The 9/11 Machine
Page 38
This coincidence, for me, is the most curious. I can explain away much of the other conspiracy theories as dumb luck or happenstance, but this coincidence is simply hard to accept. It was after I learned about this particular coincidence that I began toying with the idea of writing a book about alternate 9/11 scenarios.
Flight 93
Flight 93 was delayed for forty-one minutes on the ground at Newark Airport—for my part, I explain this to be a deliberate act of Dr. Ellis to throw off the hijackers’ coordinated schedule and, hopefully, give the passengers time to fight back.
What delayed Flight 93’s departure from Newark Airport? In real life, the delay gave the passengers on the plane time to learn about the other hijackings and attacks that had taken place in New York and Washington. The passengers learned that, instead of being taken hostage to be freed later, they were in fact on a flying suicide bomb. It was up to them to stop the hijackers and wrest control of the plane from them to prevent another disaster. There is no official account of why the plane was delayed so long—the other flights all took off within minutes of each other, allowing them to strike their targets in a coordinated fashion.
Because Flight 93 was delayed, it gave the passengers time to find out what was going on and to decide to fight back. If the flight had not been delayed, it would have found its target at nearly the same time as the other plane struck the Pentagon.
Was Flight 93 shot down? One conspiracy theory states that the plane was shot down by an F-16 fighter jet. This theory grew out of several eyewitness accounts from observers on the ground in Pennsylvania that reported seeing a second, fighter-jet-like craft. Other critics point to the sounds from the recorded phone conversations and commentaries from the passengers: many spoke of hearing loud crashes and thumps, and, at one point, the plane apparently lost cabin pressure. One passenger said that they “had lost an engine” and could no longer hear the engine noise. F-16s typically carry Sidewinder heat-seeking missiles, so a missile or rocket launched from a U.S. military plane, chasing the plane, would have likely struck the plane’s engine, the hottest part of the plane.
So why shoot the plane down, if the passengers were making a coordinated, concerted effort to take back the plane? There were at least two people with flying experience on board. Critics argue that, if the U.S. government was complicit with the hijackers (or their masters), shooting down the plane kills the hijackers along with the passengers. One critic stated that the passenger rebellion was an unforeseen circumstance, altering the plan.
I am not sure what to think—for a long time, I assumed that the plane had been shot down and the “heroes of Flight 93” story was just a cover for the hard truth that, faced with a terrible choice, Bush and Cheney had concluded that it was necessary to take the plane down with a missile.
Reduced Passenger Counts
on the Hijacked Planes
There were four planes hijacked that morning, and in each case, the planes had oddly low occupancy rates. For example, Flight 93 had a capacity of 182 passengers but flew that morning with 26 passengers and the 4 hijackers, a 16.5 percent occupancy rate. The plane with the highest occupancy was Flight 11, which was just over 50 percent full. The aggregate occupancy, or “load factor,” as it is referred to in the airline industry, of the four combined flights was 31 percent.
Why were passenger counts artificially low that day? In some cases, they were not artificially low. Flight 11 had a normal load factor of 39 percent on Tuesday morning flights, so it was actually busier than usual on 9/11. The Commission found no ticketing, passenger occupancy, or financial evidence to indicate that the hijackers or anyone else involved purchased additional seats (beyond the ones they actually used) to limit the number of passengers they would need to control during the operation.
One theory proposed was that the hijackers may have purposefully bought tickets on sparsely-populated planes to reduce the chances of the flight being full and the hijackers being bumped. It would have also made it much easier for the hijackers to control the plane if there were fewer passengers aboard.
Insider Stock Trading Prior to 9/11
This is a popular and often-mentioned legend surrounding 9/11. In the days between September 6 and September 10, interest in United Airlines puts increased 900 percent and American Airlines puts increased 600 percent. Puts are a common financial instrument used by traders to bet against a company’s stock—purchasers of puts expect the stock to tumble. Put buyers, in effect, “borrow” shares of the stock and sell them on the open market. Then they wait and purchase those same shares back, at a later date, and return them to the entity from which they were borrowed.
This scenario was even mentioned in Casino Royale, the Daniel Craig-James Bond film released in 2006, and used to underscore a plot point in that film about speculators crashing a prototype plane and, having bet against the company that was building the prototype, making a killing as the company’s stock tanked.
Did this really happen? The SEC, shortly after the attacks, investigated the unprecedented levels of shorting going on in the two companies’ shares. The New York Stock Exchange was closed for four days, starting on 9/11, and when it reopened on September 17, shares of United Airlines fell from $30.82 to $17.50. Similarly, American Airlines shares fell from $29.70 to $18 in one day.
The 9/11 Commission Report stated that the SEC and FBI investigations provided answers for this buying anomaly. Ninety-five percent of the United Airlines puts purchased on September 6 were purchased by a single U.S.-based institutional investor, as part of an investment strategy that also included buying 115,000 shares of American Airlines stock. The suspicious trading in American Airlines puts was traced back to a U.S.-based options trading newsletter, distributed via fax on Sunday, September 9, recommending the trade. The 9/11 Commission Report also noted that the SEC and FBI expended enormous resources in investigating the issue.
Bibliography
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Morgan, Rowand and Ian Henshall. 9/11 Revealed. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005.
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks. The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2004.
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Please Consider
Reviewing
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— Greg Enslen
About the Author
Author and columnist Greg Enslen lives in Ohio with his wife Samantha and three children. He’s enjoying the small-town life after two decades in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. All of his books are available on Amazon.com and Kindle, and several have been published by Gypsy Publications in Ohio. For reviews, news updates, and more information, please visit his website at http://www.gregenslen.com.
My Titles
If you enjoyed this book, check out my full list of titles:
Black Bird
Jack Terrington, the nation's most prolific serial killer, returns to the scene of his first murders, a small town he'd escaped only by dumb luck. Jack has an aptitude for getting away with murder; he's been doing it for twenty years. He's a drifter, leaving a trail of fear and death from coast to coast. And though he's always avoided capture, he's haunted by the memory of Liberty, Virginia--Jack had escaped capture only by dumb luck. And that's always bothered him. Now, before he retires for good, he's returning to the small town to settle the score. Meanwhile, David Beaumont couldn't wait to leave Liberty--he was tired of listening to the endless stories about what a great man his father had been, how he had saved Liberty from a killer, sacrificing his own life. David's starting a new life, but when the killings start again, David's the only one that can stop them. Should he return to the town he despises? And if he does, will he end up like his father--dead?
Paperback: http://amzn.to/16LjmbS
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The Ghost of Blackwood Lane
For years, the witness protection program has kept Gary Foreman safe from the horrors he left behind. He's got a new career and new friends, but they can never know his real name or where he comes from. But the program can't protect him from the relentless dreams of a young woman in danger. It's the same dream, night after night, and Gary is helpless, unable to stop the dream's inevitable and horrifying conclusion. The woman seems strangely familiar...is she someone from his dark past? Is she even real? All he knows for certain is that she needs his help, or she will die.
Paperback: http://amzn.to/1824IPQ
Kindle: http://amzn.to/14B89P0
Tipp Talk 2010
"Tipp Talk," a weekly newspaper column, explores life in small-town America. Covering the 2010 calendar year, this collection recounts the changes and challenges, events and activities that took place in Tipp City, Ohio. These recollections are interspersed with vignettes about day-to-day life, including thoughts on the writer's decision to shutter his downtown business and why small-town life is something to be coveted, not avoided.
Paperback: http://amzn.to/13WS8nY
Kindle: http://amzn.to/16Ln6Ki
The 9/11 Machine
Dr. Donald Ellis lost everything on 9/11. He lost his wife and daughter in the south tower of the World Trade Center. But while others grieved, or plotted revenge, Dr. Ellis threw himself into a long-dormant research project. He traded his lab at the University of New York for an ugly riverfront warehouse in Brooklyn. What is he working on? And why does he spend every free moment at the warehouse standing by the river, staring across the water at Ground Zero? Because Dr. Ellis has a plan: he's going to make 9/11 "unhappen."
Paperback: http://amzn.to/1aMQO9x
Kindle: http://amzn.to/146irmq
Tipp Talk 2011
"Tipp Talk," a weekly newspaper column in Tipp City, Ohio, explores life in small-town America. Covering the columns for the 2011 calendar year, this collection recounts the local and regional challenges, events and activities in and around the town of Tipp City, located just north of Dayton, Ohio. These recollections form a unique snapshot" of life in a small Midwestern town struggling with job losses, mounting infrastructure costs and a weak economy.
Paperback: http://amzn.to/1dntrFw
Kindle: http://amzn.to/16LlKzp
A Field of Red
Ex-cop Frank Harper doesn't want to get involved. Harper is visiting the small Ohio town of Cooper's Mill, trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter and a grandson he's never met. But he finds the town gripped in fear-two young girls have gone missing, taken in broad daylight from a busy street. And the police are coming up blank. But once Harper is drawn reluctantly into the investigation, he'll stop at nothing to find the girls. And he doesn't care who gets in the way.
Paperback: http://amzn.to/19KLkJe
Kindle: http://amzn.to/14700y5
Tipp Talk 2012
"Tipp Talk," a weekly newspaper column in Tipp City, Ohio, explores life in small-town America. Covering the columns for the 2012 calendar year, this collection recounts the local and regional challenges, events and activities in and around the town of Tipp City, located just north of Dayton, Ohio. These recollections form a unique snapshot" of life in a small Midwestern town.
Paperback: http://amzn.to/1uHhWyT
Kindle: http://amzn.to/1kT2ffP
Tipp Talk 2013
"Tipp Talk," a weekly newspaper column in Tipp City, Ohio, explores life in small-town America. Covering the columns for the 2013 calendar year, this collection recounts the local and regional challenges, events and activities in and around the town of Tipp City, located just north of Dayton, Ohio. These recollections form a unique snapshot" of life in a small Midwestern town.
Paperback: http://amzn.to/1dntrFw