September 11 damages trial to hear cockpit tapes

[Pieter C. 5]

Sept. 11 Damages Trial To Hear Cockpit Tapes

 

September 13, 2007

Tapes of the final moments before one of the hijacked airliners in the September 11 attacks crashed into the ground in Pennsylvania may be played at the first case over damages from the attacks to go to trial, a judge has ruled.

 

The last four minutes of the recording of United Airlines Flight 93 with sounds of passengers trying to force entry into the cockpit and to retake the plane in 2001, was ruled admissible by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.

 

The first of 41 cases left filed by September 11 victims who sued airlines and their security contractors for wrongful death is set to begin September 24. That case was filed by the wife of Patrick Driscoll, 70, who died aboard United Flight 93.

 

The recordings have not been released publicly but were played in court at the trial of convicted September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui in 2006.

 

In a bid to encourage further settlements, the judge ruled in July that the first trials would only address damages and a second separate trial would address liability.

 

The plaintiff's lawyer, Donald Migliori, said the recordings that will be played, which will also include the voice of one or two of the hijackers saying they have a bomb on board, was the most important evidence at the trial.

 

He said most of the plaintiffs were "glad the process is starting" but frustrated the issue of damages will be decided before liability, which decides who is responsible.

 

"The remaining families want to be telling their stories in the full context as to why the aviation defendants should be held accountable for letting the hijackers on board with impermissible weapons," he said.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Lawrence L 0]

Read somewhere that united flight 93 was shot down by US fighter jet... Would be interesting to hear the cockpit tapes...

[Mohd Idham 0]

Tapes of the final moments before one of the hijacked airliners in the September 11 attacks crashed into the ground in Pennsylvania

 

Was it a plane that crash ??? i saw the documentary about this, and they show the crash site....i don't think its a plane....

[Hakan 2]

I never believed US goverment says truth. I'm really sad about American people , so they are still sleeping!

[BC Tam 2]

Was it a plane that crash ??? i saw the documentary about this, and they show the crash site....i don't think its a plane....

Wow, what happened to UA93 then ? Physically, I mean

[Walter Sim 1]

I think Mr Chavez did say something regarding this. He said the plane never crashed, its just a big setup!

[KK Lee 5]

I never believed US goverment says truth. I'm really sad about American people , so they are still sleeping!

Like all governments, us politicians may be not trust worthy. But what about the independent media like CNN, CBS, Washington Post, NY times?

 

I think Mr Chavez did say something regarding this. He said the plane never crashed, its just a big setup!

If Chavez is to be believed than Concorde never flew at Mach 2.

Edited September 16, 2007 by KK Lee

[Imran K. 0]

Was it a plane that crash ??? i saw the documentary about this, and they show the crash site....i don't think its a plane....

 

too bad for them some people saw the artillery shell fly into the plane...

[KK Lee 5]

too bad for them some people saw the artillery shell fly into the plane...

 

Artillery shell velocity is over 600m/s. Sure some people can see it (except tracer)?

 

 

[Sri Ramani K. 0]

there was a documentary on flight 93 on sunday. i watched it completely. it was heading to san Fransisco from newark before it was hijacked and rerouted to head to washington DC after it was hijacked, but then the pax fought back..it was said through the cockpit voice recorded that during the final moments before crashing into a school field, there were voices of more than one person in the cockpit.

 

it was said that the hijackers were aware that the pax could overpower them, so as soon as they were trying to gain access into the cockpit, they crashed it at a speed of about 500mph.

[Wai Hung 0]

before you believe anything from the US govt, do remember that the first moon landing is still a doubt and until now, has not been clarified by the govt.

[Pieter C. 5]

September 11 Damages Cases Settle

 

September 18, 2007

The plaintiffs in more than a third of the remaining suits filed by relatives of September 11 victims seeking compensation from airlines and their security contractors have agreed to settle a week before the first case was to be heard in court.

 

Fourteen of 35 remaining cases were settled, including a case filed by the wife of Patrick Driscoll, who died aboard United Airlines Flight 93 which crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. That case was due to be the first September 11 damages case to go to trial -- on September 24.

 

Donald Migliori, who represents Driscoll's wife and many of the other plaintiffs, said that under the settlement, the plaintiffs agreed not to disclose the details of financial compensation.

 

Migliori said the settlements occurred after the judge presiding over the cases ruled last week that cockpit tapes of the final moments before Flight 93 crashed could be played in the Driscoll case.

 

Twenty-one cases remain. Of these, three are related to American Airlines Flight 11 and two to United Airlines Flight 175, which both crashed into the World Trade Center in New York.

 

Fifteen cases are related to American Airlines Flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon, and one case remains over United Airlines Flight 93.

 

The 96 families of victims who initially sued several airlines, including American Airlines and United Airlines, for wrongful death argued the airlines and security contractors were at fault for letting hijackers board with banned weapons.

 

Those families decided against taking part in a special victims compensation fund set up by US Congress that disbursed USD$5.99 billion to 2,880 families of people killed in the attacks.

 

A number of the cases were settled over the past several years.

 

The next of the remaining cases is due to be heard in court on November 5.

 

(Reuters)