Somerset coroner giving up control of Flight 93 site

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05210/545796.stm

The Somerset County coroner will turn over control of the United Flight 93 crash site to its owners Monday.

Coroner Wallace Miller has held the site as a coroner's death scene since Sept. 11, 2001, when the hijacked plane crashed into an abandoned strip mine in Somerset County, killing 40 passengers and crew.

Miller and a group of more than two dozen volunteers this week made a final sweep of the property, looking for debris. The group found airplane debris near a section of downed evergreens and a small amount of human remains, Miller said.

The remains can't be identified because of weather degradation and the size of the sample, he said. "The volume (of materials found) has dropped off considerably, to the point that I now feel it's appropriate to close my involvement in the case," Miller said.

[MaineDem]

1. My friends Linda and Joe died there

At least there will be a permanent memorial.

[RamboLiberal]

3. I'm sorry for your loss

Have you ever been to the site? If not, I can tell you it is a beautiful, peaceful hilltop. The coroner, people of Somerset County and Shanksville have done a great job IMHO of treating that site and the families of Flight 93 with respect and love.

[MaineDem]

4. Thanks

That's good to hear. I haven't been there but I'm glad it's a peaceful and respectful place.

[leesa]

2. He may as well. There will never be an investigation, apparently.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. My Pastor's sister died there too

God keep her and bless her.

[DoYouEverWonder]

Owners to Get 9/11 Field in Pa. Back

July 29, 2005

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. -- The abandoned strip mine where United Flight 93 crashed nearly four years ago on Sept. 11, 2001 will be returned to the control of its owners when the county coroner releases the area as a death scene on Monday.

Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller and volunteers made a final sweep of the property this week, turning up human remains too small and weather-worn for identification. Airplane debris was also found near downed evergreens.

"The volume (of materials found) has dropped off considerably, to the point that I now feel it's appropriate to close my involvement in the case," Miller said.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-brf-flight-93-crash-site,0,3882988.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

It took four years to finish finding debris in an open area? Give me a break. They recovered the entire plane and all the bodies from the plane that crashed in the Everglades and even Flight 800 off of Long Island in less time then that.

[sojourner]

6. yeah...well, were THOSE downed flight sites crime scenes?

or maybe even crime scene coverup sites?

:shrug:

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. They certainly didn't treat

any of the other sites like crime scenes.

They even finished the clean up at the WTC in a lot less time and that was a much bigger mess.

[DS1]

7. And that thing was submerged in a swamp, with gators on the prowl

[IA_Seth]

8. Is it just me....

Or does anyone else think that we should have at least had all of the debris and human remains cleaned up by now?


Edited to say: Ok, I guess you agree..didnt catch that part of your post!

[RamboLiberal]

12. Somerset coroner has been fairly meticulous sweeping that site

He's had volunteers sweep that site numerous times, including in winter after the trees had given up their leaves. It's strange how the earth will continue to give up miniscule remains of plane and it's human cargo years after a crash like this.

I know at the off limits US Air 427 crash site near Pittsburgh, where 737 went down in early 90's, that authorized people who visit the site still find small bits of wreckage.

Don't blame the Somerset county officials on this one - they did the best they could.

On edit:
<snip>
As coroner for the previous four years, and a funeral director all his working life, Miller was familiar with scenes of sudden and violent death, although none quite like this.

Walking in his gumboots, the only recognisable body part he saw was a piece of spinal cord, with five vertebrae attached.

"I've seen a lot of highway fatalities where there's fragmentation," Miller said. "The interesting thing about this particular case is that I haven't, to this day, 11 months later, seen any single drop of blood. Not a drop. The only thing I can deduce is that the crash was over in half a second. There was a fireball 15-20 metres high, so all of that material just got vaporised."

<snip>

He estimated the average weight of each of the 44 people aboard flight 93 was 79.5 kilograms, for a total body mass of 3500 kilograms. "We recovered 270 kilograms. Of that, we identified about 110. The main thing I've been saying ever since that is the area down there is a cemetery because 92 per cent of these people's loved ones repose there."

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/09/1031115990570.html?oneclick=true

[IA_Seth]

13. Thanks!

I guess I have no experience in this field so it just made me wonder. The earth works in mysterious ways I suppose!

Thanks for your input!

[Xithras]

10. They don't usually pick up all the debris at a crash site.

I've visited a few crash sites (great for souvenier hunting when hiking) and there's ALWAYS debris left behind. If the site is remote, they may not haul out any of it. If it's accessible, they typically only haul out the big pieces.

[RamboLiberal]

14. They didn't recover everything in the Everglades

They found the bigger parts and bodies and pieces of bodies. There's probably a lot of small wreckage in the muck. And there would be human remains that are now part of the Everglades ecosystem.

And you can bet there are bits of 800 at the bottom of the Atlantic. And as in the Everglades, some human remains from 800 became part of the marine ecosystem of the Atlantic.

It's naïve to believe all parts of TWA800 or the Valujet crash were recovered.

In a high speed crash like 93 the earth will be a long time in giving up miniscule bits of plane and human remains.

Being local I know the great effort this coroner has undertaken to find any remains from this crash.

[nookiemonster]

11. Compliments of webshots. A trip down memory lane......

[FtWayneBlue]

15. The point about it being strange that no blood was found,

could that be because it was SHOT DOWN, not crash landed, in variance with the "official" story?

[BeHereNow]

16. I wasn't going to say it- but I thought it

Strange thing, eh? No blood in
a crash? I wonder if they tested the
remains for explosives...
BHN

[nookiemonster]

17. I've always subscribed to the "shot down" story.

Especially since Cheney authorized the downing of hijacked passenger planes the very next day.