I won't listen to a thing the 9-11 Commission says or does until they acknowledge their "Gorelick" problem. Agree 100% but I'm not holding my breath and hope you're not either.
Posted on 06/18/2004 2:17:57 AM PDT by kattracks
WASHINGTON — "Is this real-world or exercise?"That was the incredulous response from NORAD on a sunny September day three years ago, when the duty officer got an unthinkable call:
"We have a hijacked aircraft headed toward New York and we need you guys to scramble some F-16s or something up there."
A few seconds later, realizing that even exercises had not prepared them for reality, they scrambled the jets.
"The air defense of America began with this call," said a 9/11 commission report released yesterday.
The report paints the government's response to the terrible Al Qaeda onslaught as a mix of chaos, anguish, disbelief, bravery and tangled miscommunication.
The first sign that something was going horribly wrong on Sept. 11 came at 8:13 a.m., when American Airlines Flight 11 stopped responding a few minutes after taking off from Boston.
A controller in New Hampshire tried with increasing concern to contact the jumbo jet. He asked pilots in the area if they could see the Boeing 767.
One of the planes he contacted was United Flight 175, whose pilot was unaware that soon he, too, would be dropping off the radar.
After 10 minutes of silence, an ominous phrase came crackling through the ether from Flight 11's cockpit:
"We have some planes."
It was one of the hijackers, probably Mohamed Atta.
"Just stay quiet, and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport," he said, speaking to the passengers, not the tower.
"Nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane," he said.
The FAA's New Hampshire tower wasn't certain what it was Atta had said, but started contacting headquarters. At 8:38 a.m., air controllers there also placed that first call to NORAD, asking for fighters to track the plane.
Maj. Gen. Larry Arnold ordered jets at Otis Air Force Base in Massachusetts into the sky. "Go ahead and scramble the airplanes, and [we'll] get permission later," he said.
Even as Arnold spoke, Flight 11 was screaming in low over Manhattan.
Forty seconds later, it crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center at 490 mph. There were 181 people aboard. It was 8:46 a.m.
One minute later, the transponder changed on United Flight 175, now flying over northern New Jersey.
No one noticed. The controller assigned to Flight 175 happened to be the same one who was still looking for Flight 11.
Three minutes later, the controller noticed something was wrong with Flight 175 and tried to contact the plane.
There was no response.
A manager at the New York center tried to notify regional managers there was another missing plane and was told they could not be disturbed. They were dealing with a hijacking.
On a radar screen in an FAA control tower in Indianapolis, American Airlines Flight 77 out of Dulles began deviating from its flight plan and then blinked off the screen.
The Indianapolis controller, who did not know what was going on in New York, thought the plane had crashed. Undetected, Flight 77 turned toward Washington. At 9:02 a.m., a controller in New York spotted Flight 175: "Heads up, man; it looks like another one coming in."
One minute later, United Flight 175 crashed into the south tower at 500 mph. There were 65 people onboard.
At about this time, the Boston controllers contacted the New England FAA headquarters to say they had deciphered the first transmission from Flight 11. Boston: "The guy said that 'we have planes.' ..."
New England Region: "They have what?"
Boston: "Planes, as in plural."
Two fighters from Otis, meanwhile, having gotten into the air at 8:53 a.m., did not have a target and were flying in a holding pattern off Long Island. When NORAD learned of the second crash, they were sent to patrol Manhattan.
In Florida, President Bush was reading to school children when his chief of staff whispered to him: "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack."
Other top officials began gathering in the White House bunker.
At the FAA's command center in Virginia, a manager ordered a "nationwide ground stop" even as executives at headquarters were still discussing what to do.
In Cleveland, a controller suddenly heard the sounds of a struggle coming from United Flight 93, which had taken off from Newark. "Somebody call Cleveland?" he asked. The radio burst again with screams and someone yelling, "Get out of here! Get out of here!"
At the same moment, controllers at Dulles Airport outside Washington saw something coming eastbound at a high rate of speed. It was Flight 77.
A passing National Guard cargo plane was asked to check it out. The pilot spotted a 757 and followed it. At 9:38 a.m., he radioed back: "Looks like that aircraft crashed into the Pentagon, sir."
In the confusion, NORAD was still looking for Flight 11 and heard another plane was heading for Washington. Fighters at Langley Air Base in Virginia got airborne at 9:30.
But the Langley pilots were not told why they were rousted and followed the basic emergency plan: Fly out to sea to get out of local air space.
"I reverted to the Russian threat," said the lead pilot. "I'm thinking cruise missile threat from the sea. You know, you look down and see the Pentagon burning and I thought the bastards snuck one by us."
At NORAD, a mission commander was told an unidentified plane was 6 miles from the White House. "Okay, we're going to crank it up. Run [the jets] to the White House," he ordered.
Discovering they were 150 miles out at sea by now, he ordered them back at top speed. "I don't care how many windows you break," he said. "Damn it. Push them back."
FAA headquarters was informed at 9:34 a.m. that a fourth plane had been hijacked and was turning toward Washington.
FAA Command Center in Virginia: "Uh, do we want to think about, uh, scrambling aircraft?"
FAA HQ: "Uh, God, I don't know."
Command Center: "Uh, that's a decision somebody's gonna have to make probably in the next 10 minutes."
FAA HQ: "Ya know, everybody just left the room."
At 9:42 a.m., after learning that a plane had hit the Pentagon, the FAA command center's national operations manager, Ben Sliney, ordered all aircraft aloft — 4,500, at the time — to land at the nearest airport.
A pilot over Pennsylvania reported seeing Flight 93 "waving its wings" wildly "in what we believe was the hijackers' effort to defeat the passenger assault," the report said.
Just after 10 a.m., the same cargo pilot who had reported the Pentagon crash and who was now over Pennsylvania saw smoke coming from a field.
NORAD: "United 93, have you got information on that yet?"
FAA: "Yeah, he's down."
NORAD: "He's down?"
FAA: "Yes."
NORAD: "When did he land? ..."
FAA: "He did not land."
The attack on America was over.
Flight 77
8:20 a.m. Departs Dulles International Airport outside Washington. 8:50 Last transmission heard from cockpit by Indianapolis controllers. 8:54 Deviates from its assigned flight path. 8:56 Turns off transponder and disappears from radar. Makes U-turn and heads for Washington. 9:08 On belief that the plane has crashed, Air Force search and rescue is alerted. 9:20 Indianapolis controllers learn that two other planes were hijacked. 9:10 Plane enters air space of Washington controllers, but no one is looking for Flight 77 because they believe it crashed. 9:21 Dulles controllers are told to watch for planes off course. 9:23 Jet fighters are scrambled at Langley AFB in Virginia. 9:30 Fighters airborne but head for a spot 60 miles out to sea. 9:32 Controllers spot Flight 77 zooming toward Washington. 9:36 Fighters redirected to protect Washington. 9:38 Flight 77 smashes into Pentagon.
Flight 93
8:42 a.m. Departs Newark Airport.
9:29 Controllers and pilots in the area hear screams in the cockpit.
9:32 Controllers hear transmission: "Keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board."
9:41 Transponder is turned off, and plane makes U-turn.
9:46 Plane is located and estimated to be 29 minutes from Washington.
10:01 A pilot reports Flight 93 waving its wings in apparent attempt by hijackers to defeat rebelling passengers.
10:03 Flight 93 crashes in Shanksville, Pa., 125 miles from Washington.
10:07 Military is finally told the plane had been hijacked.
Flight 175
8:14 a.m. Departs Logan Airport.
8:37 Is asked whether it has seen Flight 11
8:41 Enters New York controller's air space, but controller is busy looking for Flight 11.
8:47 Transponder code is changed, but the change goes unnoticed. Controller unaware that Flight 11 has crashed.
8:48 Controller spots Flight 175 but thinks it's Flight 11.
8:51 Change in transponder code finally is noticed.
8:53 Realization there may be a second hijacking.
8:58 Second hijack alert sent to supervisors.
9:03 Flight 175 crashes into south tower.
9:25 Fighter jets arrive over Manhattan.
Flight 11
8 a.m. Departs Boston's Logan Airport.
8:13 Jetliner ignores control tower command and does not answer radio.
8:21 Turns off transponder and plane vanishes from radar.
8:24 Controllers hear cockpit conversation: "We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be okay."
8:25 Controllers start notifying superiors that the jetliner has been hijacked.
8:34 Transmission heard of hijackers saying: "Nobody move, please. ... Don't try to make any stupid moves."
8:46 Two military fighters are scrambled at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts.
8:46:40 Flight 11 smashes into World Trade Center's north tower.
8:53 Jet fighters are airborne but don't know where to go, so they are sent to a position off Long Island.
Originally published on June 18, 2004
Good post.
As an armed security contractor for FAA, I can attest we too are up to date...we follow standard 1958 procedures and carry superior firearm technology, .38 special S&W revolvers!!! Oh yeah, all the facility security procedures were to be in place after OKC but were actually dusted off 9/11. Now we have 24/7 shift coverage and vehicle barricades and remote gates. Somebody got "smart" and we will soon be carrying .45 cal.
The Monday morning quaterbacking is useless as well.
I won't listen to a thing the 9-11 Commission says or does until they acknowledge their "Gorelick" problem. Agree 100% but I'm not holding my breath and hope you're not either.
I was listening to National Propaganda Radio (NPR) yesterday, and out of all the people they could've chosen to interview concerning the hearings, they picked Gorelick! That's fair and balanced!
Since we had not had a hijacking in this country for more than 10 years prior to 9/11 and the DOD had no shootdown policy, why are they surprised at the confusion that occurred?
The dems could care less about improving the security of the country, they're only concerned with picking up votes from the dimwits that listen to them!
I agree with you.
This is nothing more than a liberal lynching.
How come they didn't do this under Clinton - expecting perfection ?
A scenario to ponder, if you haven't already... Imagine that all 4 passenger jets had been intercepted and blown out of the sky by fighter jets before any of them got near their (then unknown) targets. Imagine that all of the debris then crashed down to earth on homes, buildings, roads, etc. Imagine that there was then NO 911 terrorist attack on NY or Wash. ONLY the US government shooting down 4 US passenger jets on a beautiful September morning. Just imagine...
•
8AM Flight 11 takes off... 10:03AM Flight 93 Crashes.
In the space of 123 minutes the world changed.
That is indeed something to ponder. President Bush would be eve more chastised if the planes would have been shot down.
This has become the libaral / leftist banner to the war on terrorism, with Iraq being its latest poster child.
"President Bush would be even more chastised if the planes would have been shot down"
Yup. Even if they were able to shoot down Flight 11 only. The critics would have said, "What evidence did you have that proved that this plane was going to be slammed into a building like the others?" "Isn't it possible that this plane was going to be landed safely?" "This Administration acted completely without evidence and murdered those people on board that plane" blah blah blah. Even if the planes headed for the twin towers had been shot down, they would have probably landed on buildings which would have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people. The truth is this: Some very evil people murdered all those people. The terrorists are completely at fault. Period.
No matter what has or would of happened, America did change. No matter what President Bush would have done, the original denogrators of our society would blame him for everything. Any non-liberal can not win in the eyes of liberals. This is why we must maintain a strong national defense, a steady traditional values platform, and a will to resist their trojan horses day after day.
You're absolutely right and I make this point all the time to people who complain that the military was slow to respond 9-11. There would have been absolute pandemonium in this country had our Navy and Air Force shot down 4 jets that morning. Without the horror of 9-11 as a yardstick shooting passenger jets out of the sky would never have been accepted by the public. I know I'd never have been convinced that it was an appropriate response, and even today it's hard to contemplate.
In my opinion, Flight 93 was shot down. Do the research and make up your own mind.
A tough read.
We could have ended up with Prez Shrillery! (Oh my God!)
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