In June 2024, the Debated Topics Forum published engineer Mehmet Inan’s paper contending that the Pentagon was struck by a Boeing 737‑400 rather than the larger Boeing 757‑200 (the model of American Airlines Flight 77).
Then, earlier this year, the Forum published two critiques of that paper — one by engineer Wayne Coste and one by physicist David Chandler — each arguing that the physical evidence points to a 757.
Today, the Forum published Inan’s responses to both critiques. Inan challenges Coste’s use of perspective photos for measurement, reaffirms his own 94‑ft wingspan estimate based on façade damage, and argues that several engine and landing gear fragments cited by Coste were “planted.” In his separate reply to Chandler, Inan questions the authenticity of a scrape on a traffic camera pole and of a wing slat fragment, concluding that neither supports a 757 impact.
Per the Forum’s guidelines, Coste and Chandler now have three months to respond. New submissions from other authors on the same subject are welcome, though they will not form part of the ongoing thread between Inan, Coste, and Chandler.
The Debated Topics Forum is intended to be a venue for constructive, evidence-based discussions about long-debated questions in the 9/11 research community. We therefore welcome submissions on topics that are considered contentious or that have widely divergent viewpoints. We hope the Forum will serve as a platform for genuine scholarly debate that leads to major advances in our understanding of the 9/11 crimes.
We are grateful to the authors for their participation and to readers everywhere for their interest.
Read Inan’s June 2025 response to Coste >
Read Inan’s June 2025 response to Chandler >
Read Coste’s January 2025 critique of Inan >
