The Survivor of The World Trade Center Collapse who “Surfed” or “Rode” a Steel Beam Down-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
There are various reports. One says that a man “rode” the steel beams down as one of the towers of the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11, 2001. Another says that a firefighter “surfed” down to the street from the 82nd floor on a piece of debris and survived. There are other variations.
The Truth:
The story is not true as described. There isn’t any evidence that anyone fell from the upper floors of either tower and survived.
Some reports say this may be related to a true story of a Port Authority officer named John McLaughlin. He was at ground level handing air packs to rescuers going into one of the towers when the tower collapsed. He was found alive the next day.
Also, one of the stories from workers at ground zero, the story of Seth Castleman, makes reference to the man who rode a piece of debris to the ground. This was apparently rumored among rescuers, but has never been found to be true.