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Before listening to the report
excerpts below, it's recommended
you familiarize yourself with
the organization of homeland defense
at it existed on September 11,
2001. This section of chapter
1.2 explains that system. |
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(all times are EDT) |
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5:00 AM: National Public
Radio begins broadcasting its pre-recorded program, Morning Edition, beginning with a story about President Bush visiting a school in Florida.
6:00 AM: Mohamed
Atta and Abdul Aziz al Omari arrive at the airport
in Portland, Maine, for a flight to Boston.
6:00 AM: In New York City,
Howard Stern begins another broadcast of The
Howard Stern Show. |
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6:45
AM: Atta and Omari arrive in Boston.
6:52
AM: Atta receives a phone call from Marwan
al Shehhi, fellow hijacker at another terminal
at Logan Airport. They speak for three minutes.
6:45 AM: Atta
and Omari, along with Satam al Suqami,Wail
al Shehri, and Waleed al Shehri, check in
and board American Airlines Flight 11 [1st
impact, north tower], bound for
Los Angeles, sometime between 6:45 and 7:40.
The flight is scheduled to depart at 7:45.
In another Logan terminal,
Shehhi, joined by Fayez Banihammad, Mohand
al Shehri, Ahmed al Ghamdi, and Hamza al Ghamdi,
check in for United Airlines Flight 175 [2nd
impact, south tower], also bound
for Los Angeles.
7:00 AM: In New York City,
Howard Stern begins hour 2 of The Howard
Stern Show.
7:15
AM: Khalid al Mihdhar and Majed Moqed
check in with American Airline at Dulles in
Washington for flight 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon], bound for Los
Angeles. Within the next 20 minutes, they
are joined by Hani Hanjour and two brothers,
Nawaf al Hazmi and Salem al Hazmi.
7:39
to 7:48 AM: All four hijackers have boarded
UA 93 [4th impact, PA] in Newark, New Jersey.
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Excerpt from The 9/11 Commission Report (2004)
This section of chapter one details
the movement of the hijackers
on the morning of September 11,
2001, from 6:00 AM until all 19
had boarded the 4 planes. |
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7:40
AM: AA 11 [1st impact,
north tower] pushes back from the
gate at Logan.
7:58 AM: UA
175 [2nd impact, south tower] pushes back
from the gate. It is scheduled to depart at
8:00, but is delayed 14 minutes.
7:59 AM: AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower] departs
Logan. |
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Excerpts
from The 9/11 Commission Report (2004)
These sections of chapter one
detail the hijacking of American
Airlines Flight 11 as it left
Logan Airport in Boston for Los
Angeles until it crashed into
the North Tower of The World Trade
Center at 8:46 AM, and the homeland
defense reaction to the hijacking.
[note: where possible, recordings
of the actual aircraft/air traffic
control transmissions have been
inserted in the appropriate places]. |
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8:00 AM: Scheduled departure time of UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] out of Newark, New Jersey.
Due to heavy airport traffic, the plane is delayed
and won't be airborne until 42 minutes later.
In New York City,
Howard Stern begins hour 3 of The Howard
Stern Show. As American Airlines 11 crashes,
the conversation focuses on a missed Stern sexual
opportunity with Pamela Anderson.
8:09 AM: AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] pushes back
from the gate at Washington Dulles.
8:14 AM: AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower] has its
last routine radio communication. The takeover
likely happens only moments later. When the
aircraft fails to heed
instruction to climb to 35,000 feet, the controller
repeatedly tries to raise the flight.
8:14 AM: UA 175 [2nd
impact, south tower] departs
Logan in Boston. |
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Excerpt from The 9/11 Commission Report (2004)
These sections of chapter one
detail the hijacking of United
Airlines Flight 175 as it
left Logan Airport in Boston for
Los Angeles until it crashed into
the South Tower of The World Trade
Center at 9:03 AM, and the homeland
defense reaction to the hijacking.
[note: where possible, recordings
of the actual aircraft/air traffic
control transmissions have been
inserted in the appropriate places]. |
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8:19 AM: Flight attendant
Betty Ong onboard AA 11 [1st impact, north tower] notifies AA of hijacking.
8:20 AM: AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] departs
Washington Dulles. It was scheduled to depart
at 8:00 but is delayed 20 minutes |
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Excerpt from The 9/11 Commission Report (2004)
These sections of chapter one
detail the hijacking of American
Airlines Flight 77 as it left
Washington Dulles Airport for
Los Angeles until it crashed into
the Pentagon at 9:37 AM, and the
homeland defense reaction to the
hijacking. [note: where possible,
recordings of the actual aircraft/air
traffic control transmissions
have been inserted in the appropriate
places]. |
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8:21 AM: AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower] transponder
is turned off.
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8:23 AM: AA attempts to contact the cockpit of AA
11 [1st impact, north tower].
8:24 AM: Onboard AA 11 [1st impact, north tower],
Atta keys the cockpit microphone in an attempt
to communicate with the passengers. Instead,
he transmits outside the aircraft and those
transmissions are recorded on the ground. He
says, "We have some planes. Just stay quiet
and you'll be okay. We are returning to the
airport." [ Listen,
:06]. And then, Nobody move. Everything
will be okay. If you try to make any moves,
youll endanger yourself and the airplane.
Just stay quiet. [ Listen,
:11]
8:25 AM: Boston Center is aware of the hijacking of AA
11 [1st impact, north tower]. |
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8:25 AM: Onboard AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower], flight attendant
Amy Sweeney gets through to the American Flight
Services Office in Boston but is cut off.
8:26
AM: Onboard AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower], flight attendant
Betty Ong reports that the plane is flying
erratically.
8:27
AM: AA 11 [1st impact,
north tower] turns south.
8:28
AM: Boston Center calls the Command Center
in Herndon to advise that it |
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believes American
11 has been hijacked and is heading toward New
York Centers airspace.
8:29 AM: Onboard AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower], flight attendant
Amy Sweeney again gets through to the American
Flight Services Office in Boston but is again
cut off.
8:32 AM: Onboard AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower], flight attendant
Amy Sweeney is reconnected to the Flight Services
Office in Boston and begins relaying updates
to the manager, Michael Woodward.
8:32 AM: Boston Center notifies the Operations Center at FAA headquarters of hijacking of AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower]. |
8:34
AM: The Boston Center controller receives
a third transmission from American 11: "Nobody
move please. We are going back to the airport.
Dont try to make any stupid moves."
[ Listen,
:08]
8:37 AM: Boston Center notifies NEADS of hijacking of AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower]. This
is the first notification received by the militaryat
any levelthat American 11 has been hijacked
[ Listen,
:11]. NEADS promptly orders to battle
stations the two F-15 alert aircraft at Otis Air Force Base,
about 153 miles away from New York City. The air defense
of America began with this call. |
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8:38: AM: Betty Ong tells the FAA
that the AA 11 [1st impact,
north tower] is flying erratically
again. Sweeney
tells Woodward that the hijackers are Middle
Easterners, and names three of their seat numbers.
This becomes key information for the early stages
of the investigation.
8:41 AM: UA 175 [2nd
impact, south tower] enters New York
City's airspace.
8:42 AM: UA 175 [2nd impact, south
tower] has its last radio
communication with the ground, in which they
report on a suspicious
transmission overheard from another plane
(which turned out to have been AA 11) [1st
impact, north tower]. |
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8:42 AM: UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] departs Newark,
New Jersey, now airborne about 25 minutes after
it would have been if it had pulled back from
the gate at 8:00 as scheduled. |
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Excerpt from The 9/11 Commission Report (2004)
These sections of chapter one
detail the hijacking of United
Airlines Flight 93 as it left
Newark, New Jersey for San Francisco
until it crashed into a field
near Shanksville, Pennsylvania
at 10:03 AM, and the homeland
defense reaction to the hijacking.
[note: where possible, recordings
of the actual aircraft/air traffic
control transmissions have been
inserted in the appropriate places]. |
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8:42-8:46
AM: UA 175 [2nd
impact, south tower] is taken
over by the hijackers.
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8:44
AM: The FAA loses phone contact with Betty
Ong onboard AA 11 [1st impact,
north tower].
8:45
AM: Onboard AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower], Amy Sweeney
reports to Woodward, Something is wrong.
We are in a rapid descent . . .we are all over
the place. Woodward asks Sweeney to look
out the window to see if she can determine where
they are. Sweeney responds: We are flying
low. We are flying very, very low. We are flying
way too low. Seconds later she says, Oh
my God we are way too low. The phone call
ends. |
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8:46:40
AM: American Airlines Flight
11 crashes into 1 WTC (The North
Tower), tearing a gaping hole in
the building and setting it afire.
All persons onboard the aircraft
and an unknown number of persons
on the tower are killed instantly. No one in
the White House or traveling with
the President in Florida knows that
it had been hijacked. Initial news
reports are that the tower was struck
by a single-engine plane, and pilot
error is assumed. There are only two known
video clips of the first impact. While there were thousands
of cameras trained on the towers when the 2nd plane hit, there
were few cameras trained on The World Trade Center before
the first impact. This video was being shot as part of a firefighter
training video. The video did not make it to the networks
until late in the day on September 11. [ Audio & transcript of Fire Dispatch Operator, Manhattan: 8:46-9:31 a.m. | 9:35-10:22 a.m.] |
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8:46 AM: NEADS scrambles Otis fighter jets in search
of AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower].
8:47 AM: UA 175 [2nd
impact, south tower] transponder
code changes twice.
8:48 AM:
A New York Center manager provides a report
on a Command Center teleconference about American
11, to the New York Center controller. They
were unaware that AA 11 had already crashed [ Listen,
:14]
8:51 AM: UA 175 [2nd
impact, south tower] deviates
from its assigned altitude.
8:51 AM: AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] has its
last routine radio communication. It has been
airborne for 31 minutes.
8:51-8:54
AM: AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] is taken
over by hijackers.
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8:46 AM: NEADS scrambles Otis fighter jets in search
of AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower].
8:47 AM: UA 175 [2nd
impact, south tower] transponder
code changes twice.
8:48 AM:
A New York Center manager provides a report
on a Command Center teleconference about American
11, to the New York Center controller. They
were unaware that AA 11 had already crashed [ Listen,
:14]
8:51 AM: UA 175 [2nd
impact, south tower] deviates
from its assigned altitude.
8:51 AM: AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] has its
last routine radio communication. It has been
airborne for 31 minutes.
8:51-8:54
AM: AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] is taken
over by hijackers.
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8:52 AM - 9:04 AM: CBS
has breaking news of the first plane crash. Bryant Gumbel
interviews a restaurant worker in Soho, then the doorman to
the Marriott WTC hotel located between the two towers. He
describes falling debris that set a man's clothes on fire.
Bryant then is talking with another eyewitness as United Airlines
175 strikes the South Tower (approximately 5 minutes have
been edited out of this clip to conserve space and provide
the best video).
8:52 AM: New York air traffic controllers
begin repeatedly and unsuccessfully trying to
contact UA 175 [2nd impact,
south tower] . |
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8:52 AM: Onboard UA 175 [2nd
impact, south tower] a male flight
attendant calls a United office in San Francisco,
reaching Marc Policastro and reports that the
flight has been hijacked. The call lasts about
two minutes.
8:53 AM: Otis fighter jets, scrambled 7 minutes earlier,
are now airborne. They begin searching for American
Airlines Flight 11 [1st impact,
north tower], which crashed
7 minutes earlier. Lacking
a target, they are vectored toward military-controlled
airspace off the Long Island coast. To avoid
New York area air traffic and uncertain about
what to do, the fighters are brought down to
military airspace to hold as needed.
From 9:09 to 9:13, the Otis fighters stay in
this holding pattern.
8:54 AM: UA attempts to contact UA
175 [2nd impact, south tower] cockpit following phone call from flight attendant.
8:54 AM: AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] makes unauthorized
turn to the south and then disappears from radar.
8:55 AM: New York Center suspects hijacking of UA
175 [2nd impact, south tower].
8:55
AM: President Bush is told by Karl Rove
that a small, twin-engine plane has crashed
into the World Trade Center. Standing outside
of a classroom in Sarasota Florida, The Presidents
reaction was to assume that the incident must have been
caused by pilot error. He then calls National
Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice at the White
House.
8:56 AM: AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] transponder
is turned off.
8:58 AM: UA 175 [2nd
impact, south tower] turns
toward New York City.
8:59
AM: UA 175 [2nd impact,
south tower] passenger Brian David
Sweeney tries to call his wife, Julie. He leaves
a message on their home answering machine that
the plane has been hijacked. He then calls his
mother, Louise Sweeney, tells her the flight
has been hijacked, and adds that the passengers
are thinking about storming the cockpit to
take control of the plane away from the hijackers.
9:00
AM: Lee Hanson receives a chilling phone
call from his son, Peter onboard UA 175 [2nd
impact, south tower] . It ends abruptly.
Lee hears a woman scream just before it cuts
off. He turns on a television and sees the second
aircraft hit the World Trade Center. |
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9:00 AM: In New York City,
Howard Stern interrupts the fun during The
Howard Stern Show at approximately 9:00 to say that a plane has crashed into the
World Trade Center. After a few minutes, they return to discussing
Pamela Anderson. As with all Americans, it
took time for the magnitude of the day's events
to register
[ excerpt].
9:01-9:02
AM: A manager from New York Center tells
the Command Center in Herndon that there are
"several situations" going on here
and references an "other aircraft"
[ Listen,
:09].
9:01
AM: While Command Center was told about
this "other aircraft" at 9:01 a.m.,
New York Center contacted New York terminal
approach control and asked for help in locating
United 175 [ Listen,
:18] |
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9:03
AM: Meanwhile, a manager from Boston Center
reports to FAA New England that they have deciphered
what they had heard in one of the first hijacker
transmissions from American 11 at 8:24 AM, that
the hijacker said, "We have some planes".
[ Listen,
:45]. |
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9:03:11
AM: United Airlines Flight 175
strikes the South Tower of the World
Trade Center. All on board, along
with an unknown number of people
in the tower, are killed instantly.
Because of the cameras trained on
the towers after the first impact,
this incident is recorded from numerous
views. However, it takes about 5 minutes for film footage of the impact to be found and shown on the air. Throughout the day, other views are aired as they come in to the news stations [ UA 175 impact]. |
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9:03
AM: Indianapolis Center starts, now unable
to find AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] for ten
minutes, begins notifying other agencies that
the plane is missing and has possibly crashed.
They are unaware of the other hijackings.
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9:05
AM: AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] reemerges
as a primary target on Indianapolis Center radar
scopes, east of its last known position. It
remains on their scopes for another six minutes,
then crosses into the western portion of Washington
Centers airspace at 9:10. As Indianapolis
Center continues searching for the aircraft,
two managers and the controller responsible
for American 77 look to the west and southwest
along the flights projected path, not
eastwhere the aircraft was now heading.
They never saw AA 77 turn around.
9:05 AM: AA headquarters is aware that AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] is hijacked.
9:05 AM: The Howard Stern Show is interrupted with news of the second impact. His regular co-hosts have difficulty believing that both WTC towers are on fire. Stern is quick to suggest terrorism. |
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9:05 AM: The
President is seated in a classroom in Sarasota,
Florida, when White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card whispers to him:
A second plane hit the second tower.
America is under attack. The President
remains in the classroom for another five
to seven minutes, while the children continue
reading.
9:07 AM: 31-year-old Melissa Harrington Hughes, an international
trade consultant, was in New York attending
a financial conference, staying in the Marriott
Hotel on floor 101 of the World Trade Center's
North Tower. She made |
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a phone call to her father
at 8:55, then at 9:07 was able to get through
to San Francisco to leave this message for her
sleeping husband [ Listen,
:15)] [ Video of 3 victim phone calls, :22]. |
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9:08
AM: Indianapolis Center asks Air Force Search
and Rescue at Langley Air Force Base to look
for a downed aircraft.
9:08 AM: The Mission Crew Commander at NEADS learned
of the second explosion at the World Trade Center
and decided against holding the fighters in
military air space away from Manhattan [ Listen,
:17].
9:09 AM: Otis fighters reach holding pattern.
9:09
AM: Fighters from Langley Air Force Base
in Virginia are sent to New York, to provide
backup.
9:09
AM: Indianapolis Center reports the loss
of contact with AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] to the FAA
regional center, which passed this information
to FAA headquarters at 9:24.
9:12 AM: Onboard AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon], passenger
Renee May calls her mother, who then calls AA
to tell them the plane has been hijacked.
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9:13 AM: While still broadcasting live in New York City and after viewing television footage of the 2nd plane strike, Howard Stern is perhaps the first media broadcaster to publicly declare that America is under attack. Comparatively, the CNN anchor continued to suggest that the two plane crashes were purely coincidental accidents for a full 18 minutes after the 2nd attack. Stern also suggests, without actually saying so, that the attack is being carried out by Middle Eastern terrorists [ excerpt ].
9:13
AM: The Otis fighters, now about 115 miles
away from New York City, exit their holding
pattern and set a course direct for Manhattan.
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9:15 AM: New York Center advises NEADS that UA 175 was
the second aircraft that crashed into WTC.
9:15 AM: President Bush leaves
the classroom and returns to a holding room,
where he is briefed by staff and sees television
coverage. He next speaks to Vice President Cheney,
Dr. Rice, New York Governor George Pataki, and
FBI Director Robert Mueller. He decides to make
a brief statement from the school before leaving
for the airport. For the next fifteen minutes,
the staff is busy arranging a return to Washington,
while the President consults his senior advisers
about his remarks. No one in the traveling party
has any information during this time that other
aircraft are hijacked or missing. Staff are
in contact with the White House Situation Room,
apparently no one with the President was in
contact with the Pentagon. The focus was on
the Presidents statement to the nation.
The only decision made during this time was
to return to Washington.
9:16 AM: AA headquarters is now aware that AA
11 [1st impact, north tower] has crashed into WTC (30 minutes ago).
9:17 AM: The Federal Aviation Administration shuts down
all New York City area airports.
9:19
AM: Now worried about other transcontinental
flights, the FAAs New England regional
office calls Herndon and asks that Cleveland
Center advise Delta 1989 to use extra cockpit
security.
9:19
AM: A United Airlines flight dispatcher,
Ed Ballinger, takes the initiative to begin
transmitting warnings to his 16 transcontinental
flights: Beware any cockpit intrusionTwo
a/c [aircraft] hit World Trade Center.
9:20 AM: UA headquarters is aware that UA
175 [2nd impact, south tower] has crashed into the WTC (17 minutes ago).
9:21 AM: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
orders all bridges and tunnels in the New York
area closed.
9:21 AM: Still looking for AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon], The Command
Center advises the Dulles terminal control facility.
Dulles urges its controllers to look for primary
targets (now missing for 28 minutes).
9:21
AM: Boston Center erroneously advises NEADS
that AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower] is still
airborne and heading for Washington (it crashed
35 minutes ago) [ Listen,
:29]. The NEADS technician
who took this call from the FAA immediately
passed the word to the Mission Crew Commander
[ Listen,
:12].
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9:23 AM: Bob
Edwards, host of NPR's Morning Edition, breaks into the rebroadcast of the show to inform
listeners that two planes have struck the twin
towers of The World Trade Center. Coverage
continues on Morning Edition until 11:00,
when Neal Conan takes over.
9:24
AM: NEADS scrambles Langley fighter jets
in search of AA 11 [1st
impact, north tower] (it crashed
38 minutes ago). |
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9:24
AM: UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] receives warning
from UA flight dispatcher Ed Ballinger to be
aware of possible cockpit intrusion.
9:25
AM: Herndon Command Center orders nationwide
ground stop.
9:25
AM: Otis fighters arrive and establish a
combat air patrol (CAP) over New York City.
9:26
AM: Onboard UA 93 [4th
impact, PA], the pilot, Jason
Dahl, responds to the cockpit intrusion warning
with a note of puzzlement: Ed [Ballinger],
confirm latest mssg plzJason. |
9:26 AM: Onboard AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] Lawyer
and TV commentator Barbara Olson calls her
husband, Ted Olson, the Solicitor
General of the United States, for the
2nd time. He tells her of the previous hijackings
and crashes and then they are cut off.
9:27
AM: UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] has last routine
radio communication. |
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9:28 AM: UA 93 [4th impact, PA] is taken over by hijackers. While traveling 35,000 feet above eastern Ohio, United 93 suddenly drops 700 feet. Eleven seconds into the descent, the FAA???s air traffic control center in Cleveland receives the first of two radio transmissions from the aircraft. During the first broadcast, the captain or first officer can be heard declaring ???Mayday??? amid the sounds of a physical struggle in the cockpit. The second radio transmission, 35 seconds later, indicates that the fight was continuing. The captain or first officer can be heard shouting: ???Hey get out of here???get out of here???get out of here.???
9:29 AM: The autopilot on AA 77 [3rd impact, Pentagon] is disengaged.
9:30 AM: The FAA, the White House, and the Defense Department each initiate a multi-agency teleconference. Because none of these teleconferences???at least before 10:00???include the right officials from both the FAA and Defense Department, none succeed in meaningfully coordinating the military and FAA response to the hijackings. |
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9:30
AM: President Bush, speaking in Sarasota,
Florida, says the country has suffered an "apparent
terrorist attack." His words suggest he believes that the attack is over. [ Listen,
1:32].
9:32
AM: Still looking for AA 77, Dulles tower
finally observes a primary radar image of a
fast-moving aircraft. It is AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon]), now amazingly
missing for 39 minutes. |
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9:32
AM: Onboard UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] ,a hijacker, probably
Jarrah, attempts to make the following announcement
to the passengers of Flight 93: Ladies
and Gentlemen: Here the captain, please sit
down keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb
on board. So, sit. Jarrah then turns the
aircraft around and heads east.
9:32
AM: Passengers onboard UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] begin to make
phone calls to family, friends, and colleagues.
These calls continue until the aircraft crashes
31 minutes later and provide those on the ground
with firsthand accounts. They enable the passengers
to gain critical information, including the
news that two aircraft have slammed into the
World Trade Center.
9:34
AM: After receiving a warning from Dulles,
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport advises
the Secret Service of an unknown aircraft heading
in the direction of the White House (AA
77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon]). Reagan
National controllers then vector an unarmed
National Guard C-130H cargo aircraft, which
has just taken off en route to Minnesota, to
identify and follow the suspicious aircraft.
The C-130H pilot spots it, identifies it as
a Boeing 757, and attempt to follow its path.
9:34
AM: FAA advises NEADS that AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon] is missing
when NEADS makes a chance call to inquire about
AA 11. If NEADS had not
placed that call, the NEADS air defenders would
have received no information whatsoever that
the flight was even missing, although the FAA
had been searching for it.
9:34
AM: Herndon Command Center advises FAA headquarters
that UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] is hijacked.
9:35
PM: The President's motorcade departs the
elementary school.
9:36
AM: UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] flight attendant
notifies UA hijacking; UA attempts to contact
the cockpit.
9:36
AM: The FAAs Boston Center calls NEADS
and relays the discovery about an unidentified
aircraft (AA 77 [3rd
impact, Pentagon]) closing
in on Washington: Latest report. Aircraft
VFR [visual flight rules] six miles southeast
of the White House. . . . Six, southwest. Six,
southwest of the White House, deviating away.
The Langley fighters are ordered to Washington,
D.C.
9:36
AM.: Vice President Richard Cheney is evacuated
to the underground bunker in the White House
by Secret Service agents. |
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9:37:46
AM: American Airlines Flight
77 crashes into the Pentagon, traveling
at approximately 530 miles per hour.
All on board, as well as many civilian
and military personnel in the building,
are killed. The National Guard C-130H
cargo aircraft following the aircraft
reports to the control tower at
Reagan, Looks like that aircraft
crashed into the Pentagon sir.
The Langley fighters are 150 miles
away. The plane came in so low that it clipped 5 lamp posts and a portable generator before impact. The crash is captured by a low resolution security camera, shown here as 5 sequential still images.
[ CBS live report] [ report from later in the day].
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9:39
AM: The FAAs Cleveland Air Route Traffic
Control Center overhears a second announcement
from UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] by hijacker Ziad
Jarrah indicating that there is a bomb on board,
that the plane is returning to the airport [ Listen,
:10].
9:40
AM (approximately): Arlington Virginia Police
dispatches emergency response to the Pentagon
[ Listen,
3:09]. |
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9:40
AM: The FAA halts all flight operations
at U.S. airports, the first time in U.S. history
that air traffic nationwide has been halted.
9:41
AM: UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] transponder is
turned off.
9:42-9:45
AM: The President's motorcade arrives at
the airport in Sarasota. The President learned
of the attack on the Pentagon en route.
9:46
AM: The Command Center updates FAA headquarters
that UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] was now twenty-nine
minutes out of Washington, D.C.
9:49
AM: 13 minutes after Cleveland Center has
asked about getting military help, the Command
Center suggests that someone at headquarters
should decide whether to request military assistance
in regards to UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] [ Listen,
:19]. |
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9:50
AM (approximately): New York Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani is interviewed on the street.
[ video, :56].
9:52
AM: Mrs. Cheney arrives at the White House
and joins her husband in the bunker.
9:54
AM: Air Force One departs from Sarasota
without any fixed destination after it's decided
the |
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President should not return to Washington
(upon the advice of the Secret Service, staff,
and the Vice President) |
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Excerpt from The 9/11 Commission Report (2004)
Section 3 of chapter 1 details
the Bush Administrations National
Crisis Management of the terrorist
attacks on September 11, 2001. |
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9:57
AM: President Bush departs from Florida.
9:57
AM: UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] passenger revolt
begins.
9:59 AM: The South Tower of
the World Trade Center, struck by United
Airlines 175 at 9:03 AM, collapses,
plummeting into the streets below. A
massive cloud of dust and debris forms
and slowly drifts away from the building. [ Video 1 | video 2 | Still Image]. |
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10:03:11
AM: After a struggle between
the passengers of United Airlines
Flight 93 and their hijackers for
control of the aircraft, Flight
93 crashes in field in Shanksville,
PA.
[ video, 2:43].
10:07
AM: NEADS receives its first call about
United 93 from the military liaison at Cleveland
Center, at Unaware that the aircraft had already
crashed, Cleveland passes to NEADS the aircraft's
last known latitude and longitude. NEADS is
never able to locate United 93 on radar because
it has already in the ground. |
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10:08 AM: Command Center updates FAA
Headquarters on UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] hijacking, 5
minutes after it has crashed
[ Listen,
:10].
10:08
AM: Secret Service agents armed with automatic
rifles are deployed into Lafayette Park across
from the White House.
10:10
AM: A portion of the Pentagon's "E
Section" collapses.
10:10
AM: NEADS calls Washington Center to report
that UA 93 [4th
impact, PA] is down [ Listen,
:20].
10:10-10:15
AM: In a phone call with the Vice President,
President Bush gives authority for pilots to
shoot down civilian aircraft that have been
hijacked.
10:13
AM: The United Nations building evacuates,
including 4,700 people from the headquarters
building and 7,000 total from UNICEF and U.N.
development programs.
10:15
AM: UA headquarters aware that Flight 93
has crashed in PA; Washington Center advises
NEADS that Flight 93 has crashed in PA.
10:18-10:20: At the advice of White
House Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten,
Vice President Cheney calls the President to
confirm the shoot-down order as it is believed
UA 93 is still approaching Washington.
10:22
AM: In Washington, the State and Justice
departments are evacuated, along with the World
Bank.
10:22-11:07 AM: Fire Dispatcher Manhattan [ [ Listen, 46:34].
10:24
AM: The FAA reports that all inbound transatlantic
aircraft flying into the United States are being
diverted to Canada. |
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10:28
AM: The World Trade Center's North Tower
collapses from the top down as if it were being
peeled apart, releasing a tremendous cloud of
debris and smoke.
[ video, :37 | video by Dr. Mark Heath, 6:45] The video by Dr. Heath begins a few moments before the collapse
of the North Tower. Dr. Mark Heath has gone down to the site to see if he
can be of any assistance, and has taken his video camera with
him. He is filming as the North Tower collapses on top of
him. After the debris clears enough to be able to see, you
can hear the strange, eerie noises of the emergency workers'
personal alarms that are set to go off when they sense that
the wearer is not moving. This is one of the most powerful
pieces of video shot on 9/11. |
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10:30
AM: AA headquarters confirms AA 77 crash
into Pentagon.
10:30
AM: The White House
shelter starts receiving reports of another
hijacked plane, this time only 5 to 10 miles
out. It turns out to be a medivac helicopter. |
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10:45 AM: All federal office buildings
in Washington are evacuated.
10:45
AM (approximately): NBC
shows footage, recorded earlier, of Palestinians
celebrating the terrorist attacks on America [ video, :50].
10.46
AM.: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
cuts short his trip to Latin America to return
to the United States. |
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10.48
AM: Police confirm the plane crash in Pennsylvania.
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10:53
AM: New York's primary elections, scheduled
for Tuesday, are postponed.
10:54
AM: Israel evacuates all diplomatic missions.
10:
57 AM: New York Governor George Pataki says
all state government offices are closed.
[Listen,
:25] |
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11:00
AM (approximately): Eyewitness descriptions
recorded throughout the morning are broadcast
[ video, 2:33].
11:02
AM: New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
urges New Yorkers to stay at home and orders
an evacuation of the area south of Canal Street. |
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11:16
AM: CNN reports that the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention is preparing emergency-response
teams in a precautionary move.
11:18
AM: American Airlines reports it has lost
two aircraft. American Flight 11, a Boeing 767
flying from Boston to Los Angeles, had 81 passengers
and 11 crew aboard. Flight 77, a Boeing 757
en route from Washington's Dulles International
Airport to Los Angeles, had 58 passengers and
six crew members aboard.
11:26
AM: United Airlines reports that United
Flight 93, en route from Newark, New Jersey,
to San Francisco, California, has crashed in
Pennsylvania. The airline also says that it
is "deeply concerned" about United Flight 175 |
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11:48
AM: CBS employee Carol Marin in the studio,
still covered in dust, describes her harrowing
experience [ video, 2:48].
11:59
AM: United Airlines confirms that Flight
175, from Boston to Los Angeles, has crashed
with 56 passengers and nine crew members aboard. |
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12:04
PM: Los Angeles International Airport, the
destination of three of the crashed airplanes,
is evacuated.
12:15
PM: San Francisco International Airport
is evacuated and shut down. The airport was
the destination of United Airlines Flight 93,
which crashed in Pennsylvania.
12:15
PM: The Immigration and Naturalization Service
says U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico are
on the highest state of alert, but no decision
has been made about closing borders.
12:30
PM: The FAA says 50 flights are in U.S.
airspace, but none are reporting any problems |
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1:04
PM: Bush speech, recorded at 12:36 at Barksdale
Air Force Base in Louisiana is played. Bush
says that all appropriate security measures
are being taken, including putting the U.S.
military on high alert worldwide. He asks for
prayers for those killed or wounded in the attacks
and says, "Make no mistake, the United States
will hunt down and punish those responsible
for these cowardly acts"
[ Listen,
2:10].
1:27
PM: A state of emergency is declared by
the city of Washington. |
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1:45
PM (approximately): NYC Mayor Giuliani talks
to Fox News by phone about the city's emergency response. [ Listen, 6:36]. He continued to give more media interviews around this time [ Listen, :52].
1:44
PM: The Pentagon says five warships and
two aircraft carriers will leave the U.S. Naval
Station in Norfolk, Virginia, to protect the
East Coast from further attack and to reduce
the number of ships in port. The two carriers,
the |
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USS George Washington and the USS John F. Kennedy, are headed for the New
York coast. The other ships headed to sea are
frigates and guided missile destroyers capable
of shooting down aircraft.
1:47 PM: White House Press Secretary Hari Fleischer gives a press briefing aboard Airforce One [transcript].
1:48 PM: Bush
leaves Barksdale Air Force Base aboard Air Force
One and flies to an Air Force base in Nebraska.
2:00 PM: Senior
FBI sources tell CNN they are working on the
assumption that the four airplanes that crashed
were hijacked as part of a terrorist attack. |
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2:30 PM: The
FAA announces there will be no U.S. commercial
air traffic until noon EDT Wednesday at the
earliest.
2:38 PM: Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki hold a joint news conference at the Police Academy. Mayor Giuliani says that subway
and bus service are partially restored in New
York City. Asked about the number of people
killed, Giuliani says, "I don't think we want
to speculate about that -- more than any of
us can bear" [ View
partial, 1:34 | Listen
full, 12:01]. |
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3:00 PM (approximately): The Pentagon holds a news conference outdoors
[ Listen,
6:00].
3:55 PM: Bush counselor Karen
Hughes makes the first in-person appearance by a member
of the President's staff since the attacks and says the president
is at an undisclosed location, later revealed
to be Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, and
is conducting a National Security Council meeting
by phone. VP Dick Cheney and National
Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice are in a secure
facility at the White House. Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld is at the Pentagon [ Listen,
5:16]. |
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3:55 PM: Giuliani
now says the number of critically injured in
New York City is up to 200 with 2,100 total
injuries reported.
4:00 PM: CNN
National Security Correspondent David Ensor
reports that U.S. officials say there are "good
indications" that Saudi militant Osama bin Laden,
suspected of coordinating the bombings of two
U.S. embassies in 1998, is involved in the attacks,
based on "new and specific" information developed
since the attacks.
4:06 PM: California
Gov. Gray Davis dispatches urban search-and-rescue
teams to New York.
4:10 PM: Building
7 of the World Trade Center complex is reported
on fire. |
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4:20 PM: U.S.
Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, chairman of the
Senate Intelligence Committee, says he was "not
surprised there was an attack (but) was surprised
at the specificity." He says he was "shocked
at what actually happened -- the extent of it"
[ Listen,
6:46].
4:25 PM: The
American Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the
New York Stock Exchange say they will remain
closed Wednesday. |
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4:30 PM: The
president leaves Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska
aboard Air Force One to return to Washington.
5:15 PM: CNN
Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre
reports fires are still burning in part of the
Pentagon. No death figures have been released
yet.
5:20 PM: The
47-story Building 7 of the World Trade Center
complex collapses. The evacuated building was
damaged when the twin towers across the street
collapsed earlier in the day. Other nearby buildings
in the area remain ablaze.
5:30 PM: CNN
Senior White House Correspondent John King reports
that U.S. officials say the plane that crashed
in Pennsylvania could have been headed for one
of three possible targets: Camp David, the White
House or the U.S. Capitol building.
5:30 PM: White House Press Secretary Hari Fleischer hold a press briefing aboard Airforce One, en route. to Andrews Airforce Base, Maryland [transcript].
6:00 PM: Explosions
are heard in Kabul, Afghanistan, hours after
terrorist attacks targeted financial and military
centers in the United States. The attacks occurred
at 2:30 a.m. local time. Afghanistan is believed
to be where bin Laden, who U.S. officials say
is possibly behind Tuesday's deadly attacks,
is located. U.S. officials say later that the
United States had no involvement in the incident
whatsoever. The attack is credited to the Northern
Alliance, a group fighting the Taliban in the
country's ongoing civil war.
6:10 PM: Giuliani
urges New Yorkers to stay home Wednesday if
they can. |
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6:30 PM (Approximately): Air Force One with military fighter escort,
on its way to Andrews Air Force Base [ video, :40].
6:40 PM: U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld holds a news conference
in the Pentagon, noting the building is operational.
"It will be in business tomorrow," he says [ Listen,
15:33]. |
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6:54 PM: While
Rumsfeld is speaking, President Bush arrives
at the White House, after exiting Air Force
One at 6:42 p.m. and flying across Washington
in Marine One. CNN's King reports Laura Bush
arrived earlier by motorcade from a "secure
location" [ video, 4:11].
7:00 PM: Minnesota
Public Radio's Marketplace airs. |
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7:02 PM: CNN's
Paula Zahn reports the Marriott Hotel near the
World Trade Center is on the verge of collapse
and says some New York bridges are now open
to outbound traffic. |
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7:17 PM: U.S.
Attorney General John Ashcroft says the FBI
is setting up a Web site for tips on the attacks. He also gives out the phone
number for family and friends of possible victims
to leave contact information.
7:45 PM: The
New York Police Department says that at least
78 officers are missing. The city also says
that as many as half of the first 400 firefighters
on the scene were killed.
7:45 PM: Members
of Congress gather on the steps outside. After
comments by Dennis Hastert and Tom Daschle,
they spontaneously begin singing "God Bless
America" [ video, 5:32]. |
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8:00 PM (approximately): Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) is interviewed
by CNN on the steps of Capitol Hill [ Listen,
4:40 | video].
8:30 PM: President
Bush addresses the nation, saying "thousands
of lives were suddenly ended by evil." He
announces that the U.S. will make no distinction
between the terrorists who committed the acts
and those who harbor them [ Listen,
4:24) |
video, 4:24]. |
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9:00 PM (approximately): CNN's Larry King interviews Senators John Warner
(R-VA), John Kerry (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA), and Fred Thompson (R-TN) [ Listen:
10:46 | video].
9:22 PM: CNN's
McIntyre reports the fire at the Pentagon is
still burning and is considered contained but
not under control. |
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10:00 PM: NYC
Mayor Rudy Giuliani says New York City schools
will be closed Wednesday and no more volunteers
are needed for Tuesday evening's rescue efforts.
He says there is hope that there are still people
alive in rubble. He also says that power is
out on the westside of Manhattan and that health
department tests show there are no airborne
chemical agents about which to worry. Giuliani
names some of the high-ranking police and fire
officers that are missing [ audio | video, 14:36]. |
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10:30 PM: Some
of the first video shot at "Ground Zero"
is shown on the air for the first time
[ view,
5:03]. Bin Laden file footage is shown [ video, 1:09].
10:49 PM: CNN
Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl reports
that Attorney General Ashcroft told members
of Congress that there were three to five hijackers
on each plane armed only with knives. |
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10:50 PM: CNN
interviews terrorism expert Peter Bergen, who
once interviewed Osama Bin Laden
[ Listen,
3:40 | video].
10:56 PM: CNN's
Zahn reports that New York City police believe
there are people alive in buildings near the
World Trade Center. Footage of the evening rescue effort is shown [ video, 1:57].
11:54 PM: CNN
Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno reports
that a government official told him |
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there was
an open microphone on one of the hijacked planes
and that sounds of discussion and "duress" were
heard. Sesno also reports a source says law
enforcement has "credible" information and leads
and is confident about the investigation. Bin Laden History is shown
[ video 3:55].
A Video Essay, shot on 9/11, shown
on 9/12 [ view:
2:36]. |
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