Draft:Pavel Hlava

Pavel Hlava was born in Brno, Czechia, on April 24, 1963, as the fifth child of 43 year old Marie Hlavová (née Punchochářová) and 61 year old Karel Hlava. His mother, Marie, worked as a train guide, and Karel worked as a train driver. After working on the same train, they fell in love, got married, and soon had their first child together, Josef Hlava (March 9, 1958).{{Cite web |title=Josef Hlava (1958) |url=https://www.memoryofnations.eu/cs/hlava-josef-20210720-0 |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=www.memoryofnations.eu |language=cs}}

Marie already had 2 children from a previous relationship, and within the next 3 years, the couple would have 2 more children. They then had a 4th named Ivanka in 1961, however, after just half a year, she passed away since she had a "weak heart."Almost nothing is known about the death, or even identity of Ivanka Hlava. According to [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/en Memory of Nations], "The [4th child Marie and Karel had] was to be the daughter Ivanka, born in 1961. Unfortunately, she had a weak heart and died after half a year." Her birthdate remains unknown, and her exact death date and cause does as well.

2 years later, they had their final child together, Pavel Hlava (April 24, 1963).

At the young age of just 13, Pavel's father, Karel, passed away in 1976. 2 years later, Pavel went to the University of Ostrava, where he trained as a mechanical locksmith, before graduating in 1981. During the same year Pavel first went to University, his brother, Josef got married, before serving in the Soviet-Afghan War.The wars that both Pavel and Josef Hlava fought in have never been explicitly stated, but by using elimination, we can find out what sources were probably referring to.

According to [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/en Memory of Nations], Pavel "graduated from school in 1981 and a year later enlisted in the war in Martin, where he was preparing as a tank driver at a non-commissioned officer school."This is almost certainly referring to Plaza San Martín in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which held The Falklands War between April 2 and June 14, 1982.

Also according to [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/en Memory of Nations], "During the beginning of the Soviet occupation in August 1968, Josef Hlava stayed at the children's camp [...] [before he] left for the war in 1978."This is probably referring to the Soviet-Afghan War, which officially started in 1979, but began with the Saur Revolution on April 27, 1978. After his graduation, Pavel soon started working at a mining shaft in Ostrava, before enlisting in the Falklands War in 1982, where he was prepared as a tank driver.

After returning from the war, he got married in Ostrava in 1986, and worked as a miner in the Ostrava region. He then applied for an apartment in in the same year, and within the next 3 months, he and his family would move into an apartment in Muglinov.

In 1998, Hlava and his wife divorced for reasons unknown, and his wife moved to Havířov with her children. Pavel initially wanted to move back to his native city of Brno, but had nowhere to live. 3 years later, his brother, Josef, and his wife also divorced after 15 years of being together (also for reasons unknown). Pavel then lost his job sometime during 1999.The only reasons provided for Pavel's divorce in [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/en Memory of Nations] was that, "At the end of the 1990s, Pavel Hlav[a]'s marriage fell apart and his wife moved to Havířov with her children." (According to [https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/havir-z-ostravy-pak-udrzbar-z-brooklynu-jeho-zabery-z-11-zari-chtel-cely-svet-174111 seznamzpravy.cz], Pavel divorced in 1998).

Similarly, the only reason provided for Josef's divorce on his [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/en Memory of Nations] page was that, "In 1992, after 15 years, he divorced his then wife, Nadia."

Finally, the New York Times, states that, "Mr. Hlava said he spent many years working the mines near Ostrava before losing his job and coming to the United States in 1999." This implies these 2 events happened during the same year.{{Cite web |last=Vojtěch |first=Vanda |date=2023-09-11 |title=Čech natočil útok na Dvojčata, dnes by radši utíkal |url=https://refresher.cz/103183-Natocil-utok-na-Dvojcata-z-nahravky-zbohatl-Dnes-by-Pavel-Hlava-spise-utikal-nez-natacel |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=refresher.cz |language=cs}}

Instead, at the age of 36, Pavel moved to the U.S on December 30, 1999, inspired by his brother-in-law, Jiří Kukla (born March 14, 1930){{Main articles|George Kukla}}

It's technically unknown who the true identity of "Jiří Kukla" is, and if he's the same person as George Kukla. Pavel Hlava's [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/ Memory of Nations] page simply says that, "[Pavel] was inspired by his brother-in-law Jiří Kukla, who went to New York to work." However, according to George Kukla's Wikipedia page, he was born with the name Jiří Kukla. Kukla was also born in Prague, Czechia, and moved to Suffern, New York in 1972. This means he's almost certainly the "Jiří Kukla" referred to in Pavel Hlava's [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/ Memory of Nations] page. Regardless, there is no publicly available evidence that the 2 were actually related (excluding Hlava's [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/ Memory of Nations] page).. At the time, he lived in Ridgewood, Queens and initially worked for a Polish company for $8 an hour. Over time, however, he soon began working as a handyman in a Jewish company for airlines and schools, before meeting his boss, Russian born Michael Cohen, who he'd work for over the following 3 years. In 2001, Pavel's mother passed away, and Josef flied out to visit him. Josef soon began to work for Cohen as well. Pavel allegedly worked for Cohen illegally, although its unknown if Josef did as well.{{Cite web |date=2003-09-08 |title=Tape of WTC Attack Surfaces on Eve of 9-11 Anniversary |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/tape-of-wtc-attack-surfaces-on-eve-of-9-11-anniversary-20030908-gdhcn6.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102185815/https://www.smh.com.au/world/tape-of-wtc-attack-surfaces-on-eve-of-9-11-anniversary-20030908-gdhcn6.html |archive-date=2023-01-02 |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Skálová |first=MF DNES, Veronika |date=2007-09-11 |title=Pád WTC vydělal Brňanovi na hospodu i byt |url=https://www.idnes.cz/nastaveni-souhlasu?url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.idnes.cz%2fzpravy%2fdomaci%2fpad-wtc-vydelal-brnanovi-na-hospodu-i-byt.A070910_210953_domaci_ost |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=iDNES.cz}}{{citekill}}

Between the beginning of September and September 10, 2001The exact date that Hlava purchased his camera has never been explicitly stated, except for 1 source, being [https://web.archive.org/web/20150915234922/https://www.blesk.cz/clanek/zpravy-udalosti/342766/videem-vydelal-miliony-ted-rozvazi-baliky-cech-natocil-naraz-letadel-do-svetoveho-obchodniho-centra.html Blesk.cz]. [https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/havir-z-ostravy-pak-udrzbar-z-brooklynu-jeho-zabery-z-11-zari-chtel-cely-svet-174111 seznamzpravy.cz] states that Hlava bought his camera at the beginning of September, 2001. [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/ Memory of Nations], [https://cnn.iprima.cz/cech-jako-jediny-na-svete-natocil-naraz-obou-letadel-do-dvojcat-od-zkazy-byl-sto-metru-33304 CNN Prima], and [https://brnensky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/natocil-jak-se-letadla-zaborila-do-dvojcat20080818.html denik.cz] simply state that Hlava bought the camera a week before the terrorist attacks. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150915234922/https://www.blesk.cz/clanek/zpravy-udalosti/342766/videem-vydelal-miliony-ted-rozvazi-baliky-cech-natocil-naraz-letadel-do-svetoveho-obchodniho-centra.html Blesk.cz], however, explicitly states he bought it on September 10, the day before the attacks, in at least 3 separate news publications.^{[https://www.blesk.cz/clanek/zpravy-udalosti/342766/videem-vydelal-miliony-ted-rozvazi-baliky-cech-natocil-naraz-letadel-do-svetoveho-obchodniho-centra.html [13]][https://www.blesk.cz/clanek/regiony-brno-brnane/689819/pavel-z-brna-jediny-clovek-na-svete-ktery-natocil-pred-20-lety-oba-utoky-v-new-yorku.html [14]][https://www.blesk.cz/clanek/regiony-brno-brnane/689819/pavel-z-brna-jediny-clovek-na-svete-ktery-natocil-pred-20-lety-oba-utoky-v-new-yorku.html [37]]}, Pavel Hlava coincidentally purchased the camera he would later use to film the September 11 attacks. Furthermore, that evening, he tinkered around with the camera in his apartment, set a date, and prepared it for filming by use of the included instructions.

The day before the 9/11 attacks, Cohen, Pavel, and Josef planned to take a trip to Pennsylvania using a Four-wheel drive Ford Explorer S.U.V in order to reconstruct cottages in a Jewish camp. The time for departure was set at about 8:30 AM, however, Cohen needed to make some repairs at a factory in Brooklyn, so the trip was postponed to the following day.

According to 2007 interview, Pavel stated that, "[Cohen, Josef, and I] were originally supposed to leave for the Pennsylvania branch on Monday, September 10th. But [Cohen] finally changed his mind and we didn't drive until the next day." Additionally, the description of a newsreel uploaded in 2023 claims that Pavel stated the following in 2008, "On the fateful morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, [Cohen, Josef, and I] went to the Pennsylvania branch for two weeks. We were originally supposed to leave on Monday September 10, but [Cohen] moved the trip to Tuesday."{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTAPzcPBd48&feature=youtu.be |title=Pavel Hlava (8:43 - 9:04) two plane crash |date=2023-07-02 |last=Виктор Тарасов |access-date=2025-02-22 |via=YouTube}}

{{Main article|September 11 attacks}}

File:Flight paths of hijacked planes-September 11 attacks.jpg, American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77, and United Airlines Flight 93.]]

File:World-Trade-Center 9-11.jpg of the World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks in Manhattan. By this time, the South Tower has already collapsed.]]

On September 11, 2001, Pavel, Josef, and Cohen left at about 8 AM to travel to Pennsylvania. Before leaving, Pavel stored his Sony camera in his bag, and asked for confirmation that they were leaving. Cohen simply nodded, before allegedly saying, "You probably want to shoot New York. So sit exceptionally [in] the front seat." According to Hlava in 2015, "for the first time my boss allowed me to sit in the front seat next to [him]. I was never allowed to do that at work."{{citekill}}

Cohen was the driver of the S.U.V, Pavel was in the front passenger seat, and Josef was in the back. Whenever the 3 would travel to Pennsylvania, they would usually take the Verrazzano Bridge, but on this particular day, Cohen drove through Manhattan, as Cohen thought Pavel should capture the Twin Towers. At approximately 8:43 AM that morning, Pavel began recording, before the 3 reached the toll road of Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, and Pavel caught the crash of American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46:27The exact time each major event at the 9/11 sites have never be definitively known, as there are several conflicting reports about the exact time each event occured. Pavel's camera simply states that it was about 8:46:27 AM when he recorded the crash of American Airlines Flight 11, 9:02:57 AM when he recorded the crash of United Airlines Flight 175, and 9:59:57 AM when he recorded the collapse of the South Tower. (Event occurs at 2:35 of Reference 41).{{Cite web |last=jn |date=2021-09-11 |title=Pavel z Brna: Jediný člověk na světě, který natočil před 20 lety oba útoky v New Yorku |url=https://www.blesk.cz/clanek/regiony-brno-brnane/689819/pavel-z-brna-jediny-clovek-na-svete-ktery-natocil-pred-20-lety-oba-utoky-v-new-yorku.html |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Blesk.cz |language=cs}}{{Cite news |date=2003-09-07 |title=11. September: Neues Video zeigt Anschläge in New York |url=https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/11-september-neues-video-zeigt-anschlaege-in-new-york-a-264671.html |access-date=2025-02-26 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_YHzgSPMW8 |title=9/11 - WTC - Twin Towers - Pavel Hlava Video Footage |date=2023-08-18 |last=9/11 Archives |first=Kitzer |type=Video |language=cs |time= |access-date=2025-04-11 |via=YouTube}}{{citekill}}

The 3 then continued through the tunnel, before stopping at the mouth of Battery Tunnel at Washington Street, and stepping out of the car to view the effects of the impact at roughly 9 AM (of which Pavel filmed). While Pavel's specific location at this time has never been explicitly stated, upon analysis of Manhattan, he appears to be relatively close to the Walking Bridge on 31 Washington Street (the map of said location can be viewed [https://earth.google.com/web/@40.70629786,-74.01440661,3.2769564a,626.0687711d,35y,18.20309629h,0t,0r/data=CgRCAggBOgMKATBCAggASg0I____________ARAA here] and to the right, both of which are comparable to a shot at 5:09 of Reference 41).{{citekill}}{

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}At 9:02:57 AM, Pavel also managed to capture United Airlines Flight 175's crash into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, making him the only known witness of the attacks to have recorded the crashes of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 into the World Trade Center (Event occurs at 5:30 of Reference 41).{{citekill}}

Finally, at roughly 9:58:57 AM, Pavel captured the collapse of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, before Cohen, Josef, and him, would continue to Pennsylvania by use of the Brooklyn Bridge (Event occurs at 44:20 of Reference 41).{{citekill}}

Pavel, Josef, and Cohen reportedly worked in Pennsylvania for 2 weeks, where they first got to view the footage on the local administrator's small, black and white colored TV. The 3 allegedly played the tape about 5 times in a row. While Hlava knew the footage he had captured showed the crash of United Airlines Flight 175, and the collapse of the South Tower, he only noticed that he caught the crash of American Airlines Flight 11 about 14 days after he first filmed the eventsThe exact date that Hlava noticed he had captured AA11 on his recording is unknown, as there are several conflicting reports of when he first noticed it. To give some examples, the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, Rediff, [https://utpress.utexas.edu/9780292745254/ "Zaprudered,"] and [https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-08003-5_3 “Chosen to be Witness”] all state that Hlava noticed the crash of AA11 almost 2 weeks after the attacks. Secondly, [http://filmium.cz filmium.cz] and [https://cnn.iprima.cz CNN Prima], stated that he first noticed the crash of AA11 exactly 14 days after the attacks (September 25). Finally, [https://www.idnes.cz iDNES.cz] stated that Hlava didn't notice the crash of AA11 for more than 2 weeks after filming the attacks. The only thing that stays consistent between different reports is that he first noticed the crash of AA11 roughly 2 weeks after first witnessing the attacks., after one of his colleagues had noticed it when they had returned back to New York. Shortly afterwards, Pavel would view the wreckage of the World Trade Center along with his brother, Josef.{{citekill}}

In December of 2001, Hlava's brother, Josef, returned to the Czech Republic. Around that time, Pavel had already began trying to sell the tape in New York, which Josef followed, attempting to sell the video in Czechia. Pavel had attempted contacting Nova TV on several occasions, inquiring if they were interested in his footage. However, the company refused, as they "had enough [footage] of [the attacks] and they no longer needed more." Thus, 2 weeks later, Hlava simply put the camera in a drawer in his living room table.{{citekill}}

Because of this, Hlava only distributed the tape to friends and family, including Cohen. However, the footage did make its way into other hands. For example, at one point, Hlava's wifeIt's unclear if Pavel got remarried, or if Hlava's tape was given to a friend of his ex-wife. According to several sources, including the New York Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the New York Daily News, a friend of Hlava's wife, who was a Czechian immigrant, paid off his tab at a bar in Ridgewood via use of the tape he had been given by Hlava's wife. Additionally, Hlava would later state that his first wife had come to visit him after Christmas of 2001. This means that Hlava almost certainly remarried in New York, but this has never been explicitly outlined. gave a copy of the tape to a friend, who was a fellow Czechian immigrant. Later on, this friend gave his tape to a bartender at a bar in Ridgewood, Queens, to pay off his tab. Additionally, after Christmas of 2001, Hlava's first wife and children would come to visit him. At one point, Hlava noticed his son playing with the camera he had hid, who then nearly deleted the footage. Luckily, Hlava managed to take away the camera from his son before entirety of the footage was erased. The first minute, however, had been permanently deleted.{{citekill}}

After the footage had been sitting in Hlava's drawer for nearly 2 years, a female English teacher would learn of the footages existence, although Hlava doesn't know exactly how. However, the teacher would tell her ballroom dancing partner about the footage, who was a freelance photographer named Walter Karling. Soon after, Karling would contact Hlava, and come to see him sometime before the 2nd anniversary of the attacks.{{citekill}}

Karling was very intrigued about the tape, and asked Hlava about whether he wanted to sell the video publicly, to which Hlava said yes. According to Hlava, Karling stated that he had a friend who worked at the New York Times, and advised that Hlava take the footage to them so it would gain more publicity, letting him know that the footage was "a treasure" that could definitely get on TV. Hlava replied saying, "If it gives me back the $500 I [spent on] the camera, [then] why not?"{{citekill}}

It wasn't until the evening of Thursday, September 4, 2003, that Karling would contact Hlava, and ask him if he could come to Manhattan before midnight, where a full-page interview with a journalist for the New York Times would occur. The interview was held at roughly 11 PM, and was to be published on either September 6 or September 7It's unclear whether or not that the interview was published on September 6 or September 7, as there are differing reports for the date the interview was published. According to [https://www.idnes.cz/ iDNES.cz], the article was published on Saturday, September 6. However, according to CNN Prima, the article was to be published on Sunday, September 7. It is also unclear which article both sources are describing, as it could be the article published by James Glanz (published September 7), or the one that is referred to by Fox News (published September 6). It's important to note, however, that Glanz' article about the footage is the only one of the 2 that explicitly refers to the interview on September 4.^{[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/07/nyregion/two-years-later-images-a-rare-view-of-sept-11-overlooked.html [2]][https://www.foxnews.com/story/new-footage-of-attacks-on-world-trade-center-surfaces [25]]}. When the interview had concluded sometime before midnight, the reporter wanted to photograph Hlava, but at the time, no photographers were in the building. Thus, the interviewer would tell Hlava that he would be photographed while he was working the following day (at this time, Hlava still worked for Cohen). The New York Times would also obtain a copy of Hlava's footage after it was forwarded to the newspapers editorial team, and would repeatedly state that they hadn't paid for said video.{{citekill}}

The next day, Cohen noticed that Hlava was being photographed, and asked him what was going on. When Hlava told him about the interview, Cohen strongly opposed the idea of selling the tape for profit. Thus, the same day, Cohen took a cassette of Hlava's footage, which he had obtained from Hlava, and took it to ABC TV. He handed the tape for the studio to broadcast, and by the morning of September 6, an advertisement in Times Square showed that ABC had acquired the footage, which shocked Hlava and Karling. By that night, Karling had made an appointment with the representatives of the studio, and advised against airing the footage.{{citekill}}

Additionally, according to the New York Times, and Rediff, Cohen stated the following on September 5, "Three thousand people died in that place [on 9/11], I told him the day [Pavel's] gonna sell that film, he's not gonna work for me anymore." Additionally, according to the Lewiston Sun Journal, Times Union, and The Daily Eastern News (among other sources), he stated that, "It is profiting from someone else’s tragedy, and my morals did not let me do it. Period."

On Sunday, September 7, 2003 (nearly 2 years after the 9/11 attacks) Hlava’s foo{{External video|title=|topic=|caption=|video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-UARS5F414|Original ABC TV Airing of Pavel Hlava's footage of the 9/11 Attacks]. The original airing of Hlava's footage of the September 11 attacks, shown on ABC TV on September 7, 2003.|float=right}}tage was first aired on ABC TV. Specifically, Hlava's footage aired at 9 AM on ABC TV's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos." During the broadcast, George Stephanopoulos stated that ABC had not paid for Hlava's video several times.{{citekill}}

By September 8, Hlava and Karling already began to look for lawyers, eventually hiring lawyer Bob Reicher, along with several lawyers who won multiple out-of-court settlements with ABC News. They also hired translator David Melichar, as Hlava barely spoke any English. Melichar, along with Karling, considered themselves Hlava's "agents," as the language barrier for Hlava had much to do with why no one beyond Hlava's family and friends had obtained the tape. Additionally, Melichar would tell the New York Times that "All [of Hlava's] friends, they told him, 'Hey, you made a mistake. You waited too long.'"{{citekill}}

Additionally, on Thursday, September 11, 2003, ABC News would play a portion of the video again, after making an exclusive deal on September 10 to buy the rights to the footage. However, shortly after, ABC lost their exclusive. New York cable news station New York 1, which is a part of AOL Time Warner, also aired the video on September 10, but stopped playing it on the afternoon on September 11, after hearing from ABC and Reicher. Over the weekend between September 6 and 7, CBS and NBC news were also offered the rights to the footage for up to $40,000, but both networks would decline. Other TV network stations such as Fox News, UPN, WB affiliates, and CNN, briefly mentioned the topic or flat out refused to show any footage of the attacks.

By that time, Pavel had "received advice not to work [at] the company [run by Cohen]," meaning Hlava was presumably fired. Afterwards, Hlava hasn't heard from or seen Cohen since. In fact, to this day, there are no known pictures or other information about Cohen. The only publicly available knowledge about him is his name and Russian nationality. The original airing of Hlava's footage can be viewed [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-UARS5F414 here].{{citekill}}

On September 12, 2003 (5 days after the initial airing on ABC TV), Hlava federally sued New York 1 and ABC. Hlava said that the networks' distribution of the tape was likely to damage his reputation, as well as the value of the licenses Hlava held. During the lawsuit, Hlava and Karling stated that Hlava had licensed the video to ABC to be broadcast on September 11, 2003, but asserted that both networks didn't get the tape from Hlava, thus violating his copyright. After Hlava's tape was registered, it was reportedly worth $700.{{citekill}}

In the end, ABC agreed to borrow the tape to be used for 3 broadcasts for 3 weeks, paying Hlava, Karling, Melichar, and his lawyers, for a cut based on the final settlement. However, according to ABC spokesman [https://www.theleadpr.com/leadership Jeffrey Schneider], at the time, "[ABC] d[id]n’t know if [they wanted] to air [the footage] again or not." Both studios paid for their separate broadcasts of the footage, and Hlava would receive compensation for copyright infringement. The dispute also ended Hlava's friendship with Cohen, as Hlava's lawyers warned him that Cohen could cause many issues for Hlava down the line, as he worked under him illegally.{{citekill}}

The exact amount of compensation that Hlava recieved is unknown, but according to his word, it was in the tens of thousands of United States DollarsIt's unknown exactly how much Hlava made from the lawsuit, but according to several sources, including CNN Prima, and [https://www.idnes.cz/ iDNES.cz], Hlava states that the amount "was tens of thousands of US dollars." However, on at least 1 occasion, Blesk.cz stated that Hlava had "made millions." While the difference between tens of thousands and millions of dollars is quite significant, it's important to keep in mind that Hlava would eventually return to the Czech Republic, meaning the amount of money he made in USD would be converted to Czech Koruna. $1 in USD is equivalent to roughly 23 Kč, and $43,439.17 USD is equivalent to near exactly 1 million in Kč. This means that it's safe to assume that Hlava probably made about $50,000 USD, which is equivalent to about 1,151,035 Kč, possibly explaining the difference between the amounts Hlava reportedly received. However, this is simply all speculation.. According to CNN Prima, "30% of [the final settlement] amount went to lawyers, 20% [went] to Karling, [and] some [amount went] to [Melichar]. [Hlava recieved] the rest [of the money]." This means that Hlava presumably got 40-45% of the final compensation amount, while Melichar recieved about 5-10%It's a bit uncertain whether or not Melichar received any of the final settlement amount, as there are differing reports about how much of the amount each individual of Hlava's team received. If we choose to take Hlava at his word according to CNN Prima, "30% of [the final settlement] amount went to lawyers, 20% [went] to Karling, some [amount went] to a translator. [Hlava recieved] the rest [of the final settlement]." According to other sources, however, such as [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/ Memory of Nations], "Lawyers received 30% of the out-of-court settlement, 20% [went to] [K]arling, and the rest fell to Pavel Hlav[a]." This means Melichar may have not received any of the final amount, as even if this translator did received an amount of the settlement, Hlava didn't pecifically mention that Melichar was the translator he was referring to. However, Melichar is the only known translator Hlava had actually hired, so it is probable to assume that Hlava was in fact referring to him., as translators are usually paid for their services by the day in southern New York.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-12 |title=Interpreter Rates {{!}} U.S District Court |url=https://nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2024-07/INTERPRETER%20RATES.pdf |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=United States District Court - Southern District of New York}}{{citekill}}

Additionally, the FBI came to see Hlava after the lawsuit to request a copy of the tape. This was because they wanted to collect all footage of the attack, and according to Hlava, "[The FBI] wanted the tape [...] to help them with the investigation [conducted about 9/11] [...] They also told me that the second plane seemed to have almost missed the building. However, thanks to what I filmed, they learned that the pilot just turned the [plane] to hit as many floors as possible with wings with fuel supplies." Hlava complied and gave the FBI a copy of the tape, receiving a non-sale book about the attacks from them as a reward.

Although Cohen was objectively in the wrong when it came to the airing of Hlava's footage, according to a 2021 interview conducted by [https://cnn.iprima.cz/lukas-hron Lukáš Hron], an editor for CNN Prima, Hlava had the following to say about him.

{{Quote|text=[The New York Times] wanted to take a picture of me [after an interview on September 4, 2003] for the article [about the video], but before midnight they didn't find anyone with the camera anymore, so they came to work with me the next day. And [then] Mike got involved [...] he took the tape on [September 5] and took it to ABC TV. That was a crook from Mike! And I don't care that he probably didn't get anything out of it [...] Who knows, maybe it wasn't just about morale [...] I haven't seen [Cohen] since [2003]. [But] we were very close before that... When Karling and I found out about his move, we immediately broke into ABC and wielded copyright. Nobody talked to us. So on Sunday morning, like everyone else, we watched ABC play it. And [then] we found lawyers in Manhattan on Monday.|author=Pavel Hlava, September 9, 2021|source=CNN Prima}}

Additionally, according to [https://www.memoryofnations.eu/ Memory of Nations], Hlava stated he would like to meet and talk to Cohen again, even after all the time that has passed since they last saw eachother, even going as far as to say that, "I don't know [why Cohen gave my footage to ABC]. But I still think he's a great guy" in 2021.

• September 11 attacks
• Media documentation of the September 11 attacks
• Jules and Gédéon Naudet

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