The DNA identification in this case (an perhaps others) is potentially very troubling.

"Identifying September 11th Victims
Identifying the victims of the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attack presented a unique forensic challenge because the number and identity of the victims were unknown and many victims were represented only by bone and tissue fragments. At the time of the attack, no systems were in place for rapidly identifying victims in disasters with more than 500 fatalities. The National Institutes of Justice assembled a panel of experts from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions to develop processes to identify victims using DNA collected at the site. Panel members produced forms and kits needed to enable the medical examiner’s office to collect reference DNA from victims’ previously stored medical specimens. These specimens were collected and entered into a database. The medical examiner's office also received about 20,000 pieces of human remains from the World Trade Center site, and a database of the victims’ DNA profiles was created. New information technology infrastructure was developed for data transfer between the state police and medical examiner’s office and to interconnect the databases and analytical tools used by panel members. In 2005 the search was declared at an end because many of the unidentified remains were too small or too damaged to be identified by the DNA extraction methods available at that time. Remains of only 1585, of the 2792 people known to have died had been identified. In 2007, the medical examiner's office reopened the search after the Bode Technology Group developed a new methodology of DNA extraction that required much less sample material than previously necessary. The victim DNA database and the new methods have allowed more victims to be identified, and further identifications will be possible as forensic DNA technology improves.

There is no demonstration of use of controls and separating samples which made up the database from the sames provided by relatives for matching purposes. This leads to the possibility of the coroner simply declaring that a match exists or creating one by co mingling DNA from matching samples with recovered remains.

I am not aware of any controls in place for handling and segregating the recovered material from the matching material. Perhaps another reader can provide links to the handling and chain of custody of the material.

The proper way would be for would require that the sample DNA is matched to what was recovered by a independent lab which receives the both sets of DNA fingerprints and compares them for matches - NOT THE ACTUAL DNA MATERIAL which should be segregated and locked up after it was scanned. I am curious if anyone knows is this process or something similar was employed.

Absent the double blind process, the results are essentially meaningless.

For sure many individuals can be identified from the DNA recovered. But it is obvious that identifications can be asserted which were simply created from samples provided for matching IF SOMEONE FELT THIS WAS IMPORTANT.

Chain of custody is key here.

DNA identification (for each alleged hijacker) requires a pair of samples, one sample from the deceased (in situ) and another sample from the deceased prior to death, or from a relative, in order to make a match. To achieve this, investigators (FBI?) would have somehow successfully obtained body material specifically from each of the 19 alleged hijackers, as well as already having body material from at least one relative of each and every one of the 19 alleged hijackers in their possession .... stored in some refrigerated facility to prevent degradation and decay?.... in order to make the matches. According to the FBI, and recounted ad nauseam in media, the 19 alleged hijackers were "positively identified" very shortly after the attacks, according to the FBI.

My questions:
If the FBI was telling the truth about "positively identifying the 19 hijackers", then how (and why) did the FBI have (DNA) samples from either the alleged hijackers and/or their relatives in their possession ready to use to make matches? Since the 19 were "positively identified" within days, then it is more than likely that the FBI (or other agency) was already in possession of the required DNA from a time before the attacks took place (?!!). How many of the alleged hijackers had relatives living in the US who were quickly contacted by the FBI for the purpose of obtaining DNA samples, before they know who they were looking for? Furthermore, how did they obtain specific samples from the *alleged* 19 from the wreckage at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville so quickly after the attacks, when even 8+ years afterwards, hundreds of *KNOWN*victims have still not yet been positively identified via DNA matches? If I am missing something here, or I am in error re. DNA matching, someone please cast some light!