The cockpit voice recorder recovered from the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania September 11 has revealed a "wild struggle" took place in the final moments of the doomed flight, the New York Times reported Saturday.
Sounds of a scuffle and shouts in Arabic and English are heard on the tape, which has been played for FBI chief Robert Mueller and US Attorney General John Ashcroft, the paper said, quoting law enforcement officials.
While it seemed clear the confrontation caused the crash of United Airlines flight 93 -- the only one of the four aircraft hijacked last week that did not make it to its target -- it was not possible to distinguish who was involved or what happened, it said.
Experts are working on the tape to see if they can enhance its audibility.
US authorities have in recent days said it appeared passengers on the plane had resolved to rush the hijackers after hearing through mobile telephone contact with people on the ground that the other three aircraft had been slammed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
In a speech to the US public Thursday, President George W. Bush hailed the "courage of passengers" on the flight before introducing Lisa Beamer, the widow of Todd Beamer, one of the men on the plane believed to have organized the resistance.
The flight crashed into a field in southwestern Pennsylvania rather than into its target, which some officials said may have been the White House -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
