Stephen A. Lawrence wrote:
We certainly have! The chief designer gave a presentation on it
shortly after the collapse. IIRC, he explained exactly what had
happened, how it came down, how the floors pancaked . . .
As I recall, he was said to have finished by sobbing, "I wish they'd
stayed up a little longer!"
I think I remember seeing something like that on the Discovery
Channel. Several experts were interviewed. The guy I recall, who said
he tried to contact the authorities in New York, was a leading
British structural engineer. In other words, many different experts
independently predicted the collapse before it occurred, and many
others examined the steel and other components from the building to
confirm the sequence of events. There were no surprises and no major
unanswered questions. There is no need -- or room -- for the kinds of
doubts and conspiracy theories and urban myths that Jones is
peddling. To paraphrase G. K. Chesterton, Jones shows that when a man
stops believing in experiments, he will believe in anything.
Several of the experts interviewed said they were amazed the
buildings stayed up as long as they did, and it was a credit to the
designers. They said they did not think any other building then
standing would have held up better. In light of these events, some
skyscrapers built after 9/11 have been reinforced more, and they
might survive better.
The buildings were designed to withstand an accidental impact from
the largest airplanes in service when they were built. Unfortunately,
airplanes are now bigger, and they carry more fuel.
- Jed
