FLIGHT 11 TIMELINE

By Paul Thompson

Colored categories:
American Airlines Flight 11. Boeing 767 flying from Boston to Los Angeles. 81 passengers, nine flight attendants, two pilots, Hijackers: Waleed Alshehri (Seat 2B), Wail Alshehri (Seat 2A), Mohamed Atta (Seat 8D, the likely pilot), Abdulaziz Alomari (Seat 8G) and Satam Al Suqami (Seat 10B).
United Airlines Flight 93. Flying from Newark to San Francisco. 38 passengers (out of 182 seats), five flight attendants, two pilots. Hijackers: Ahmed Alhaznawi, Ahmed Alnami, Ziad Jarrah (the likely pilot) and Saeed Alghamdi (had flight training).
United Airlines Flight 175. Boeing 767 flying from Boston to Los Angeles. 56 passengers, seven flight attendants, two pilots. Hijackers: Marwan Alshehhi (the likely pilot), Fayez Ahmed Banihammad (Alshehri) (had flight training), Mohand Alshehri (had flight training), Hamza Alghamdi and Ahmed Alghamdi.
American Airlines Flight 77. Boeing 757 flying from Dulles Airport outside Washington to Los Angeles. 58 passengers, four flight attendants and two pilots. Hijackers: Khalid Almihdhar (Seat 12B), Majed Moqed (Seat 12A), Nawaf Alhazmi, Salem Alhazmi (Seat 5F), and Hani Hanjour (the likely pilot).
George Bush's movements and sayings.
All other events.

Approximate times are marked in parentheses.

(5:53 A.M.) Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari board a Colgan Air flight from Portland, Maine to Boston. They are filmed going through security in Portland - this is the only footage of the hijackers in airports on 9/11, and its not even one of the suicide flights. [Time, 9/24/01] [5:45, New York Daily News, 5/22/02, 5:53, Miami Herald, 9/22/01, the timestamp on the released photos shows 5:53] Two passengers later say Atta and Alomari board separately from each other, keep quiet and don't draw attention to themselves. [Chicago Sun-Times, 9/16/01]

6:50 A.M. Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari's flight from Portland arrives on time at Boston's Logan Airport. [The book Inside 9-11: What Really Happened, 2/02]

(Before 7:30 A.M.) A man has an argument with five Middle Eastern men over a parking space in the parking lot of Boston's Logan Airport. Later in the day he reports the event, and the car is discovered to have been rented by Atta. Inside, police find a ramp pass, allowing access to restricted airport areas. [Miami Herald, 9/22/01] Was the argument a staged event to make sure the car would be found? Why would they leave such a pass in their car instead of using it to board the airplanes?

(7:45 A.M.) Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari board Flight 11. Atta's bags contain airline uniforms and many other remarkable things, but strangely are checked through to his final destination, making them unusable for the attacks. The bags are not loaded onto the plane in time, and are later found by investigators. [Boston Globe, 9/18/01] But at least two other hijackers on Flight 11 are able to use stolen uniforms and IDs to board the plane. [Sunday Herald, 9/16/01] There is speculation that the bags were meant to be left behind and found. [New Yorker, 10/1/01] That would imply a confederate working in the airport who makes sure the bags are not loaded.

(Before 7:59 A.M.) Atta in Flight 11 calls Alshehhi in Flight 175 as both planes sit on the runway. They confirm the plot is on. ["just before 8:00," Time, 8/4/02] How do investigators know what was said in this call even after the fact, and what does that say about their data collection abilities?

(7:59 A.M.)Ê Flight 11 takes off from Boston's Logan Airport, 14 minutes after scheduled departure. [7:45 (actually the scheduled time), Los Angeles Times, 9/20/01, 7:59, ABC News, 7/18/02, 7:59, CNN, 9/17/01, 7:59, Washington Post, 9/12/01, 8:00, Guardian, 10/17/01, 8:00, AP, 8/19/02, 8:00, Newsday, 9/10/02]

8:13 A.M. The last routine communication between ground control and the pilots of Flight 11. The pilot responds when told to turn right. But almost immediately afterwards he fails to respond to a command to climb. [Boston Globe, 11/23/01, 8:13:31, New York Times, 10/16/01]

(8:13 A.M.) At the same time that flight controllers are asking Flight 11 to climb to 35,000 feet, the transponder stops transmitting. Says air traffic manager Glenn Michael later, "We considered it at that time to be a possible hijacking." ["when given permission to climb to 35,000 feet," AP, 8/12/02, "8:13:47 — 46R: AAL11, now climb maintain FL350," New York Times, 10/16/01, shortly after trying emergency frequencies, Christian Science Monitor, 9/13/01] However, the official story says NORAD is not notified until 8:40 - 37 minutes later. [NORAD, 9/18/01]

(8:13 A.M.) Flight 11 is hijacked around this time. One flight controller says the plane is hijacked over Gardner, Massachusetts, which is less than 50 miles from Boston. [Nashua Telegraph, 9/13/01] But does the hijacking involve all of the hijackers from the beginning, or only one hijacker who is already in the cockpit when the hijacking begins, with the rest joining in later? This explanation seems to fit the facts best, since the storming of the cockpit doesn't appear to happen until after 8:21, yet communication with ground control stops now. [Fifteen minutes after takeoff, Los Angeles Times, 9/20/01, "A few minutes into the flight," ABC News, 7/18/02] As the Boston Globe put it, "it appears that the hijackers' entry was surprising enough that the pilots did not have a chance to broadcast a traditional distress call," a button that could have taken seconds to press. [Boston Globe, 11/23/01]

(After 8:14 A.M.) At some point after the hijacking begins, the pilot of Flight 11, John Ogonowski, activates the talk-back button, enabling Boston air traffic controllers to hear what is being said in the cockpit. A controller says, "The button was being pushed intermittently most of the way to New York." An article notes that "his ability to do so also indicates that he was in the driver's seat much of the way" to the WTC. Such transmissions continue until at least 8:38. [Christian Science Monitor, 9/13/01]

(8:15 A.M.)Ê Boston Air Traffic Control tries but fails to contact the pilots of Flight 11, even using emergency frequencies. [8:14, Guardian, 10/17/01] A Boston flight controller states of Flight 11, "He won't answer you. He's nordo roger thanks". Nordo means no radio. [8:15, New York Times, 10/16/01, "over the Hudson river", CNN, 9/17/01]

8:20 A.M. Flight 11 stops transmitting its IFF (identify friend or foe) beacon signal. [8:20, CNN, 9/17/01]

(8:20 A.M.)Ê Flight 11 starts to veer dramatically off course around this time. [USA Today flight path image, on this page] Recall that if a plane goes two miles off course, that is an emergency situation. [MSNBC, 9/12/01]

(8:20 A.M.) Boston flight control decides that Flight 11 has probably been hijacked, but they don't notify other air traffic control centers for another five minutes, and don't notify NORAD for about another 20 minutes. ["about 8:20," Newsday, 9/23/01, "about 8:20," New York Times, 9/15/01] ABC News will later say of this, "There doesn't seem to have been alarm bells going off, traffic controllers getting on with law enforcement or the military. There's a gap there that will have to be investigated." [ABC News, 9/14/01] Did the controllers really decide this now, or did they do it at 8:15, when they determined the flight was not responding and had turned off its transponder?

(Before 8:21 A.M.) Four hijackers get up from their seats and stab or shoot passenger Daniel Lewin, who belongs to the Israel Defense Force Sayeret Matkal, a top-secret counter-terrorist unit. He was sitting in front of one of the three hijackers in business class. The could have happened even before 8:13, but logically seems to have come not much before 8:21. A very preliminary FAA memo says he was shot by Satam Al Suqami at 9:20 - clearly the time is a typo; perhaps 8:20 is meant? [ABC News, 7/18/02, UPI, 3/6/02, Washington Post, 3/2/02] Perhaps Lewin just happened to be there, and, with his past training, tried to be a hero and stop the hijack?

(8:21 A.M.) Inside Flight 11, flight attendant Betty Ong calls Vanessa Minter at American Airlines reservations. Nydia Gonzales also listens in from 8:27. She talks for 25 minutes, until the plane crashes. The FBI says that only the first four minutes were recorded, but won't release the tape. Ong is apparently in the middle of the plane, but other flight attendants relay information about what is happening in the front. She says the hijackers had sprayed something in the first-class cabin to keep people out of the front of the plane. It burns her eyes and she is having trouble breathing. ["25 minute phone call until crash," ABC News, 7/18/02, Boston Globe, 11/23/01]

(8:21 A.M.) Flight attendant Amy Sweeney calls American Airlines ground manager Michael Woodward and speaks calmly to him for 25 minutes until the plane crashes. Supposedly the call was not recorded and Woodward took notes. Her first comment is "Listen, and listen to me very carefully. I'm on Flight 11. The airplane has been hijacked." She identifies four hijackers, and gives the seat numbers for them. Even before the plane crashes staff are able to determine the names, phone numbers, addresses, and credit card information for these four hijackers, including Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari. She reports that two flight attendants had been stabbed and a passenger had his throat slashed.ÊShe says the hijackers seem to be of Middle Eastern descent. ["over the next 25 minutes," ABC News, 7/18/02, AP, 10/5/01]

(After 8:21 A.M.) While flight attendant Amy Sweeney is relating details on the phone about the hijackers, the men are storming the front of the plane. She says they "just gained access to the cockpit." Its probable she called just after the storming begins, and it is during this struggle when they stab the two first-class flight attendants nearest to the cockpit, Barbara Arestegui and Karen Martin. Sweeney says they have a bomb with yellow wires attached. Meanwhile, the pilot apparently had been trying to alert authorities by surreptitiously clicking his radio transmission button. [ABC News, 7/18/02, Los Angeles Times, 9/20/01] Could it be that one of the hijackers was posing as a pilot passenger and thus had been able to be in the cockpit as an observer, as happened on some of the hijacker's test run flights? If so, he would have begun the hijack around 8:13, but only received reinforcements and had Atta take over the flying of the plane around now. [Los Angeles Times, 9/20/01, AP, 10/5/01, ABC News, 7/18/02] This would explain why Sweeney reported four hijackers, not five.

8:24 A.M. The pilot of Flight 11, John Ogonowski, activates the talk-back button, enabling Boston air traffic controllers to hear a hijacker on Flight 11 say to the passengers: "We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you will be OK. We are returning to the airport." A controller responds, ''Who's trying to call me?'' The hijacker continues, "Everything will be OK. If you try to make any moves you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet." [8:24:38, Guardian, 10/17/01, 8:24:38, New York Times, 10/16/01, 8:24, Boston Globe, 11/23/01, 8:28, New York Times, 9/12/01, before 8:28, Channel 4 News, 9/13/01] Immediately after hearing this voice, the controller "knew right then that he was working a hijack." [Village Voice, 9/13/01] The transponder beacon and radio have been off for 10 minutes, the flight has been off course for about four minutes and only now he knows its a hijack? Yet still, no one notifies NORAD for another 14 minutes?

8:25 A.M. Boston air traffic controllers notify other air traffic control centers of the Flight 11 hijacking, but supposedly they don't notify the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) for another 13 minutes. [8:25:00, Guardian, 10/17/01] Doesn't it seem logical that NORAD was notified at this time along with everyone else, but they claim otherwise to cover up the lack of sending any fighters after the plane in response? Note that this means the controllers working Flights 77 and Flight 93 would have been aware of Flight 11's hijacking from this time. [Village Voice, 9/13/01]

8:28 A.M.Ê Boston Air Traffic Control radar sees Flight 11 making an unplanned 100 degree turn to the south (they're already way off-course).ÊFlight controllers say they never lost sight of the flight, though they could no longer determine altitude once the transponder was turned off. [Christian Science Monitor, 9/13/01] However, in other media reports, "Boston airport officials said they did not spot the plane's course until it had crashed, and said the control tower had no unusual communication with the pilots or any crew members." [Washington Post, 9/12/01] The lack of unusual communication is an incredible lie, as other prior entries show. Before this turn, the FAA had tagged Flight 11's radar dot for easy visibility, and at American Airlines headquarters at least, "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." [Wall Street Journal, 10/15/01] Why such blatant lies? They expect people to believe they didn't know the flight was a hijacking until after it crashed? Why should the same people be expected to tell the truth about other incidents of the day?

8.34 A.M.ÊAir traffic controllers hear a hijacker on 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, Guardian, 10/17/01, 8:33:59, New York Times, 10/16/01]

(8:36 A.M.) Flight attendant Betty Ong on Flight 11 reports that the plane tilts all the way on one side and then becomes horizontal again. Flight attendant Amy Sweeney then reports on her phone that the plane has begun a rapid descent. ["About 15 minutes" after the calls began, ABC News, 7/18/02]

(8:40 A.M.) Boston Air Traffic Control supposedly notifies NORAD that Flight 11 has been hijacked. This is 23 minutes after traffic control noticed the plane had its transponder beaconÊand radio turned off. [8:38, CNN, 9/17/01, 8:38, Washington Post, 9/12/01, 8:40, NORAD, 9/18/01, 8:40, AP, 8/19/02, 8:40, Newsday, 9/10/02] Such a delay in notification would be in strict violation of regulations. Doesn't it seem at least plausible that NORAD was notified long before this, but did absolutely nothing in response, and then fudged the official times to hide their criminal behavior?

8:40 A.M. Maj. Daniel Nash (codenamed Nasty) and Lt. Col. Timothy Duffy (codenamed Duff) are the two F-15 pilots who would scramble after Flight 11 and then Flight 175. Nash says that at this time, a colleague at the Otis Air National Guard Base tells him that a flight out of Boston has been hijacked, and to be on alert. They put on their flight gear and get ready. [Cape Cod Times, 8/21/02] Duffy also says that they were told in advance about the hijacking by the FAA in Boston. They are already halfway to their jets when "battle stations" are sounded. Duffy briefs Nash on what he knows, and "About 4-5 minutes later, we got the scramble order and took off." [Aviation Week and Space Technology, 6/3/02] If this is true, why wasn't the order to scramble given now or even earlier, when the FAA called the pilots, instead of six minutes later? And even stranger, why did it take another six minutes (8:52) for the fighters to actually take off, if they had been given a heads up warning to get ready? Had the order to scramble been given now, there would have been plenty of time to reach New York before Flight 175.

(8:45 A.M.)ÊJust prior to the crash of Flight 11, flight attendant Amy Sweeney is asked on the phone if she can recognized where she is. "I see the water. I see the buildings. I see buildings," then after a pause, a quiet "Oh, my God!" Mere seconds later the line goes dead. Flight attendant Betty Ong ends her call repeating the phrase "Pray for us" over and over. Apparently there is quiet instead of screaming in the background. [ABC News, 7/18/02]

(8:46 A.M.)Ê Two F-15 fighters are ordered to scramble from Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts to find Flight 11, approximately 190 miles from the known location of the plane and 188 miles from New York City.ÊFighters in nearer bases are not scrambled. This is 6-8 minutes after NORAD has been told the plane was hijacked, 29 minutes after losing contact with the plane. [8:39, Channel 4 News, 9/13/01, 8:46, NORAD, 9/18/01, 8:44, CNN, 9/17/01, 8:44, Washington Post, 9/15/01] Supposedly, the scramble order comes after only one phone call - the decision is made to act first and get clearances later. [Aviation Week and Space Technology, 6/3/02] So why did it take 6-8 minutes to issue the order? According to the two pilots, Maj. Daniel Nash and Lt. Col. Timothy Duffy, they are geared up and walking towards their planes when this alarm to scramble sounds. As soon as they strap in, the green light to launch goes on, and they're up even before their jets' radar kicks in. [Cape Cod Times, 8/21/02] Yet, supposedly, it takes six more minutes for them to launch.

8:46 A.M. According to Robert Marr, commander of NORAD's Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS), NORAD is unable to find the location of Flight 11. Finally, someone sees a "green dot that's not identified. Almost as soon as it's discovered, it disappears. It's 8:46 A.M." At the time, "there are no other missing aircraft." But then, at 9:02, they see a second unidentified aircraft on a screen, which is Flight 175 crashing into the WTC. The whole time, NORAD staff "were constantly on the phone with the FAA, airlines and others, looking for clues. 'If we could get good last-known-positions and tail numbers, that would help the fighters pick out the right aircraft,'" says one staff member. [Aviation Week and Space Technology, 6/3/02] in another account, the plane is rediscovered at 8:42. [Newsday, 9/10/02] Recall this from a previous entry: Before a turn at 8:28, the FAA had tagged Flight 11's radar dot for easy visibility, and at American Airlines 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." [Wall Street Journal, 10/15/01] So American Airlines says Flight 11 was never lost, and this corresponds with other reports. For instance, "Controllers scrambled to direct other planes out of the way of both United 175 and American Airlines Flight 11", and several collisions were barely averted. [Washington Post, 9/17/01] The airlines would have no reason to lie about this, NORAD would have a very big reason to lie.

8:46 A.M.Ê Flight 11 slams into the north tower, 1 World Trade Center. Investigators believe it still had about 10,000 gallons of fuel and was traveling 470 mph. [New York Times, 9/11/02] Approximately 2662 people are killed on the ground between this crash and the crash of Flight 175. [AP, 8/19/02] [8:45, CNN, 9/12/01, 8:45, New York Times, 9/12/01, 8:46 (based on seismic data), New York Times, 9/12/01, 8:46, CNN, 9/17/01, 8:46, NORAD, 9/18/01, 8:46, Washington Post, 9/12/01, 8:46, AP, 8/19/02, 8:46, USA Today, 9/3/02, 8:46, Newsday, 9/10/02, 8:47:00, Guardian, 10/17/01, 8:48, MSNBC, 9/22/01, 8:46:26, New York Times, 9/11/02, 8:46:26, seismic records]

8:46 A.M. Air Force General and acting Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers later claims that he is in Washington, talking to Senator Max Cleland at this time. He sees a television report that a plane had hit the WTC, but he claims, "They thought it was a small plane or something like that," so he goes back to his call. He remains obvious of what is happening until after the Pentagon is hit almost an hour later. [American Forces Press Service, 10/23/01] Yet, in testimony on September 13, he states, "after the second tower was hit, I spoke to the commander of NORAD, General Eberhart. And at that point, I think the decision was at that point to start launching aircraft." [Myers Confirmation Testimony, 9/13/01] Doesn't that expose his usual story that he didn't know what was happening until later as a lie? If the second statement is true, then doesn't that make all the details of planes being scrambled before 9:03 all lies?

(Between 8:46 - 9:03 A.M.) At some unknown point before Flight 175 crashes, flight controllers in Garden City on Long Island, New York, are still looking for Flight 11. Flight 175 is an unmarked blip. One controller stands up in horror. "No," he shouts, "he's not going to land. He's going in!" "Oh, my God! He's headed for the city," another controller shouts. "Oh, my God! He's headed for Manhattan!" [Washington Post, 9/21/01]

8:52 A.M.ÊTwo F-15's take off from Otis ANG Base, six minutes after being ordered to go after Flight 11, which has already crashed. [8:52, NORAD, 9/18/01, 8:52, CNN, 9/17/01, 8:53, Washington Post, 9/12/01, 8:52, Washington Post, 9/15/01] This is 38 minutes after flight controllers lost contact with the plane. They go after Flight 175 instead.ÊAccording to Maj. Gen. Paul Weaver, director of the Air National Guard, "the pilots flew 'like a scalded ape,' topping 500 mph but were unable to catch up to the airliner." [Dallas Morning News, 9/16/01] NORAD Major Gen. Larry Arnold says they were headed straight for New York City and traveling about 1100 to 1200 mph. [Slate, 1/16/02] "An F-15 departing from Otis can reach New York City in 10 to 12 minutes, according to an Otis spokewoman." [Cape Cod Times, 9/16/01] According to Lt. Col. Timothy Duffy, one of the pilots, before takeoff, a fellow officer had told him "This looks like the real thing." He says, "It just seemed wrong. I just wanted to get there. I was in full-blower all the way." A NORAD commander has said the planes were stocked with extra fuel as well. [Aviation Week and Space Technology, 6/3/02] Full-blower is very rare - it means the fighters are going as fast as they can go. F-15's can travel over 1875 mph. [Air Force News, 7/30/97] An at average speed of 1600 mph, they would have reached New York City in seven minutes - 8:59. An at average speed of 1125 mph, they would have reached it in 10 minutes - 9:02 - still before Flight 175 crashes. Yet according to the NORAD timeline, these planes take about 19 minutes to reach New York City - less than 600 mph. Why so slow??

9:06 A.M.Ê All air traffic facilities nationwide are notified that the Flight 11 crash in the WTC was probably a hijacking. [Newsday, 9/23/01]

10:28 A.M.Ê The World Trade Center's north tower collapses. It was hit by Flight 11 at 8:46. [10:28, MSNBC, 9/22/01, 10:28, CNN, 9/12/01, 10:28, New York Times, 9/12/01, 10:28, AP, 8/19/02, 10:28 (based on seismic data), New York Times, 9/12/01, 10:29, Washington Post, 9/12/01, 10:28:31, seismic records]