Of the two principal theories of WTC 7’s collapse — one being global structural failure due to prior debris impact and ongoing fire damage, and the other being controlled demolition — the second is favored by foreknowledge of the collapse. This is particularly true given the lack of precedent of total collapses of steel framed structures during fires. So unprecedented was the collapse of Building 7 that the government has yet to explain it, in 2007.
That would probably be lost on most responders on the site, who would have the fresh memories of the Twin Towers’ explosions to help them accept the notion that the total of collapse of smoking skyscrapers is a natural and even predictable occurrence.
Witness reports show that officials who controlled the streets around WTC 7 evacuated the area in the hour before the 5:20 PM collapse, and that various officials forwarded verbal warnings conveying certainty that the collapse would occur. Network television broadcasts contain announcements of the collapse at least 23 minutes before the event.
Witness Accounts of Foreknowledge
This overview of witness accounts shows that the evacuation of the area surrounding WTC 7 started sometime around 4 PM, and was completed only a few minutes before the 5:20 collapse. The warnings of the collapse, which are recalled in dozens of accounts by emergency responders, show a striking consistency of conviction that the collapse would occur.
Premature Announcements on Television Broadcasts
At least two television networks made premature announcements of the collapse of WTC 7. The BBC unequivocally announced the collapse about 23 minutes before the fact, and even featured a New York correspondent speaking of the collapse in past tense with the still-erect skyscraper standing behind her.
CNN anchor Aaron Brown announced that the building “has either collapsed or is collapsing” about an hour before the event. Unlike the BBC correspondent, Brown seemed to be able to read the skyline and see that Building 7 was still standing — perhaps accounting for the muddled announcement.
These premature reports were uncovered in the wake of the publication of URLS of a vast archive of television footage.
The following pages contain partial transcripts of these premature reports.
Vast Archive of Footage
The premature announcements of the collapse of WTC by television networks went unnoticed until researchers discovered a vast archive of television broadcast footage from the day of the attack. On February 22, 2007, a post on 911Blogger.com listed the URLs on Archive.org of 417 mpeg recordings capturing about 60 hours broadcast coverage starting on the morning of 9/11/01 from each of six different television stations. Each of the high-quality recordings covering about 41 minutes of broadcast.
The coverage included the following television stations and time spans:
Unfortunately, Archive.org made the footage archive inaccessible to the public shortly after the BBC foreknowledge story was publicized.
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