Another Question For Warren Stutt, concerning altitude Options

[Craig Ranke CIT]

Warren Stutt,

You must be aware that people are referencing you to suggest that your findings contradict the statements by P4T that the last reported altitude in the NTSB data shows a value too high to hit the light poles and the building.

Are you willing to set the record straight here and at j.ref by publicly agreeing that your findings in the data concerning altitude CONFIRM the findings of P4T that it shows the plane too high to hit the light poles and the building?

[painter]

I would also like to hear Mr. Sutt's answer to this question but I might put it differently: Do you feel qualified to answer the question Craig is asking?

[wstutt]

I would also like to hear Mr. Sutt's answer to this question but I might put it differently: Do you feel qualified to answer the question Craig is asking?

Hi All,

The question as expressed by painter is important. What I am quite certain about is that the last recorded ALTITUDE (1013.25mB) (FEET) in the FDR file I have been given is -99 feet (note the minus sign). I appreciate that this figure has to be adjusted to obtain the true altitude, but this adjustment is not something I feel qualified to do.

I realise that Rob has used an online calculator to show that the true altitude is too high to hit the Pentagon, however I have seen arguments on J.R.E.F. saying that the pressure altitudes can not be relied upon since normally the aircraft would not be flying so fast, so low and the correct compensation has not been applied. The issue of how accurate the pressure altitude is has also been raised. Rob and the posters on J.R.E.F. are more qualified on this issue of adjustment than me, so I don't feel I can add anything useful.

As far as Radio Height goes, the only required adjustment I am aware of is that the recorded value is above touchdown. Again I am quite certain that the last recorded RADIO HEIGHT is 4 feet, the question that Rob and the posters on J.R.E.F. differ on is what that is above. Is it the ground in front of the Pentagon, vegetation in front of the Pentagon or the top of the Pentagon?

I know that I said that the question of whether AAL77 was too high to hit the light poles is what prompted me to do write my own decoder. The fact that both Rob and the posters on J.R.E.F. claim that the extra seconds of data I decoded supports their opposing views surprised me. This highlights how the same data can be interpreted differently. I did not fully appreciate this before.

Warren.