The Pentagon No-Jetliner Theory

Jet Fuel Fires

Photographs show extent of fires.

Many witnesses described jet fuel.

Brian Birdwell: The doctor told him that had he not gone to Georgetown first, he probably would not have survived because of the jet fuel in his lungs.

Matt Hahr: He got thrown into a closet, the door slammed shut and the fireball went past him," recounts Hahr. Jet fuel was on him and it irritated his eyes, but he didn't get burned.

Michael DiPaula: Buried in debris and covered with airplane fuel, he was briefly listed by authorities as missing

Jerry Henson: Now fires were burning closer as deposits of jet fuel ignited. "You could hear them lighting off," Henson said. "They would go 'poof,' kind of like when you light a furnace.

Will Jarvis: ... knows what aviation fuel smells like. That smell was his only clue that a plane had crashed into the Pentagon.

Mark Steven Kirk: Kirk also went to the site. "The first thing you smell is the burning. And then you can smell the aviation fuel. And then you can smell this sickly, rotten-meat smell," he said.

Daniel C. Pfeilstucker Jr.: The fire sprinklers came on as the temperature shot up. Then he smelled jet fuel and smoke. The putrid odor was seeping into the closet." It was this odor that I can't describe, but one that I'll never forget, that's for sure,"

Arthur Rosati: ... was in a meeting when the plane hit. "I ran down the hallway and there was smoke everywhere. You could smell the jet fuel, it was unbearable"

Rob Schickler: "There was a hole in the building, and you could smell it in the air. It's a beautiful day, but you can smell the burning concrete and burning jet fuel."

Ron Turner: "There was a huge fireball," he said, "followed by the [usual] black cloud of a fuel burn." Turner, a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, said the explosion was just the same as explosions of jet fighters and helicopters during his tour of duty in 1971.