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Originally posted by Boone 870
Prather and Carter are both facing the West and pointing out a path that has the aircraft approaching from the north before describing the C-130 flying to a point south of the Navy Annex before turning back to the Northwest.
Stafford clearly has the C-130 approaching from the west (over Southgate Road) before making a left-hand turn and departing the area to the Northwest.
Roy is facing the north and has the C-130 approaching and leaving from the north without ever having passed a point south of ANC. This directly contradicts Prather's and Carter's description.
Four witnesses, three separate flight paths. That is not corroboration.
He did not mention "propellers" in the original interview. For all I know, you coached him to say propellers.
Right. On one hand you're telling me that I cannot take his description literally because he was spooked, but on the other hand you expect me to accept Roberts account of "100 feet over the south parking lot" as the gospel.
Why the inconsistencies, Craig?
But yes his CMH transcript is confusing and ambiguous enough that John Farmer was able to...*snipped*
"Confusing and ambiguous"...?
I would describe it as contradictory. When you interviewed him, he describes the aircraft as approaching from and departing to the north. In the CMH interview, while facing the Pentagon, he says that the C-130 "was on the left side" of the building. That is not north.
How can that be, Craig?
So we know for a fact it was the C-130 which flew nowhere near south parking OR on the RADES flight path according to Russell and everyone else definitively proving a deception.
Lie!
What you meant to say was, every one that CIT has not deemed to be a fraud, liar, or a disinfo agent.
Originally posted by Craig Ranke CIT
Sorry Boone but you don't have the right to accuse me of manipulating the witnesses if you don't have the courage to approach witnesses directly to support your baseless accusation.
(IPSEDIXIT NOTE: THIS IS THE FIRST MENTION OF AA77 ON THIS TAPE. 0:03:42:00 on the tape or 9:33:35:11 AM Sept.11/01)
"Skyex 2020. Traffic. 2 o'clock. Two miles. Westbound. Altitude indicates one thousand three hundred."
"2020. We're looking."
This occurs roughly 3.5 to 4 minutes prior to impact. The aircraft is two miles from alleged impact and westbound. At that point the tower doesn't know what it is and asks Skyex 2020 to see if he can see it.
This sounds like a significant departure from the story as it has been told previously. Any thoughts, Craig, Boone?
Originally posted by Boone 870
The aircraft tower is referring to was not flight 77. It was a VFR aircraft flying around without direction from controllers. That is why the tower doesn't know what type it is, but knows its altitude.
"Skyex 2020. Traffic. 2 o'clock. Two miles. Westbound. Altitude indicates one thousand three hundred."
Originally posted by weedwhacker
The words "Altitude indicates" mean several things: The traffic has a transponder squawking Mode C (altitude) and the controller's term "indicating" is the clue that it is unverified...that is, the controller has not had a direct communication with the pilot of the airplane to verify that the Mode C actually matches actual altitude. This is normal for an airplane operating VFR and in areas where it's not necessary to be in ATC contact.
Traffic. 2 o'clock. Two miles. Westbound.
Originally posted by weedwhacker
SO....Flight 2020, on a mostly North heading, is given traffic at his TWO O'CLOCK positon...that would be FURTHER North of his position, and ahead on his Right, and the unknown (but with a transponder, and since unknown was prolly squawking 1200 (VFR code), and was Westbound!
AA 77 was in another lacation, it was West of the airport, and was mostly Eastbound.
If you can picture it, makes sense, yes? Helps to use a map.
posted by weedwhacker
SO....Flight 2020, on a mostly North heading, is given traffic at his TWO O'CLOCK positon...that would be FURTHER North of his position, and ahead on his Right, and the unknown (but with a transponder, and since unknown was prolly squawking 1200 (VFR code), and was Westbound!
AA 77 was in another lacation, it was West of the airport, and was mostly Eastbound.
If you can picture it, makes sense, yes? Helps to use a map.
posted by ipsedixit
I see what you are saying and have got it in my mind. It would be nice if we knew what happened to that unknown 757 at 1300 ft. If it is not AA77, that segment of the sky is about to get very crowded. There is not a lot of time for everything to get done.
According to the radar data Boone posted a few pages ago, Skyex 2020 must have had a ringside seat to the impact/flyover as it came in on runway 33. That would be the guy to interview in my books. Do you know if he has ever been interviewed?
Not necessarily. The aircraft could've been out of the tower's area of control and talking to a different sector or airport. Weedwhacker has a much better understanding than I, he may be able to explain it better.
That in itself is odd, isn't it?
SkyEx 2020 is not who you hear reporting it as a 757. That was another sector controller (KRANT) relaying information received from the C-130. No one knew what type of aircraft it was until the C-130 pilot identified it as a 757. That exchange can be heard here.
Later Skyex says this aircraft is A 757!
I can't say for sure, but Lynn Spencer talks about a banner towing aircraft in her book. And another commercial aircraft flew close enough to a "Cessna," in the same area, to be able to read its tail number. I believe these three separate accounts are all the same aircraft.
What aircraft did this turn out to be?
Not that I'm aware of.
Do you know if he has ever been interviewed?
Actually Flight 77 was still up near Ohio somewhere, and the decoy aircraft which Steve Chaconas saw was circling around Reagan.