My search (in vain) for the facts surrounding the failure of GPS devices at Ground Zero. I'll try to keep this brief.
On Page 12, the MCEER report said:
"This was particularly important, since the GPS devices were not working due to interference."
I contacted everyone who might be able to explain this statement: The report's authors, U of Buffalo, NIST, Coast Guard, FCC. Not one could elaborate; or they said there were no records.
On September 10, 2001 the DOT (Volpe Center) made a press release of an August 29, 2001 report warning about a GPS interference event that would disrupt the transportation infrastructures.
Link:
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/vulnerab ... s_2001.pdfI contacted the report authors through FOIA and phone. They were
not aware of the MCEER report. I could never talk directly to them. Their representatives (one was the chief legal counsel at DOT RITA in DC) told me there were no records. When I pressed the issue, the author at Volpe told me (through his representative) the interference was "likely from dust or buildings". I countered that there were fewer buildings in the way than the day before. SILENCE.
I contacted experts who should know about such an event. The only one who responded told me "the answer was likely classified".
Interestingly, there is evidence that
GPS on 9/11 was as strong as it had ever been . See this analysis:
Link:
http://911blogger.com/news/2009-09-24/l ... 11-attacksThere was a report that lead hijacker/patsy ATTA may have been in NYC on September 10, 2001 possibly taking final GPS coordinates on a newly purchased device.
Link:
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/05/22/h ... per.trail/Returning now to the 75 foot square grid map utilized for tracking objects and activities at GZ, I have a major problem: If the GPS devices were not working due to interference, how did workers know which 75 foot square they were in? Did they have teams running about with tape measures to determine exactly where they were?
No, GPS was necessary for this grid to work properly. These grid numbers were yet another set of coordinates; a way of associating objects upon a street map. While GPS coordinates were certainly more accurate, this grid could be used for general locating purposes. I can imagine a grid where hundreds of objects were found and the problem of fitting the GPS coordinates into that small area, while many colored dots would fit.
It should be noted that a special system was set up to track debris trucks transporting their precious cargo.
Link:
http://911research.wtc7.net/cache/wtc/g ... y_gps.htmlHere they indicate that most GPS devices rely on cellular technology to communicate with satellites. Perhaps cellphone service was disrupted and this is the cause of the interference. If that is true, I cannot understand why the agencies did not offer it as an explanation.
Any thoughts?
