Nobody carried around VCR video recorders from the 1980s, they did however carry Hi-8 and Mini-DV compact video recorders that could fit in the palm of your hand without making it look like you were filming the “moon landing” (kek). These little cameras packed a punch and had very good resolution in the late 1990s/2000s.

So, it’s plausible that in very touristy New York City that people would have hand held cameras at the ready. Not saying they did but it is a possibility.

The one angle that always stood out/felt staged to me was the view from the street and the plane flying over - supposedly it was a group of fire fighters filming a training session and just so happened to catch the plane... a convincing story at the time but less so knowing what we know about the cabal.