2. SOMETHING WENT WRONG…
At
8:13 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 communicated with the Boston Air Traffic
Control Center for the last time. At 8:14 a.m., terrorists entered the cockpit,
stabbing two female flight attendants and taking control of the aircraft.
Meanwhile,
United Airlines Flight 175, carrying 56 passengers and nine crew members,
including five terrorists, departed from Logan Airport in Boston to Los Angeles
International Airport at 8:14 a.m.
Betty
Ong, the flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, spoke to American
Airlines at around 8:19 a.m.
"The
cockpit’s not answering... Somebody’s been stabbed in business class, and I
think there's Mace; we can't breathe. I don't know, I think we’re getting
hijacked…"
At
8:20 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77, carrying 58 passengers and 6 crew
members, including 5 terrorists, departed from Dallas International Airport in
Washington to Los Angeles International Airport.
At
8:21 a.m., the transponder signaling system, set up to detect the location of
American Airlines Flight 11, was deactivated, but the control room in Boston
could still monitor it through primary radar signals.
At
8:24 a.m., the radio was accidentally activated by Mohamed Ata to make an
announcement to the passengers, and officials at the Boston Air Traffic Control
Center heard what he had to say.
“We
have some planes. Just stay quiet, and we’ll be okay. We are returning to the
airport.”
This
took about 2 minutes. At 8:26 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 took a
100-degree turn across the Hudson River toward New York City.
At
8:34 a.m., Mohammad Atta's voice was heard on the radio again.
"Nobody
move; everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you will injure
yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet."
At
the same time, the Boston Air Force Control Room reported the hijacking to
NEADS, the Northeastern Fleet of NORAD (NORAD - The North American Air Defense
Force).
At
8:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 began descending from an altitude of
29,000 feet at a speed of 3,200 feet per minute. Two F9 aircraft from NEADS,
NORAD's Northeast Fleet, set out to investigate American Airlines Flight 11.
However, they were unable to locate the exact location of the aircraft because
its transponder signaling system was deactivated.
From
Newark International Airport at 8:42 a.m., with a delay of 40 minutes, United
Airlines Flight 93 departed for San Francisco International Airport with 37
passengers and seven crew members, including four terrorists.
Between
8:42 a.m. and 8:46 a.m., terrorists Faisal Banihammed and Mohammed al-Shehri,
who were on board Flight 175, forcibly entered the cockpit and hijacked the
plane.
American
Airlines Flight 11 descended to 10,000 feet by 8:43 a.m., and it took its final
turn, targeting the World Trade Center.
Amy
Sweeney, a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, spoke with Michael
Woodward of American Airlines in Boston at about 8:44 a.m., and she said,
"Something
is wrong. Our plane is going down fast. I can see the water. I can see the
buildings. Oh! God, we are going very low..."
8:46
A.M
AMERICAN
AIRLINES FLIGHT 11
At
8:46:30 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 hit at approximately 790 kilometers
per hour and crashed between the 93rd and 99th floors of the North Tower of the
World Trade Center in New York. The shock was felt in nearby buildings.
The
building caught fire, damaging the building's main frame with fuel from the
plane. Everyone on board and more than a thousand people in the North Tower
died on the spot, and even their body parts had been burnt.
The
first battalion commander of the New York Fire Department (FDNY) reported the
accident to the North Tower at their headquarters around 8:46:43 a.m.
“We
just had a plane crash into the upper floor of the World Trade Center. Transmit
a 2nd Alarm and start relocating companies into the area.”
And
the North Tower of the World Trade Center burned, emitting a haze of smoke.
At
8:49 p.m., "This just in. You are looking at obviously a very disturbing
live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed
reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the
World Trade Center… That is, once again, a picture of one of the towers of the
World Trade Center.”
CNN
stopped in the middle of a Ditech ad. Journalist Carol Lynn covered the news
under the headline "WORLD TRADE CENTER DISASTER" without a theme
play. After that, ABC NEWS, MSNBC, and NBC NEWS immediately stopped their
programs and began airing special news.
Terrorists
hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 in the skies over Ohio between 8:50 a.m.
and 8:54 a.m. Honey Hanjour and the terrorists broke into the cockpit and took
the pilots back, and Honey Hanjour took control of the plane. He changed the
flight path by turning the plane to the right.
At
around 8:55 a.m., officials at the South Tower of the World Trade Center issued
a statement saying that the South Tower was safe and that people should go to
their offices. This was only heard by some and not by all. Also, some people
ignored it and left the building.
President
Bush arrived at Emma E Booker Elementary School at about 8:55 a.m., and White
House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said a small plane had crashed into the World
Trade Center. But before entering a school classroom, Condoleezza Rice, the
White House National Security Adviser, was contacted, and she said it was a
commercial aircraft, and that was all that was known at that moment.
At
8:56 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 deactivated its transponder signals, and
they were not even visible on primary radar. They took advantage of this and
were able to fly to Washington for 36 minutes without being tracked by any air
traffic control center.
United
Airlines Flight 175 turned for New York City at 8:58 a.m., and Peter Hanson
called his father, Lee Hanson, from the same plane at 9:00 a.m. He said,
"Dad,
the situation is getting worse. The flight attendant was stabbed. They have
knives and socks. They say they have a bomb. The situation inside the plane is very
bad… I think they're going to take the plane to Chicago or another city and
crash it into a building. Don't worry. If something like that happens, it will
happen very quickly… My God!"
At
the same time, the phone turned off with a loud scream.
Leo Kasun Sapumohotti
Zone Director
Zone B1
Leo District 306 A1
