Recent fire at Flight 93 memorial destroyed hundreds of items

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. - An inventory released Friday of items lost from a recent fire at the Flight 93 National Memorial headquarters includes hundreds of original photographs and items found at the crash site that were linked to the passengers and crew.

The National Park Service said its team of museum experts and archaeologists determined that 334 photos and 25 items connected to the plane's occupants were destroyed. The material, some from the crash site, included a boarding pass, an airport parking receipt, and passengers' identification cards.

Digital copies of the lost photos still exist.

Other items lost in the Oct. 3 fire in Shanksville include about 100 tributes from visitors and material from the investigation - items that were being considered for exhibition.

The fire destroyed 110 boxes of tribute items left at the crash site by visitors, including cards, artwork, and religious material.

Many other items survived the fire, including audio recordings of phone calls made by passengers to their family members from the flight, thousands of images and paper files about the 33 passengers and seven crew members.

A state police fire marshal told the Somerset Daily American this week that the cause of the fire may never been known. Investigators have found no signs of arson or foul play.