We had been talking here about the idea that the airplane that hit the Pentagon might have had another target in mind, such as the Capitol or White House. Here's some info from the New York Times:
"The airplane was headed for the heart of Washington. But as it crossed the Pentagon at perhaps 7,000 feet � the exact altitude is uncertain because its transponder had been turned off � it began a 360- degree turn to the right that brought nearly to ground level. It crashed into the west side of the Pentagon at 9:38 a.m. "At impact, it was moving at well over 500 m.p.h., which both maximized the destruction and made the plane easier to handle. Investigators later determined that it had been flying on autopilot on its path over the Pentagon. Pilots use autopilot to minimize their workload on long days and to assure a precise course and smooth ride." This makes it seem fairly obvious that the Pentagon was always the target. The turning radius at 500 mph is enormous, so it's not surprising that the plane passed over a lot of metro Washington as it did the 360-degree descending turn. Sounds like they let the autopilot take them to the Pentagon, then manually flew it into the building. Nick Arnett Direct phone: 408-733-7613 Fax: 408-904-7198
