Top Conspiracy Theories

This page examines the top conspiracy theories surrounding the 9/11 attack. The information here is meant to be unbiased and present the theories simply as they have been articulated by leading voices of their movements. Clicking on the links take you to thorough articles or videos that debunk the conspiracy theory.

1. NO PLANES
In short, variations of this theory suggest in some way that all or some of the planes that were hijacked and crashed (Flight 11, 175, 77, & 93) were not existent or (less often) tampered with in some way. Proponents have pointed to some strange discrepancies in the videos of the second plane a the WTC, the too-small hole at the Pentagon, and the lack of debris in Pennsylvania (among other things) as evidence of a conspiracy. Opponents of this theory point to the large number of eye witnesses in both World Trade Center Attacks and the large amount of video evidence from both amateurs and live broadcasts that all corroborate the presence of aircraft and often commercial aircraft on that day.

2. CONTROLLED DEMOLITION
Proponents of the controlled demolition theory suggest that it wasn't just the plane crashes and subsequent fires that caused the Twin Towers to collapse but that there were explosives, usually high explosive thermite plasma, used to cut the buildings core pillars and caused it to fall faster and more vertically than a so-called "natural" collapse. Believers cite the visible presence of "squibs"  below the collapsing building and the "near freefall speed" in which it collapsed as evidence that there were explosives involved in bringing down the building. Skeptics counter by arguing that the supposed "squibs" are visible after the collapse has begun and therefore couldnt be the result of explosives because at that point collapse is already occuring and therefore explosives would be unnecessary. The squibs, they claim, are actually air being forced out from the collapsing floors above. Skeptics also maintain that the buildings did NOT collapse at freefall speed and actually took almost double that time.

3. FREE FALL SPEED
This theory suggests that the buildings at the World Trade Center complex (1 WTC, 2 WTC, and 7 WTC) all fell at or near freefall speed, indicating that their collapse was not natural but the result of a controlled demolition and therefore evidence of a conspiracy. While proponents claim that a natural collapse could not have occurred at near freefall speed, it is clear from most angles of the collapse the neither the North or South Towers collapsed at freefall speed but instead took almost double that time (in the case of the South Tower) and about three times that speed in the case of the North Tower. In the case of 7 WTC, most conspiracy videos start timing the collapse after a huge chunk of the building, including the Penthouse on the southeast corner, has already fallen. In all it takes over 30 seconds for WTC to collapse.

4. 7 WTC
Conspiracy theorists claim that WTC 7 fell suspiciously. The claims by conspiracy theorists include the building falling at free fall speed, the fact that it was not hit by a plane and seemed not to have a particularly large fire and a quote by Larry Silverstein (who owns the World Trade Center site) telling firefighters to "pull it". Skeptics point to the fact that the total collapse of 7 WTC should include the collapsing penthouse, which showed that the collapse was progessive and not sudden, and a firefighter video that shows a massive conflagration and horrific damage to 7 WTC that occurred during the collapse of the North Tower. They also question the Silverstein quoute as it seems obvious if you listen to the entire quote that he is talking about  "pulling" the firefighters out of the building and the attempts to salvage the building in general.

5. FLAMES NOT HOT ENOUGH TO MELT STEEL
A popular claim by conspiracy theorists is that the flames at the World Trade Center were not hot enough to melt the steel columns and cause the collapse. The official report by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) concluded that the protracted fires at WTC weakened the steel and cause bowing which led to the collapse of both towers. The fires at WTC has been estimated to have reached somewhere between 1400 and 1900 degrees Fahrenheit. Steel, however, doesn't melt until 2500 degrees. This fact has caused some to question the official story. However, a review of the properties of steel show a few things. Steel is considered architecturally compromised when it reaches a temperature of just 750 degrees, glows red at 1,000 degrees and has lost 30% of its strength (source), and loses 90 percent of its strength at 1500 degrees.

6. MISSING WRECKAGE IN PENNSYLVANIA
Many conspiracy theorists make claims about the lack of wreckage of Flight 93 in the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. However, if you review photos of the site there is a very clear airplane shaped hole in the ground surrounded by scattered debris. It is true the wreckage of Flight 93 is more disentigrated than most plane crashes, but this is because the airplane went down almost vertically. Most planes go down with the pilot fighting to crash land until the very end. This plan was deliberately steered vertically into the ground at a very high speed. That doesn't mean there wasn't any debris, however. There are several photographs that show a fair amount of rubble. Almost all of the passengers on Flight 93 have been identified through DNA forensics. Strangely, some small things like ID cards, jewelry, and other personal effects survived the crash in part of total and have been recovered.