NEW YORK, Sept. 22 -- The voice recorder aboard the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 picked up scuffling sounds as well as shouts in Arabic and English before the jet crashed Sept. 11 in southwestern Pennsylvania, The New York Times reported Saturday.
But listeners have not been able to discern what was happening or who among the passengers, crew members or hijackers was involved in the struggle.
Technical experts are continuing their efforts to enhance the sounds from the cockpit listening device, which uses microphones in the headsets of the pilots and mounted on the cockpit ceiling, the report said.
Officials have said that the passengers appeared to have stormed the cockpit after the four hijackers took control of the flight. That account has been based primarily on cell phone conversations between passengers and people on the ground.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the hijackers forced 27 of the 38 passengers into the first class compartment. One passenger had apparently been knifed to death.
Observers on the ground said the plane was acting erratically before it hit the ground. Authorities believe the action of some the male passengers thwarted plans for another attack, possibly on the White House or the Capitol.
