(9:49 a.m.) September 11, 2001: Police Helicopter Reports ‘Large Pieces’ Falling from South Tower

About ten minutes prior to its collapse, a New York Police Department (NYPD) helicopter unit reports over the Special Operations Division radio channel that “large pieces” are falling from the South Tower. While police hear this transmission, the fire department does not, and there is no police representative at the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) command post to pass the information on. [Fire Engineering, 9/2002; National Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 95 ] None of the NYPD helicopter pilots predict the South Tower collapse in advance. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 304]