Report Ties Trade Center Collapses to Column Failures 10/25/02
The collapses of the 110-story twin towers of the World Trade Center after terrorists slammed hijacked planes into them were separately initiated in the impact zone of each tower due to failure of the columns, says a recent engineering report, not the floor trusses. Two WTC, though hit by the second hijacked plane after One WTC, fell first "primarily" because the plane struck it at an off-center angle and caused damage that compromised the corner of the core of the building, concludes the report's authors, a team of engineers from several firms working for Silverstein Properties Inc., the New York City-based leaseholder of the World Trade Center.
The findings are based on analysis of original structural drawings, thousands of photos and dozens of videos, says Silverstein. The team used computer modeling, some programs developed for the Dept. of Defense, and fire evaluation techniques to simulate the condition of each tower at critical points from impact to collapse. Click here to view diagram 1 Click here to view diagram 2