Despite the Pentagon being one of the most surveilled spots on Earth, there's "not a single clear video or photo" of American Airlines Flight 77—a Boeing 757—approaching, manoeuvring, or slamming into the building at 9:37 a.m. on September 11, 2001. Author Michael Atkinson argues that 2001-era cameras (7.5-15 fps) could've captured the 155-foot jet zipping at 530 mph, citing examples like a speeding Corvette or F/A-18 flyby for contrast. Yet, the only public footage — five grainy frames from a parking gate camera, released in 2006 via Judicial Watch's FOIA — shows a vague white blur before the fireball. No continuous video, no crisp plane silhouette. Atkinson questions why footage from nearby Reagan National Airport's tower or the Pentagon's arsenal of cams remains MIA, implying a cover-up without outright claiming "no plane."
But is it "true"? And if so, what do we make of it? Short answer: The claim holds water on the narrow point of "no clear public imagery"— no HD blockbuster reel exists. However, that's a far cry from proving no plane hit. Digging into evidence from official sources, eyewitnesses, and debris photos reveals a mountain of substantiation for the official narrative, while conspiracy angles (missile? Drone? Inside job?) crumble under scrutiny. This isn't just "trust the government"; it's cross-verified data from radar, forensics, and hundreds of accounts. Yet, the visual void does spotlight transparency failures, fuelling endless theories.
The FBI's 2006 release (reissued in 2017) offers blurry stills from two gate cams: A streak enters frame, then boom — no wings, tail, or fuselage discernible. No airport tower video has surfaced, despite Atkinson's point that it should've caught the low-flying jet. The Pentagon confiscated 85 tapes from nearby hotels/gas stations but released zilch showing the approach. On X, sceptics hammer this: "No plane wreckage and the hole was much too small," one user posts with video clips. Another: "The Pentagon at that time had more CCTV cameras than any other office building... Do you see a plane?" Semantic searches pull similar: "No evidence of a plane... aired once on 9/11 and never again."
Explanations by the establishment? Pre-2001 cams were low-res, focused inward (not skies), and the plane's speed blurred it—Popular Mechanics calculates it crossed the camera's field in 0.3 seconds. Many tapes were irrelevant (wrong angle), per the FBI. Security trumps? Post-9/11, withholding might've shielded vulnerabilities. Reddit historians note: "Being as important as the Pentagon you'd think they'd have more cameras... but in 2001, surveillance wasn't ubiquitous." Still, all those points aside one would have still expected at least one clean photo. But nothing.
This in itself does not prove the pentagon hit was fake, but it does raise yet another 9/11 mystery.
https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/not-a-single-clear-video-or-photo