Frequently Asked Questions » What about all of the eyewitnesses cited in various media reports as having seen the plane hit the Pentagon? Aren't there hundreds of them?

No, there are not hundreds of them. There are about 150 total witness names cited by the media at all as having seen the plane, but many of those cited do not claim to have actually seen the alleged impact into the building.

Additionally, these unconfirmed, secondhand, out of context printed quotes do not amount to evidence. Unless and until they are confirmed directly by the witness in a video or audio recorded statement they amount to hearsay by any prudent standard, including in a court of law.

Craig Ranke of CIT interviews eyewitness William Middleton Sr. near the Navy Annex, where he saw the plane seconds before it reached the Pentagon

Because of this we have attempted to contact most of these previously-published witnesses to confirm their accounts firsthand, and we have been successful at reaching and interviewing dozens of them.

It turns out that most witnesses simply saw or heard the low-flying plane headed towards the building, and then a short while later heard or saw an explosion in the distance. They then deduced that the plane must have hit the building, as any of us would, but they did not actually see it happen.

In fact, quite often the individuals who are cited as having "watched the plane hit the Pentagon" were not even in a position to see the Pentagon at the time of the alleged impact at all.

While many people erroneously assume that many hundreds or even thousands of people would have been able to watch the plane impact the building this is not the case due to the complex topography of the area.

The Pentagon is only five stories high, and the damage was basically confined to the bottom two floors. The building also sits at the bottom of a significant slope to its west, the direction from which the plane approached. There are very few areas at all where you would be able to see the alleged "impact", and most who would be able to see the plane at all would only see it for about a split second.

Damage to Pentagon, as depicted by the American Society of Civic Engineers
Additionally, most people are unaware that the northbound section of Route 27 — the highway that runs directly in front of the building — from which a person could have seen the plane impact the building is less than a quarter mile long, and the view of the alleged impact spot was obscured by trees, even for many of people on this very small strip.

The relatively small number of witnesses who were in locations from which they may have been able to see the alleged impact spot and who do genuinely believe that they saw the plane hit the building were fooled by a carefully planned deception, executed with military precision, as revealed by the conclusive evidence that the plane flew over the Navy Annex and then banked to its right on the north side of the Citgo gas station.

This flight path has been unanimously confirmed by every eyewitnesses who has been willing to go on record in an independent interview and who was in a position to be able to judge where the plane flew in relation to these landmarks.

From five different, excellent vantage points their accounts all independently corroborated each other regarding this flight path.


A plane on this flight path cannot hit the light poles, nor can it cause the directional damage to the Pentagon outlined in the ASCE Building Performance Report, which requires a low and level approach from the south side of the gas station. The only thing that the plane could have done after passing the gas station is to continue on over the Pentagon, which is exactly why Officer Roosevelt Roberts Jr. saw the plane still in flight seconds after the alleged impact.

  1. A somewhat dated breakdown of witness classifications that we put together several years ago is available on our forum.
  2. To get a better sense of the topography, see our video "CIT Jettin' Crosstown" for actual footage shot from inside of a car as we drive along the various roads and highways surrounding the Pentagon.
  3. "Route 27 Witnesses Actual Point of View," Citizen Investigation Team, June 20, 2007. See our presentation "The USA Today Parade" for even more info.