The speed at which the aircraft travelled contributed to the magnitude of the collision, resulting in extensive damage, fires, and loss of life. The release of the video footage, with its clear depiction of the plane's velocity, serves as a stark reminder of the tragic events of that fateful day.

189 people were killed in the attack, including 59 passengers and crew

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, were the deadliest in human history, causing the deaths of 2,996 people, including the 19 hijackers. The attacks were orchestrated by terrorists linked to the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda, founded by Osama bin Laden. Four commercial passenger planes were hijacked and used in suicide attacks across the United States.

One of these planes was American Airlines Flight 77, which was hijacked by al Qaeda terrorists and flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The Pentagon is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense and a symbol of American military might. The attack on the Pentagon was the third in a series of coordinated strikes that day, after two planes had already been flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.

American Airlines Flight 77 was carrying 59 passengers and crew, as well as five hijackers. The plane slammed into the southwest side of the Pentagon at mid-morning, travelling at an estimated speed of 530 mph. The impact and resulting inferno caused the structural collapse of a portion of the building. A total of 189 people lost their lives in this attack, including the 59 passengers and crew, the five hijackers, and 125 people inside the Pentagon.

The Pentagon attack was captured on security cameras outside the building. The footage, which was later released to the public, shows a thin white blur skimming close to the ground before slamming into the Pentagon at ground level. A white flash and a huge orange fireball appear almost instantly, followed by a tower of gray-black smoke. The video also shows a Pentagon police car driving towards the impact point shortly after the collision.

The release of the Pentagon footage was important in dispelling conspiracy theories that had emerged about the attacks. Some had falsely claimed that no airplane debris was found at the Pentagon, and that it was not American Airlines Flight 77 that had hit the building. The footage clearly shows airplane debris and confirms the identity of the aircraft involved.

The attack on the Pentagon was part of a coordinated series of strikes that shocked the world and led to significant changes in security and foreign policy for the United States. The events of 9/11 resulted in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the invasion of Afghanistan, with the goal of ousting the Taliban regime and destroying al Qaeda's terrorist network.

A 2024 Instagram post claimed that no airplane debris was found at the Pentagon

The post, flagged by Meta as part of its efforts to combat misinformation, is not the first of its kind. In 2005, Popular Mechanics published a cover story debunking 9/11 myths, including the claim that no plane wreckage was found at the Pentagon. Blast expert and structural engineer Allyn E. Kilsheimer, who was the first on the scene after the crash, confirmed that he saw "marks of the plane wing on the face of the building" and picked up "parts of the plane with the airline markings on them". Kilsheimer's account is supported by photos of plane wreckage inside and outside the building, as well as footage from Pentagon security cameras showing American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the building.

The conspiracy theory that the Pentagon was not hit by a plane but rather by a missile or a different type of plane has been circulating since at least 2005. Conspiracy theorists argue that the holes in the Pentagon after the attack were too small to have been made by a Boeing 757. However, experts explain that the behaviour of a crashing jet is different from what is depicted in cartoons, and that the jet's wings did not cut into the building but rather one hit the ground and the other was sheared off by the force of the impact.

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