Crash-Proof Passport

Hijacker's Passport and a Landing Gear Fragment Alone Survive Fiery Crash

This illustration from Chapter 1 of FEMA's report shows what few pieces of aircraft debris passed entirely through the Towers. A charred fragment of landing gear on the intersection of West and Rector streets was the only piece they traced to Flight 11.

According to ABC News and the Associated Press, the passport of hijacker Satam Al Suqami was found a few blocks from the WTC. ^{1   2}   The Guardian was skeptical: "the idea that Atta's passport had escaped from that inferno unsinged [tests] the credulity of the staunchest supporter of the FBI's crackdown on terrorism." ³   Note the passport did not belong to Atta, as is commonly claimed.

Satam Al Suqami was supposedly on Flight 11, the plane that hit the North Tower. In that collision, the building's core absorbed almost the entire airplane, which hit the northeast wall nearly dead center.

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References

1. Terrorist Hunt, ABC News, 9/12/01 [cached]
2. No Signs of Survivors, ABC News, 9/16/01 [cached]
3. Uncle Sam's lucky finds, Guardian, 3/19/02 [cached]