Destructo6,
Libel? Who is going to sue? They didn't name anyone. And I repeat - look over the first reports after 9/11 and a pile of other crashes where foul play was suspected outright. See how "shy" our media was about identifying those on the manifests, and count the number of articles that used this "jargon" of yours. "Believed", "allegedly" etc are some of the usual cautionary terms. Journalism isn't the only profession where such language is used for, I have used them in reports myself many times. But "might"? Well Mickey Rooney "might" have been on the plane as well.
Hani I-can't-fly-or-navigate Hanjour was not on the passenger manifest for Flight 77. In fact IIRC he didn't even have a ticket, and the numbers released from AA were not consistant. But our media didn't shy from saying he was on the aircraft very early on.
Either these two were on the planes, or not. But I suspect, as I have already stated, that they do not have bodies - or at least enough of them to make a visual ID. So without a positive visual ID by someone, DNA basis (unlikely), or a traceable history via other avenues, they have no way of verifying their actual identity.
But even if they have two names on the manifests which may be false, they can still say "there were ladies on the planes". There is evidence that they ... [etc].
Notice the media has gone quiet on this one now. Wonder why.