On this, the 11th Anniversary Of 9/11, I wonder; why don't you know that, despite Stairwell A in the South Tower of the World Trade Center being intact after the plane crash, only four people above the impact site used it to escape.
Four. Out of approximately 500.
Because the story isn't sexy, and it casts a bad light upon those who we've canonized as heroes.
Indeed, only 20 people escaped from the impact zone of the South Tower after it was hit and only four people from the floors above it. Individuals escaped from as high up on the South Tower as the 91st floor after initial impact. They escaped via Stairwell A, the only stairwell which had been left intact after the impact. It is speculated that Stairwell A in the South Tower was not only intact after the impact of United Airlines Flight 175, but that it was also passable until the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 am. Because of a failure of communication between 911 operators and FDNY and NYPD First responders, 911 operators talking to trapped individuals were unaware of the passable status of Stairwell A and were instead TOLD VICTIMS TO WAIT TO BE RESCUED.
A rescue that never came.
