FBI turns Pentagon crash site over to Army for rebuilding, renovation phase
September 28, 2001
WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation turned over formal responsibility for the Pentagon crash site to the U.S. Army Military District of Washington on Tuesday, Pentagon officials said.
The transfer gave employees an opportunity to begin retrieving some of their personal belongings from damaged offices, said Army Lt. Col. George Rhynedance, a Pentagon spokesman.
"What you’re seeing here is a transition from the sterile, sealed crime scene investigation into a renovation and rebuilding phase," Rhynedance said.
Small groups of Pentagon employees — mainly from the Army, whose offices received the bulk of the damage in the Sept. 11 attack — lined up in the courtyard on Tuesday, waiting to get into their abandoned offices to search for lost items.
"Some people left without even taking their wallets," Rhynedance said.
The FBI will continue to search for clues to the attack, but most of their focus will now be on sifting through the mountain of debris that firefighters and rescue personnel have transferred from the crash site to the Pentagon’s north parking lot, Rhynedance said.
Approximately 10,000 tons of debris has been removed during the rescue and recovery efforts at the Pentagon, according to officials at the Military District of Washington.
The Military District of Washington also has responsibility now for ongoing security operations around the damaged area.
Pentagon officials now begin the enormous job of repairing the damaged spaces, a task that will take at least two years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
In the mean time, the search continues for some of the 125 Pentagon employees and 64 aircraft passengers who were killed in the attack. Another woman initially survived, but later died of her injuries.
Army forensic scientists have positively identified 78 victims out of 118 remains that have been located in the wreckage and transferred to Dover Air Force Base, Del. "We still have hopes of finding more remains in some of the spaces," Rhynedance said.
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