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FEMA WTC Study Favors Secure Skies Over Plane-Proof Buildings

NEW YORK CITY-Guarding against future attacks is a wiser use of resources than designing unassailable office fortresses, a new study on the Sept. 11 World Trade Center bombings finds. The report also credits the twin towers' design with keeping the 110-story buildings standing long enough for thousands of workers to be safely evacuated.

By Glen Thompson | Updated on May 01, 2002

NEW YORK CITY-While building construction going forward could employ design elements to guard against attacks from the air, resources should be directed toward aviation security rather than building strength, according to a new study by the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The joint study, scheduled to be released at noon today at a hearing of the House Science Committee, concludes that the twin towers’ ability to remain standing for an extended period following the Sept. 11 attacks was remarkable and that the buildings’ strength enabled most occupants to evacuate safely. The robustness of the towers’ steel framing, adequate stairways that were well marked and lighted, and tenants’ knowledge and use of emergency exiting programs are credited in the study as design features that kept the buildings standing long enough for thousands of people to escape.

While finding that the trade center attacks are a reason to question design philosophies, the report states that there are insufficient data to determine whether the threat of similar attacks is great enough to require that building codes reflect the possibility. The technical feasibility to develop building design provisions that would enable all structures to absorb airplane impact without collapse and the cost of building such structures might be too high, it states.

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