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Research Analysis of Events and Timeline of September 11th

This is a collection of data from various sources which lays out the general aeronautical order and timing of events on the morning of the World Trade Center(WTC) and Pentagon attacks. There are some discrepancies in reports, but those articles that specifically pointed to sources or certain events have been taken as authoritative. The object of this list is to gauge the military national defence activities or NORAD, FAA and Air Traffic Control responses. It's extremely important to note that our cultural propensity towards 9-5 workdays figures prominently in the many apparent lapses in the chains of alert and command and deployment in the apparent near total failure of air defenses.

First we must note that there was a clever understanding, in the hijackers plan, of the chair-shuffling and coffee making grind of 9-5 American life. It's obvious, at the very least, they took some advantage of the workdays common in both civil and defense command and control establishments. Had all flights left according to schedule, both towers would have been hit almost simultaneously within, and all hijackings would have occured at around the 8:15 - 8:30 AM mark.

Depending on which is the more accurate account, American Airlines Flight 11 was not necessarily unstoppable, the most probable of 'warning to impact' times is 25 minutes, but the most conservative, and inaccurate media reports tried to cut this to merely 15 minutes! On the other hand, all the other flights also cruised about, unchallenged, for extraordinarily long periods of time!

Of the 11 states/district that these hijacked airliners flew, there are 55 active air defence bases more than half of which fly a half dozen training exercises per business day. They must police and enforce the massive FAA Air Defence Interception Zone (ADIZ) off the US East Coast! Originally none admitted having even a single jet in the sky between 8:00AM and 8:56AM that morning, which would have allowed a more customary, average 15 minutes to interception (Payne Stewart) to have been achieved. But new information has revealed that at 8:46 A.M. the time of the first WTC crash, three F-16's assigned to Andrews Air Force Base 10 miles from Washington were flying a training mission on a range in North Carolina, 207 miles away. Unless these 1500 mph F16s were inadequately fuelled, they could have easily reached Washington in 10 minutes, or New York City in 24 minutes!

"Pilots are supposed to hit each (flight plan) fix with pinpoint accuracy. If a plane deviates by 15 degrees, or two miles from that course, the flight controllers will hit the panic button. They’ll call the plane, it’s always considered a serious emergency."

It is standard Department of Defense and FAA procedure in the event of a hijacking, that the FAA hijack coordinator on duty at Washington headquarters requests the military (NORAD) to provide escort aircraft, usually those deployed or ready nearest the event. Between Sep 2000 and June 2001 fighters were fairly evenly scrambled or redirected to escort duty(5-9 per month) a total of 67 times, yet for some reason that average rate dropped dramatically from July through to September 11th - a deliberate change of policy?.

Only one airbase, Otis AFB in Mass. had 2 'ready' jets fuelled and on deck. Sadly either by deliberate or well-concieved plan, it took them over 11 minutes just to get off the ground, after a mysterious 24 minute long delay!

How could the terrorists have known of this woeful situation? The most questionable or clearly inaccurate (?) reports (duplicates) are in grey.

6:45*AMApproximately *2 hours prior to the first attack, at least 2 workers at an Israeli-owned instant messaging company 'Odigo' receive widely distributed messages warning of an imminent WTC attack. No known authorities are alerted by any recipient. OkWash Post | Ha'aretz
7:45 AMAA Flight 11 to depart Logan, for LA (delayed) OkLA Times
7:58 AMUAL Flight 175 to depart Logan for LA (delayed) OkWash Post
7:59 AMAtta in AA Flight 11 calls Al-Shehhi in UAL Flight 175 over cell-phones as both planes sit on the runway to confirm plot? ["just before 8:00,"] OkTime
7:59 AMAA Flight 11 departs Logan for LA (14 min. delay) Ok CS Monitor | Wash Post | NY Daily News
8:01 AMUAL Flight 93 to depart Newark for San Francisco (delayed) OkWash Post | NY Daily News
8:10 AMAA Flight 77 to depart Dulles for LA (delayed) OkCS Monitor | Wash Post | NY Daily News
8:13 AM
 Alert1
Pilot of AA Flight 11 acknowledges and turns right (north) in response to ATC instruction, but fails to respond to a climb instruction seconds later. OkBoston Globe | NY Times
8:14 AMAA Flight 11 under attack, between 8:13 and 8:20 "hijackers entry was surprising enough that the pilots didn't have a chance to broadcast an emergency distress call", - poorly located button, known to the hijackers, only takes a second to press.OkBoston Globe
8:14 AMUAL Flight 175 departs Logan for LA (16 min. delay) OkCS Monitor | NY Times | CBS | AP | Wash Post | NY Daily News | airdisaster.com
8:15 AMAA Flight 11 attendant Betty Ong calls AA American Airlines' Ops. Center manager Craig Marquis in Fort Worth: she tells of a passenger dead and a crewmember dying, the jet's path has changed and intruders are in the cockpit.{ slightly contradicts 8:21 time }Ok?USAToday
8:15 AM
 Alarm1

Boston ATC fails to contact the pilots of AA Flight 11, even using emergency frequencies. Flight controller reports "He won't answer you. He's nordo roger". The radar designation transponder is now also off.
OkNY Times | CNN
8:20 AMBOS ATC (and UAL Flight 175) overhear alarming radio message from AA Flight 11 "everyone stay in your seats" Every attempt still being made to regain radio contact, including nearby flights. OkCS Monitor
8:20 AMBOS ATC officially concludes that AA Flight 11 has been hijacked. Reports immediately to FAA and NEADS, according to regulations.OkNewsday | NY Times
8:20 AMAA Flight 77 departs Dulles for LA (10 min. delay) OkWash Post | Patriot Resource
8:21 AMAA Flight 11 attendant Betty Ong calls AA American Airlines Reservations. Operations Center manager Craig Marquis in Fort Worth also recieves relayed reports: she tells of a passenger dead and a crewmember dying, the jet's path has changed and intruders are in the cockpit. Recorded-for-QC call lasts 25 minutes until crash.{ slightly contradicts 8:15 time }Ok?Boston Globe | ABC News
8:21 AMAA Flight 11 attendant Sweeney also calls AA Ground Manager Woodward at Logan: 2 hijackers in cockpit, 2 attendants, passenger knifed, seat #s, names of hijackers copious details. Call also lasts 25 minutes, but not recorded.OKBoston Globe | ABC News
8:24 AMUAL Flight 175 reports to ATC about AA Flight 11 radio traffic "heard a suspicious transmission on our departure from BOS, someone keyed the mike and said, 'Everyone stay in your seats.' " { Slightly contradicts 8:41 similar quote }Ok?airdisaster.com
8:24 AMBOS ATC overhears another alarming radio message from Capt. Ogonowski's open mike on AA Flight 11 `We have some planes. Just stay quiet, and you'll be OK. We are returning to the airport. Everything will be OK. If you try to make any moves you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet.' Cannot regain radio contact. OkCBS | NY TImes | Boston Globe | Guardian
8:25 AMBOS ATC informs other ATC centers (including nearby Otis) AA Flight 11 has been hijacked. FAA assigns a new, manual 'tag' to AA Flight 11's radar dot on ATC display system to substitute for it's missing transponder data. OkGuardian | Village Voice
8:26 AMUAL Flight 175, 12 minutes elapsed, transponder disappears from ATC radar. { Contradicts 8:37 and 8:42 reports. Major issue! } ?Post Gazette
8:28 AMAA Flight 11, 29 minutes elapsed, 13 minutes since first alarm, already 40 miles (north) off course, still too low, veers sharply 100 degrees south, back towards Albany and NYC. OkWrongwaygoback | CS Monitor
8:28 AMAt AA Headquarters, "All eyes watched as the plane headed south. On the screen, the plane showed a squiggly line after its turn near Albany, then it straightened." OkWSJ
8:28 AMAA Flight 11 transponder disappears from ATC radar. { Contradicts 8:15 quote }?Post Gazette
8:34 AMATC hear a hijacker on AA Flight 11 say to the passengers: "Nobody move, please, we are going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves." [8:33:59] OkGuardian | NY Times
8:35 AMMajor Mike Snyder, NORAD Colorado, confirms reporting hijack alert awareness to Pentagon - NEADS, NORAD and Pentagon are apparently still just 'tuning-in' to their skies. No action is taken whatsoever. OkNY Times | Boston Globe
8:37 AM(BOS?) ATC Flight controllers allegedly ask the UAL Flight 175 pilots to look for a lost American Airlines plane 10 miles to the south, they supposedly respond that they can see it and are told to keep away from it. [8:37:08]. This crucial detail is absent in NY Times listing of the timed (NYC?) ATC transcript. { Conflicts with 8:26 report - that one has been assumed to be an error, unless their transponder was somehow shut off remotely! } OkGuardian | NY Times
8:38 AMFAA 'officially' alerts NORAD - NEADS Re AA Flight 11 hijack. Again, no action is taken.{ Since 8:20 this plane has been declared hijacked, and Otis has known of it since 8:25 } OkWash Post | Boston Globe | Patriot Resource
8:39 AMATC listen as Captain Ogonowski open mike on AA Flight 11 reports: "Don't do anything foolish -You're not going to be killed" OkWrongwaygoback
8:40 AMAA Flight 11 attendant Sweeney calls AA official Woodward at Logan... { Contradicts 8:21 quote }?Wrongwaygoback | LA Times
8:40 AMF-15 Pilot claims that at this time, a "colleague" at the Otis Air National Guard Base says that a flight out of Boston has been hijacked, and to be on alert. He dons his flight gear and gets ready.OkCape Cod Times
8:41 AMUAL Flight 175 reports to ATC about AA Flight 11 radio traffic "We figured we'd wait to go to your center. We heard a suspicious transmission on our departure out of Boston. Someone keyed the mike and said: 'Everyone stay in your seats.' It cut out." Contradicts exact same message 16 minutes ago, when it likely may have occured at 8:24 , but especially the 8:26 report and possibly the 8:37 discussions. At 8:42 it is apparently being hijacked - while it was still chatting with controllers? This occured much earlier, an in-control conflict is about to ensue about opening the cockpit doors to hijackers.}Ok?NY Times | CBS | AP | Guardian
8:42 AM"Before" 8:43, Peter B Hanson calls his father from UAL Flight 175 and says, "Oh, my God! They just stabbed the airline hostess. I think the airline is being hijacked." Call cut off twice, he reports how men armed with knives were stabbing flight attendants, to force crew to unlock the doors to the cockpit. OkToronto Sun | BBC
8:42 AMUAL Flight 93 departs Newark for San Francisco (41 min. delay) OkCBS | AP | Wash Post | Patriot Resource | Newsweek | CNN | Guardian
8:42 AM
 Alert2
UAL Flight 175 veers from its official course. A flight controller says, "... looks like he's heading southbound but there's no transponder, no nothing and no one's talking to him." 27 minutes elapsed. OkBoston Globe | NY Times
8:43 AM
 Alarm2
UAL Flight 175's transponder is turned back on, reprogrammed to an invalid flight ID, but is still sending the aircraft's speed and altitude "like a sore thumb" back to ground radars. OkWash Post
8:43 AMFAA alerts NORAD - NEADS again, Re: UAL Flight 175 hijackOkWash Post | Patriot Resource
8:43 AMDispatcher at United's operations center sends email to all flights "Hijack alert. Beware, cockpit intrusion." UAL Flight 93 responds "Confirmed"OkNY Times | CBS | AP
8:44 AMOtis AFB ordered to scramble 2 Ready F-15 Fighters { Contradicts Norad itself at 8:46 }?Boston Globe
8:44 AMAA Flight 11 final voice from cockpit ``We have more planes, we have other planes,"OkWrongwaygoback
8:44 AMSecretary of Defense Rumsfeld, is talking about terrorism at the Pentagon. "Let me tell ya," he says, "I've been around the block a few times. There will be another event." He then repeats it for emphasis, "There will be another event." OkAP
8:45 AMAA Flight 11 Strikes First WTC Tower - 46 minutes elapsed, 25-32 minutes warning (8:13 - 8:20) OkABC | Wash Post | Boston Globe | CNN | NY Daily News | Wrongwaygoback
8:46 AMOtis AFB commander orders pilots to scramble 2 ready F-15 Fighters. 26 minutes after alarm, apparently still without 'clearance' or orders from Pentagon, NORAD or NEADSOkNORAD | Ch 4 News | CNN | Wash Post | Aviation Week & ST
8:46 AMThree F16 jets out of Andrews AFB are flying an armed air-to-ground bombing joyride 'mission' on a range in North Carolina, 207 miles from DC. 26-31 minutes after alarm, NORAD or NEADS fail to contact them, instead, they finish practice and eventually return to Andrews! they were 19 mins from NYC, 10 mins from DC, but finally landed at Andrews around 9:40 AM OkNORAD | Aviation Week & ST
8:46 AMNORAD and NEADS, still on the phone with FAA/ATC/Otis since 8:25, claim they "could not find" AA Flight 11 or UAL Flight 175. American Airlines and FAA confirm Flights 11 and 175 were never 'lost'. Washington Post noted "Controllers scrambled to direct other planes out of the way of both" UAL Flight 175 and AA Flight 11, and several collisions were barely averted. OkNORAD | Aviation Week & ST | Wash Post
8:46 AM
 Alert3
AA Flight 77 goes severely off course for 5 minutes. It heads north 15 miles for a while then U-turns south and gets back on course. 26 minutes elapsedOkUSA Today
8:46 AMOtis F-15 Fighters Airborne { contradicts 8:46 'order' and 8:56 reports }?Patriot Resource
8:50 AMUnidentified pilot asks over aircraft band "Anybody know what the smoke is over Lower Manhattan?"OkNY Times | CBS | AP
8:50 AM
 Alarm3
Unidentified pilot from AA Flight 77 briefly asks Controllers for clearance to fly higher, then contact is immediately lost with the flight already 5 miles off-course. 30 minutes elapsed. OkBoston Globe | NY Times | Guardian
8:53 AMOtis F-15 Fighters Airborne { maybe 1 airborne and tower-cleared since 8:46 }?Wash Post
8:55 AMAA Flight 77 transponder is shut off, it evidently turns back eastward near Kentucky-Ohio border, 35 minutes elapsed. OkWash Post
8:56 AMATC looses radio and transponder contact with AA Flight 77 "We called the company. They can't even get a hold of them," OkNY Times | CBS | AP
8:56 AMPentagon NORAD 'officials' now ready to admit some vague awareness of AA Flight 11, UAL Flight 175 and AA Flight 77 situations. OkNY Times
8:56 AM
2 Otis F-15 Fighters finally airborne. Originally ordered after AA Flight 11 (already crashed), they are now ordered to intercept UAL Flight 175
OkBoston Globe | NY Times
8:57 AMATC briefly "for several minutes" looses track of AA Flight 77 radar blip, expecting it to be west rather than east of it's previous position. OkNewsday
9:00 AMDispatcher at United's operations center sends message to all flights "Beware, cockpit intrusion." { Contradicts 8:43 - more detail)?Post Gazette
9:02 AMNORAD - NEADS claims that they've now "found" UAL Flight 175. (presumably, on CNN) OkAviation Week & ST
9:03 AMUAL Flight 175, Strikes Second WTC Tower, 49 minutes elapsed, 20-21 minutes warning. ( 8:42 - 8:43 ) 18 minutes at extraordinarily high alert. OkCS Monitor | ABC | Boston Globe
9:03 AMNY ATC Center Chief McCormick orders "We're declaring ATC zero," to all regional air traffic managers. Clearing the skies over the region.OkUSAToday
9:05 AMPresident Bush interrupted by Karl Rove at Sarasota school address and updated about the progress of their pre-planned crisis, he stupidly returns to his political photo-op, listening to children read him stories about a goat. No action is taken.OkAP | live-CNN
9:06 AMNY police radio announces "this is a terrorist attack, notify the Pentagon" - again, no action is taken.OkNY Daily News
9:09 AMBush notified in Sarasota {minor error}?Wrongwaygoback
9:10 AMUnidentified blip aquired by West Virginia FAA radar heading east. Three F16 fighters just a few miles away over in North Carolina on a morning romp are not contacted.(this was AA Flight 77)OkNewsday
9:10 AMAA Flight 77 identified on WV FAA radar heading east. OkWash Post | Wrongwaygoback
9:12 AMBarbara Olsen on AA Flight 77 1st call husband: "Our plane is being hijacked." - forced passengers/pilot to rear.OkWrongwaygoback
9:15 AMBy this time, FAA HQ in Herndon Va. has identified AA Flight 77 and added it to the list of possibly hijacked flights on a hastily-erected white board.OkUSAToday
9:17 AMFAA shuts down NYC AirportsOkCNN | Wrongwaygoback
9:19 AMAP reports FBI investigating reports of hijackingsOkNY Daily News | Wrongwaygoback
9:20 AMPassengers on UAL Flight 93 begin desperate series of phone calls as hijack underwayOkPost Gazette
9:24 AMFAA alerts NORAD - NEADS Re: AA Flight 77 hijack, "headed back towards Washington" OkWash Post | Patriot Resource | Guardian | CNN | NORAD
9:24 AMUnable to delay any longer, Langley Alert Siren finally sounds. 2 ready pilots proceed to 'standby' in their aircraft. Other aircraft under their control a few miles away and already airborne on current training missions are deliberately kept in the dark.OkBook - Among the Heroes
9:25 AMBarbara Olsen on AA Flight 77 2nd call: hijackers used "knives and cardboard cutters"Ok | Wrongwaygoback
9:25 AMNow an authority on storybook goats and a half hour too late, as if he were a deliberate co-plotter, the sleepy President Bush finally gets around to ordering DEFCON 3OkBoston Globe
9:25 AMFAA orders full continental aviation GroundstopOkABC | Patriot Resource | USAToday
9:25 AMLangley F-16's "scrambled". Also NORAD tries to put this event at 9:30 but pilot tells the real story! OkWash Post
9:28 AMJeremy Glick on UAL Flight 93 informed of rash of hijackings, WTC and Pentagon attacks by AirphoneOkPost Gazette
9:28 AM
 Alert4
ATC hears "get out of here" and background noise disturbance from UAL Flight 93 radio, looses contact.OkCBS | AP | Post Gazette
9:29+ AMATC controller at Dulles reports unidentified transponderless flight on radar, heading toward downtown Washington, making almost 500 mph. to FAAOkUSAToday
9:30 AMPresident Bush announces "Terrorist Attack" at Sarasota. OkCNN | NY Daily News | Patriot Resource
9:30 AMApproximate - 9:35. NORAD phones Langley, orders 3 jets airborne ASAP, 3rd pilot-commander "Honey" suits-up, estimates takeoffs at 9:40 - 9:45. They are to intercept AA Flight 77, erroneously presumed to also be heading north up to New York! OkBook - Among the Heroes
9:34 AMATC radio picks up transmission from UAL Flight 93 "we have a bomb, we are returning to the airport". 52 minutes elapsedOkPost Gazette
9:35 AM
 Alarm4
UAL Flight 93 begins turn around near Cleveland. OkPost Gazette
9:35 AMLangley F-16's Airborne. OkWash Post | Patriot Resource
9:36 AMReagan National ATC, over open channel, orders (panic?) a nearby C-130 cargo plane (no less) Flight Golfer 06, that has just departed nearby Andrews AFB, to divert to identify and intercept AA Flight 77 which approaching the Capitol close to it's path. OkGuardian | NY Times
9:36 AMAA Flight 77 headed downtown at top speed (500+ mph), crosses the beltway and then suddenly, upon spotting the C-130, executes a sharp 7000 ft descending turn ditching towards the Pentagon, loosing vital airspeed. {'eventually clipping nearby street lamps' in CBS account. Around '9:35' in USAToday } OkCBS | USAToday
9:37 AMAA Flight 77 Strikes Pentagon {Obvious early reports error.} ? Newsday | Wash Post
9:39 AMUAL Flight 93 radio transmission "around this time" heard by ATC "Hi, this is the captain. We'd like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board. And we are going to turn back to the airport. And they had our demands, so please remain quiet." {Hazy conflict with 9:34} Ok?Boston Globe
9:40 AMAA Flight 77 Strikes Pentagon {minor-rounding?} ?Wash Post | Boston Globe | Patriot Resource
9:40 AMFAA orders full aviation Groundstop (wrong) ?CNN | Wrongwaygoback
9:41 AMApparently ignoring the Shrubbo's DEFCON 3, Secretary of 'Defense' Rumsfeld is lounging in the Pentagon, but supposedly completely oblivious of the approaching AA Flight 77 which was apparently intended for the Capitol. As he watches TV coverage of WTC, he says, "Believe me, this isn't over yet. There's going to be another attack, and it could be us." apparently, "moments later, the plane hit." OkTelegraph
9:41 AMAA Flight 77 Strikes Pentagon, 81 minutes elapsed, 50-55 minutes warning! (8:46 - 8:50) 57 minutes at extraordinarily high alert. May have overheard National ATC order to C-130, spotted it and diverted there at last minute. {up to 9:43 also given, but [9:41:30] all tapes. It was a poor shot, obviously not well planned, for if it had crashed at the right angle into top of the inner ring through to the lower floors/ring of the opposite side, firefighters could never have reached the internally-contained fires.} Ok | NY Times | MSNBC | CBS - CNN - ABC news footage
9:45 AMAirphone Operator receives report that UAL Flight 93 hijacked. OkPatriot Resource
9:45 AMCapitol and White House evacuates. OkWash Post | CNN | NY Daily News | Patriot Resource
9:45 AMLangley F-16's reach Washington DC. ?Patriot Resource
9:49 AMFAA orders full aviation Groundstop. (way wrong) ?Wash Post | NY Daily News
9:55 AM(2-3 minutes) Military aide in White House bunker, to VP, "There is a plane 80 miles out. There is a fighter in the area. Should we engage?" (Otis F-15s?) VP (now ACIC) immediately answers "Yes." As the fighter gets nearer to UAL Flight 93, he is asked the same thing twice more, and responds yes both times. OkWash Post
9:58 AMAirphone Operator receives last report from the indomitable heroes of UAL Flight 93 "Let's Roll". OkWrongwaygoback
10:00 AMLangley F-16s Arrive Washington DC. At top speed, (1600 mph) they could have made the hop in 4.5 minutes. They were ordered to go to New York, (at 1100 mph.) instead of Washington. They spotted the Pentagon smoke, then were diverted there afterwards! OkBoston Globe | Book - Among the Heroes
10:03 AM2 F-16's reported closely tailing UAL Flight 93 by CBS. NH flight controller reports: "that an F-16 fighter closely pursued UAL Flight 93... the F-16 made 360-degree turns to remain close to the commercial jet, the employee said. 'He must've seen the whole thing,' the employee said of the F-16 pilot's view of UAL Flight 93's crash." OkCBS | Nashua Tel | AP
Consistent with the overhead sighting, circle for side approach interception, move above forward to drop in front and do wing tilt, circle back to rear to kill pattern. However, no ground observer reports any military plane near the stricken flight at higher or lower altitudes, though some heard missiles and/or extra booms, and saw smaller, 'white' jet aircraft soon after the crash.
10:03 AMOfficial time that UAL Flight 93 was terminated, matches CVR recording transcript-time, which ends with a 60-90 sec-long whooshing sound, confirmed between screams over open telephone lines. {Most certainly some serious destruction of the aircrafts cabin pressurization is evidenced by this sound, clear evidence of an air to air missile attack.} Ok SF Chron | NORAD | CNN
10:06 AMRemains of UAL Flight 93 crash in Somerset PA, 40 minutes elapsed, 31-38 minutes warning. (9:28 - 9:35) 1:21 minutes at extraordinarily high alert. 10:06:05 OkNY Daily News | US Army Seismic records.
{ Smaller debris fields out at 8, then 3 and 2 miles, and an engine just 2000 yards beyond the crash site, and clearly consistent with heat-seeking missile scenario, rapidly slowed decompression debris, wing separation, fuselage damage - crash } Ok Independent | Phil Daily News | CBS
10:10 AMUAL Flight 93 crashes in Somerset PA. 44 minutes elapsed, 35-42 minutes warning. Ok?Wash Post | CNN |MSNBC | NORAD | NY Times | Guardian | CBS | Boston Globe
10:37 AMUAL Flight 93 crash in Somerset PA confirmed by FAA OkABC | Patriot Resource


From the 7 'official' NORAD defence bases in the US, F-15 or F-16 jet fighters(1600 mph top speeds) can reach anywhere in US airspace within 3-4 minutes. A scramble can waste from 3 to 8 minutes, or much longer, but 6 minutes has been the outer NORAD benchmark. 18-20 minutes is the cold start average, though Toledo did scramble 'cold' planes in 16 minutes around 10:00 AM.

It's important to bear in mind that the hijack 'pilots' in all cases were only trained to steer and aim a commercial airliner to a single target, lacking the skills to navigate with precision judging by the erratic courses they flew. They must have been aware of the security, radar and communications systems, but perhaps save one or two, likely could not have landed any of the craft safely even if they wanted to. No matter what any interceptor may have attempted, the occupants and aircraft were certainly all doomed from the moment of takeover. The Vice President, thus, made an accurate and sound decision to 'engage' UAL Flight 93 before it reached any other useful ground target, not just assuming he already knew then what we all know now. UAL FLight 93 could have been forced to land, but after the events of the morning, such an approach could simply not be seen to be worth such a risk.




We have attempted to be as thorough as possible, but if you have, or know of any resources that would affect the accuracy of this timeline please Email us. Back to Anthrax The Perfect CIA Weapon