The problem NIST are going to have is that if this is the case.....

An initial local failure occurred at the lower floors (below floor 13) of the building due to fire and/or debris induced structural damage of a critical column (the initiating event) which supported a large span floor bay with an area of about 2,000 square feet;

.......then it would have been a very easy controlled demolition to carry out, and it is unlikely to silence any of us conspiracy theorists. Roll on "the end of the year", when the final report will be released.

Sounds like they're going to tell us how many pounds of TNT it would take and that therefore it could not have been a CD after all.

Yeah, they'll prove that it wasn't set-up, but still have no explanation of how it falls in its own footprint, when if it would have fallen naturally, should have toppled over on its side. I can't wait to take a look at this report. They've had 6 years to make something up, where is it already.

Did you notice that they are already getting in an explanation for the penthouse falling first? It smacks of desperation to me. I wouldn't be surprised if the final report's release was delayed until after GWB is safely out of office (hopefully) and putting his access to CIA briefings to good financial use, just like his daddy does.

The more I see other scholars debating the issues, the more I realize how piss-poor of a job NIST is doing in general.

They have yet to reference a single study on steel impact loading, which is what you would do if you were investigating steel buildings supposedly smashing themselves into the ground. It would allow them to realistically represent what happens when a solid grid of welded-and-bolted-together steel members do when they become dynamic for whatever reason.

That press release should have been tripled-spaced to leave enough room to comfortably read between the lines.

"Hypothetical blast events" was my favorite, though "horizontal progression of failure" is a close second. And WTH does that mean, anyway? They're positing floors 5-7 pancaked? Here we go again...


^But bsb, you know, one guy's piss-poor job is another guy's heckuva job. Just depends where you're sitting.

[edit on 17-7-2007 by gottago]