I put this mini timeline together to help me get some of the basic facts of today's tragedy straight. It is very basic information from various news reports, but I think it is fairly accurate. Even my local TV station still had United Flight # 175 unaccounted for - the report of the airline's refusal to say where it crashed was still in the sidebar an hour ago. This list includes that flight as the second plane to hit the World Trade Center, as confirmed by John Ashcroft in his news conference.

I hope this helps sort through the conflicting reports that persist. Yes, I searched, but did not find this information in one place on this site.

Thank you.

All 4 planes flying almost empty-----why?

Because it was early Tuesday morning. Not exactly peak flying time. Had they hijacked the Delta Shuttle, it would've been full, though there would've been a lot less fuel on board.

Thank you for putting the info together. On Fox news they reported that the military thinks they know the target of flight 93, the plane that crashed in PN. There is a nearby fort that has an underground national control center. I'm still wondering if we shot down this flight,or if it crashed on its own.

If anyone knows why these flights were so empty, I'd like to hear. Those flights should hold 130 to 200 people. For them to be less than half-full at this time of day should be some kind of clue. Did the terrorists take them during boarding? Did the terrorists buy up tickets to have fewer people to control?

I don't know, but on other threads the speculation was that certain flights at certain times of the day and/or week may account for the low numbers. I agree that it seems these were light on passengers. Perhaps that helped the hijackers gain control.

About the size of the aircraft from the thread: "Why the towers collapsed: hit at vulnerable point" @ URL http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b9e9dd8152e.htm (sorry, not up to speed on posting working links in html at the moment). The 757 has a 124-foot wingspan, is 155 feet long and can weigh 100 tons. A 767 is bigger, with a 156-foot wingspan and 159-foot length and can weigh a maximum of 200 tons. (A 747 is more than 200 feet long and can weigh 400 tons.)

A couple of notes. It has come to my attention that UA Fl # 175 may have been a 757. However, I would not rule out that this stems from earlier reports that both towers were struck by American Airlines planes, in which one was a 757 and one was a 767. Also, the time should read EDT, not EST.

Re(1): crash in west PA IP: 64.12.xxx.xx Posted on September 11, 2001 at 08:09:18 PM by SuperPI The military did not shoot down the plane in Somerset. I saw the plane go down and it definately was not hit by a missile. The plane was low and it sounded like the engines reversed as they do when landing. The plane then just rolled to the left and went down. This is a sad day for America and all the world. Our prayers go out to all those who have lost family and friends.

Thank you for thanking me. I'm glad it helped someone else. I was hesitant because this is my first real post. Before, all I did was respond to existing posts.

I would like to take a moment to thank JimRob again. Free Republic was a rare source of news when the major news sites were so jammed this morning. It gave me the opportunity to share this site with co-workers. Financial thanks will be forthcoming - I owe for the value I have received here.

Thanks for the info. There is some speculation on another thread that maybe the passenger's and crew on this plane fought back. Your post tends seems to support this theory.

Correction. Your post tends seems to support this theory.

Re#5: Did you happen to see the Oliver North interview on Fox a little bit ago?

He said that United Airlines Flight 93: A Boeing 757 that crashed southeast of Pittsburgh, PA. ..... IS THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN HEADED TO FT. DIETRICH, MD.

Its a good thing it didn't make it. He didn't say it, nor has anyone else, but thats where our Bio-Weapons are housed under ground.

Can you imagine what sort of a nightmare that might have been unleashed if that command center had taken a direct hit?

Was it providential that this was the only plane that didn't reach its target? Hummmmmm.

Another potential target of this flight according to other threads was Camp David - to mark the anniversary of Carter's "peacemaking" there in 1978.

These exact times were just repeated (confirmed?) on TV news.

The name of the town in PA near the crash is Shanksville, I have learned.

UA Fl # 175 may have been a 757

ABC News is repeating that UA Fl #175 was a 767 after all.

Stoystown, PA is now the town on the ABC News maps for UA Fl # 93. The route the plane took went all the way across Pennsylvania before turning to the southeast, nearly reaching the Maryland border.

On Fox news they reported that the military thinks they know the target of flight 93, the plane that crashed in PN. There is a nearby fort that has an underground national control center. I'm still wondering if we shot down this flight,or if it crashed on its own.

Aha - thats it. Somewhere else today I saw a direct quote from some government official denying that the government shot down this plane. The quote struck me as being a bit too carefully phrased - something about the plane "wasn't shot down by our aircraft".

I'd bet a donut that it was a surface to air missile, fired by our government. And now they are covering it up - misleading the public and having the FBI make the tape of the 911 call disappear, the one about hearing an explosion and seeing smoke - obviously before the final crash.

Good that they would shoot it down, if they did. Sometimes war is hell.

Unfortunate that their long practiced skills for dissembling were still in force, if they did so and are covering it up.

Thanks for your eye witness report.

My speculation just above about a missle and coverup doesn't stand in the face of your report.

#5 has the answer. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and before noon on Saturdays are typically the lowest number of daytime passengers. Not unusual to have below 50% on some flights. Also school vacations now over.

Chill, babe! This is just starting. The world is gonna change now.

We're gonna be OK in Florida, but it might take me some time to get there!

Smootches, sweetie....FRegards

I now understand that the North tower of the WTC is #1, and the South is #2.

Also, #7 of the WTC collapsed at 5:30 pm EDT. It was less than half as tall as the twin towers, but at 47 stories, was quite a large building as buildings go. Fortunately, reports are that the building was empty at the time of collapse.