Crash Will Cost Pentagon Some Data, Says CIO

The damage caused by the terrorist-commandeered jetliner that crashed into the Pentagon Sept. 11 will surely include lost data and impaired defense systems, said John Stenbit, Defense Department chief information officer.

"There are places here that don't exist anymore," Stenbit said during a press briefing in his office today. Some data is easily replaceable and some is not, he said.

Stenbit said of two major communications links into the Pentagon, one went away and had to be restored. But it's too soon to determine everything that was lost, he said.

Volunteer crews are now hauling away debris, cordoning off evidence and searching the area for bodies.

"It's far too early to predict the details of what we're going to learn," he said.