DAMMIT. They are supposed to have Patriot batteries at the Pentagon. Who was sleeping at the switch???
You pull the trigger on an airliner.
Because of the proximity of National Airport, airliners overfly the area around the Pentagon almost constantly and at low altitudes. We're talking a few hundred feet on a regular basis. The only way those batteries would have done any good would have been for them to start blowing planes out of the sky regardless of percieved intent. I know that you weren't suggesting that they do that.
Now that all air traffic is supposed to be grounded, the military will be able to prevent further instances.
I'm a few miles away from Andrews AFB and I'm surprised that I'm not hearing much in the way of aircraft launching.