| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
9/11 Plane Part Found in Alley Near World Trade Center
A 5-foot-long chunk of airplane debris found near the World Trade Center site is believed to be a piece of landing gear from one of the planes that hit the towers more than 11 years ago.
Police confirmed Friday that the part was found wedged between two buildings in a very narrow alley only about 18 inches wide between the rear of 50 Murray St. and back of 51 Park Place, the site where a mosque and community center has been proposed three blocks from ground zero.
.jpg)
The part bears a “Boeing” stamp, followed by a series of numbers, as seen in an exclusive photo obtained by NBC 4 New York.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly visited the alley Friday evening and viewed the debris from about 30 feet away.
“It’s a manifestation of a horrific terrorist act a block and a half away from where we stand,” he said. “It brings back terrible memories to anyone who was here or who was involved in that event, and obviously I think the families could very well be impacted by this finding.”
Kelly described the piece as being about 5 feet by 4 feet by 17 inches, lying in a “very, very narrow, confined area.”
“It’s difficult to get in there and see,” he said.
He said there was rope intertwined in part of the gear, and there were no marks on the buildings indicating the piece hit the walls on the way down.
“It would have had to fall down at a certain angle,” said Kelly.
Asked whether he was surprised to see such a large plane part anchored in such a tight area, Kelly said: “If you see how confined this space is, and you realize the chaos that existed down here on this street, it’s not surprising. It’s very, very confined. No cleanup went on in this 18-inch space between these two buildings.”
