In a reversal of its original position, the FBI will allow families of the Flight 93 victims to listen to the salvaged cockpit voice recording in a Princeton hotel today.
The flight crashed in Shanksville, Pa. on Sept. 11. Its passengers have been nationally recognized for their courage in what many agree prevented a fourth terrorist strike.
The FBI has offered to cover travel expenses to New Jersey for two relatives of each of the 40 passengers and crew members aboard Flight 93.
Today's use of a cockpit voice recording tape represents a break in existing rules governing the release of a recording. The National Transportation Safety Board, the agency charged with investigating aircraft accidents, is limited by federal law in its ability to release cockpit tapes.
Before the case of Flight 93, access to cockpit recordings has been reserved for use by investigators and in court cases. By law, transcripts of cockpit tapes are made available only upon completion of investigative reports.
"For any investigations under NTSB jurisdiction, there are restrictions prohibiting the release of tapes," said a NTSB representative, adding that the decision to release the Flight 93 tape came not from the NTSB but from the FBI.
Exception to the rule
The FBI has said the severity of the situation warranted an exception to the rules regarding release of cockpit voice recordings.
"The heartfelt requests from families, as well as guidance from victim advocates, support that this may help bring closure to those who lost loved ones," FBI Assistant Director John Collingwood said in a statement posted on the agency's website. "Given these considerations, we believe that this extraordinary tragedy calls for departure from the precedent that follows from NTSB regulation, as well as from any evidentiary concerns."
Some airline pilots and aviation experts have voiced concerns that the release the tape will set a possibly dangerous precedent for future use of cockpit recordings.
The recordings were not intended for such use, Hank Krakowski — United Airlines vice president for corporate safety, security and quality assurance — said in a Washington Post article.
"This usage is unprecedented and, above all, we are deeply concerned over the emotional ramifications here," he said.
Potential protest
Airline pilots sent a let to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft yesterday to stop release of the cockpit voice recording, Reuters reported last night.
Although the tape will be released to a limited audience, some pilots have expressed doubts that the contents of the tape will remain private after family members have heard it.
The tape will likely be used in the government's prosecution of the alleged hijacking conspirators.
Family members' reactions to the tape's release have been varied.
High attendance
As of Tuesday afternoon, roughly 50 of the 80 people eligible to listen to the 30-minute tape planned to attend.
The FBI will provide trauma counselors and aviation experts to support the family members during the session.
"I'm not nervous," said Deena Burnett, wife of one of the passengers believed to have confronted the terrorists. "I'm trying to lower my expectations as to having all my questions answered. But I don't want to rely on someone else's version of what happened. Let me hear for myself."
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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