Reply #81: Seismic DNA [View All]

Before we even examine the DNA,
let have a look at what this particular station claims to have been able to pick up.
http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/seisnet/eqarchv.html

Lamont-Doherty Cooperative Seismographic Network (LCSN) monitors
earthquakes which occur primarily in the Eastern United States.
<snip>
There are over 20 short-period stations and 15 three-component, broadband stations covering New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Vermont. Broadband stations record digital seismic signals continuously with a nominal sampling rate of 40 samples/sec, whereas short-period stations record signals continuously with 100 samples/sec.
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/LCSN/intro.html

Since the time of plane impact at the Pentagon had often been reported with large scatter, the United States Army contacted us to inquire whether we could obtain an accurate time of the Pentagon attack on September 11, 2001 based upon our seismic network. We analyzed seismic records from five stations in the northeastern United States, ranging from 63 to 350 km from the Pentagon. Despite detailed analysis of the data, we could not find a clear seismic signal. Even the closest station ( = 62.8 km) at Soldier's Delight, Baltimore County, Maryland (SDMD) did not record the impact.
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/nodate/seismicobservations.html

Hmmmmmmmmmm
Even the closest station
at Soldier's Delight, Baltimore County, Maryland
did not record the impact.
Hmmmmmmmmmm

BlueDog2u says:
But it is also my understanding that the forensic evidence from the scene has positively identified the remains of most if not all of the persons allegedly on board that aircraft.

First,
we need to know who was aboard the aircraft, especially since hijacker Hani Hanjour is not known to have purchased a ticket and co-pilot David Cha had no right to fly as an Air Transportation Pilot since his medical certificate had expired. The rules are very clear on this.
We must obtain an official passenger manifest from American Airlines.
(Don't hold your breath.)

Second,
one must look closely at the credentials of those who claim to have positively identified those remains.
We have other jobs which require their talents.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/02/16/national/main329640.shtml
http://www.stpetetimes.com/2004/11/20/Worldandnation/Crematory_operator_pl.shtml

Third,
we need to have another lab verify the results that were obtained so very quickly.
http://www.sierratimes.com/03/07/02/article_tro.htm
AFIP's team of forensic pathologists, odontologists, a forensic anthropologist, DNA experts, investigators and support personnel worked for more than TWO WEEKS in the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, Del., and for weeks at the DNA lab in Rockville, Md., to identify the victims of the attack.
<snip>
"Because of the combined effort of all three services and the FBI, we were very pleased with the speed of the identification process," he said. "Essential records and references were submitted to us in a timely way."
All but four of those who worked in the Pentagon were identified, and AFIP identified all but one of the passengers on Flight 77.
http://www.dcmilitary.com/airforce/beam/6_49/national_news/12466-1.html

Fourth,
we need to know the eventual fate of those remains.
Especially after reading statements such as this:
In a single casket, remains that symbolically represent all 184 victims of the attack on the Pentagon were buried with full military honors Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery, the resting place of the nation's unknown soldiers.
<snip>
All the cremated remains buried Thursday were determined to have come from victims, because they did not have a genetic trait shared by the terrorists, said Chris Kelly, spokesman for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
Some of the remains buried could not be linked to an individual victim. Others were identified after a victim had been buried, and were included in the shared grave at the family's request.
The hijackers' remains were turned over to the FBI in February. Any other remains, such as ash, that could not be partially identified as victims were disposed of by the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Kelly said, to ensure that no terrorists were committed to hallowed ground.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/unidentified-091202.htm
Families of the airplanes' passengers and crews and those who died within the Pentagon provided DNA samples, typically on toothbrushes or hairbrushes, to aid with identification. The remains that didn't match any of the samples were ruled to be the terrorists, said Chris Kelly, spokesman for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, which did the DNA work. The nine sets of remains matched the number of hijackers believed to be on the two planes.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/17/attack/main519033.shtml
Which brings us right back to the fact that we
need to know who was aboard the aircraft.