American Airlines Flight 77

American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled American Airlines domestic transcontinental passenger flight from Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California. The Boeing 757-223 aircraft serving the flight was hijacked by five Saudi men affiliated with al-Qaeda on the morning of September 11, 2001. They deliberately crashed the plane into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., killing all 64 aboard (including six crew and themselves) and another 125 in the building.

American Airlines Flight 77
Hijacking
DateTuesday, September 11, 2001 (2001-09-11)
SummaryTerrorist suicide hijacking
SiteWest wall of Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Total fatalities189
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 757-223
OperatorAmerican Airlines
IATA flight No.AA77
ICAO flight No.AAL77
Call signAMERICAN 77
RegistrationN644AA
Flight originWashington Dulles International Airport
DestinationLos Angeles International Airport
Passengers58 (including 5 hijackers)
Crew6
Fatalities64 (including 5 hijackers)
Survivors0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities125 (including emergency workers) at the Pentagon
Ground injuries106

Less than 35 minutes into the flight, the hijackers stormed the cockpit and forced the passengers, crew, and pilots to the rear of the aircraft. Hani Hanjour, one of the hijackers who was trained as a pilot, assumed control of the flight. Unknown to the hijackers, passengers aboard made telephone calls to friends and family and relayed information on the hijacking.

The hijackers crashed the aircraft into the western side of the Pentagon at 09:37. Many people witnessed the crash, and news sources began reporting on the incident within minutes. The impact severely damaged an area of the Pentagon and caused a large fire. A portion of the building collapsed; firefighters spent days working to fully extinguish the blaze. The damaged sections of the Pentagon were rebuilt in 2002, with occupants moving back into the completed areas that August. The 184 victims of the attack are memorialized in the Pentagon Memorial adjacent to the crash site. The 1.93-acre (7,800 m2) park contains a bench for each of the victims, arranged according to their year of birth, ranging from 1930 to 1998.

Hijackers

The hijackers on American Airlines Flight 77 were led by Hani Hanjour, who piloted the aircraft into the Pentagon.[1] Hanjour first came to the United States in 1990.[2]

Hanjour trained at the CRM Airline Training Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, earning his FAA commercial pilot's certificate in April 1999.[3] He had wanted to be a commercial pilot for Saudia but was rejected when he applied to the civil aviation school in Jeddah in 1999. Hanjour's brother later explained that, frustrated at not finding a job, Hanjour "increasingly turned his attention toward religious texts and cassette tapes of militant Islamic preachers".[4] Hanjour returned to Saudi Arabia after being certified as a pilot, but left again in late 1999, telling his family he was going to the United Arab Emirates to work for an airline.[5] Hanjour likely went to Afghanistan, where Al-Qaeda recruits were screened for special skills they might have. Already having selected the Hamburg cell members, Al Qaeda leaders selected Hanjour to lead the fourth team of hijackers.[6]

"[W]e've got to tell the Bureau about this. These guys clearly are bad. One of them, at least, has a multiple-entry visa to the U.S. We've got to tell the FBI." And then [the CIA officer] said to me, 'No, it's not the FBI's case, not the FBI's jurisdiction.'"

—Mark Rossini, "The Spy Factory"[7]

Alec Station, the CIA's unit dedicated to tracking Osama bin Laden, had discovered that two of the other hijackers, al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar, had multiple-entry visas to the United States well before 9/11. Two FBI agents inside the unit tried to alert FBI headquarters, but CIA officers rebuffed them.[8]

In December 2000, Hanjour arrived in San Diego, joining "muscle" hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, who had been there since January of that year.[5][9] Soon after arriving, Hanjour and Hazmi left for Mesa, Arizona, where Hanjour began refresher training at Arizona Aviation.[5]

In April 2001, they relocated to Falls Church, Virginia, where they awaited the arrival of the remaining "muscle" hijackers.[5] One of these men, Majed Moqed, arrived on May 2, 2001, with Flight 175 hijacker Ahmed al-Ghamdi from Dubai at Dulles International Airport. They moved into an apartment with Hazmi and Hanjour.[10]

On May 21, 2001, Hanjour rented a room in Paterson, New Jersey, where he stayed with other hijackers through the end of August.[11] The last Flight 77 "muscle" hijacker, Salem al-Hazmi, arrived on June 29, 2001, with Abdulaziz al-Omari (a hijacker of Flight 11) at John F. Kennedy International Airport from the United Arab Emirates. They stayed with Hanjour.[10]

Hanjour received ground instruction and did practice flights at Air Fleet Training Systems in Teterboro, New Jersey, and at Caldwell Flight Academy in Fairfield, New Jersey.[5] Hanjour moved out of the room in Paterson and arrived at the Valencia Motel in Laurel, Maryland, on September 2, 2001.[11] While in Maryland, Hanjour and fellow hijackers trained at Gold's Gym in Greenbelt.[12] On September 10, he completed a certification flight, using a terrain recognition system for navigation, at Congressional Air Charters in Gaithersburg, Maryland.[13][14]

On September 10 Nawaf al-Hazmi, accompanied by other hijackers, checked into the Marriott in Herndon, Virginia, near Dulles Airport.[15]

Suspected accomplices

According to a U.S. State Department cable leaked in the WikiLeaks dump in February 2010, the FBI has investigated another suspect, Mohammed al-Mansoori. He had associated with three Qatari citizens who flew from Los Angeles to London (via Washington) and Qatar on the eve of the attacks, after allegedly surveying the World Trade Center and the White House. U.S. law enforcement officials said the data about the four men was "just one of many leads that were thoroughly investigated at the time and never led to terrorism charges".[16] An official added that the three Qatari citizens have never been questioned by the FBI. Eleanor Hill, the former staff director for the congressional joint inquiry on the September 11 attacks, said the cable reinforces questions about the thoroughness of the FBI's investigation. She also said that the inquiry concluded the hijackers had a support network that helped them in different ways.[16]

The three Qatari men were booked to fly from Los Angeles to Washington on September 10, 2001, on the same plane that was hijacked and piloted into the Pentagon on the following day. Instead, they flew from Los Angeles to Qatar, via Washington and London. While the cable said Mansoori was currently under investigation, U.S. law enforcement officials said there was no active investigation of him or of the Qatari citizens mentioned in the cable.[16]

Flight
N644AA in March 1995 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The aircraft involved in the hijacking was a Boeing 757-223 (registration N644AA).[17][18] The aircraft was built and had its first flight in 1991 and delivered to American Airlines in May 1991.[19][20] The crew included pilot Charles Burlingame (51) (a Naval Academy graduate and former fighter pilot), First Officer David Charlebois (39), and flight attendants Michele Heidenberger, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth Lewis, and Renee May.[21] The capacity of the aircraft was 188 passengers, but with 58 passengers on September 11, the load factor was 33 percent. American Airlines said Tuesdays were the least-traveled day of the week, with the same load factor seen on Tuesdays in the previous three months for Flight 77.[22]

Boarding and departure

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the five hijackers arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport. At 07:15, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Majed Moqed checked in at the American Airlines ticket counter for Flight 77,[23] arriving at the passenger security checkpoint a few minutes later at 07:18.[24] Both men set off the metal detector and were put through secondary screening. Moqed continued to set off the alarm, so he was searched with a hand wand.[25] The Hazmi brothers checked in together at the ticket counter at 07:29. Hani Hanjour checked in separately and arrived at the passenger security checkpoint at 07:35.[14] Hanjour was followed minutes later at the checkpoint by Salem and Nawaf al-Hazmi, who also set off the metal detector's alarm. The screener at the checkpoint never resolved what set off the alarm. As seen in security footage later released, Nawaf Hazmi appeared to have an unidentified item in his back pocket. Utility knives up to four inches were permitted at the time by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as carry-on items.[23][25] The passenger security checkpoint at Dulles International Airport was operated by Argenbright Security, under contract with United Airlines.[26]

The hijackers were all selected for extra screening of their checked bags. Hanjour, al-Mihdhar, and Moqed were chosen by the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System criteria, while the brothers Nawaf and Salem al-Hazmi were selected because they did not provide adequate identification and were deemed suspicious by the airline check-in agent. Hanjour, Mihdhar, and Nawaf al-Hazmi did not check any bags for the flight. Checked bags belonging to Moqed and Salem al-Hazmi were held until they boarded the aircraft.[22]

Flight 77 was scheduled to depart for Los Angeles at 08:10; 58 passengers boarded through Gate D26, including the five hijackers. The 53 other passengers on board excluding the hijackers were 26 men, 22 women, and five children ranging in age from three to eleven. On the flight, Hani Hanjour was seated up front in 1B, while Salem and Nawaf al-Hazmi were seated in first class in seats 5E and 5F. Majed Moqed and Khalid al-Mihdhar were seated further back in 12A and 12B, in economy class.[27] Flight 77 left the gate on time and took off from Runway 30 at Dulles at 08:20.[22]

Hijacking
Three frames from the security camera video of Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon

The 9/11 Commission estimated that the flight was hijacked between 08:51 and 08:54, shortly after American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center and not too long after United Airlines Flight 175 had been hijacked. The last normal radio communications from the aircraft to air traffic control occurred at 08:50:51.[28] Unlike the other three flights, there were no reports of anyone being stabbed or a bomb threat and the pilots were possibly not immediately killed but herded to the back of the plane with the rest of the passengers. At 08:54, the plane began to deviate from its normal assigned flight path and turned south. Two minutes later, at 08:56, the plane's transponder was switched off.[23] The hijackers set the flight's autopilot on a course heading east towards Washington, D.C.[29]

The FAA was aware at this point there was an emergency on board the airplane. By this time, Flight 11 had already crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center and Flight 175 was known to have been hijacked and was within minutes of striking the South Tower. After learning of this second hijacking involving an American Airlines aircraft and the hijacking involving United Airlines, American Airlines' executive vice president Gerard Arpey ordered a nationwide ground stop for the airline.[23] The Indianapolis Air Traffic Control Center, as well as American Airlines dispatchers, made several failed attempts to contact the aircraft. At the time the airplane was hijacked, it was flying over an area of limited radar coverage.[30] With air controllers unable to contact the flight by radio, an Indianapolis official declared that it had possibly crashed at 09:09.[30]

Two people onboard the aircraft made phone calls to contacts on the ground. At 09:12, flight attendant Renee May called her mother, Nancy May, in Las Vegas.[27] During the call, which lasted nearly two minutes, May said her flight "was being hijacked by six persons", and staff and passengers had been moved to the rear of the airplane.[23][27] May asked her mother to contact American Airlines, which she and her husband promptly did;[23] however, American Airlines was already aware of the hijacking. Between 09:16 and 09:26, passenger Barbara Olson called her husband, United States Solicitor General Theodore Olson, and reported that the airplane had been hijacked and the assailants had box cutters and knives.[23][31] She reported that everyone, including the pilots, had been moved to the back of the cabin and that the hijackers were unaware of her call. A minute into the conversation, the call was cut off.[32] Theodore Olson contacted the command center at the Department of Justice, and tried unsuccessfully to contact Attorney General John Ashcroft.[23] About five minutes later, Barbara Olson called again, told her husband the "pilot" (possibly Hanjour on the cabin intercom) had announced the flight was hijacked, and asked, "What do I tell the pilot to do?"[33] Ted Olson asked her location and she reported the plane was flying low over a residential area.[34] He told her of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Soon afterward, the call cut off again.[23]

"The speed, the maneuverability, the way that he turned, we all thought in the radar room, all of us experienced air traffic controllers, that that was a military plane. You don't fly a 757 in that manner. It's unsafe."

—Danielle O'Brien, air traffic controller at Dulles International Airport[35]

An airplane was detected again by Dulles controllers on radar screens as it approached Washington, turning and descending rapidly. Controllers initially thought this was a military fighter, due to its high speed and maneuvering.[36] Reagan Airport controllers asked a passing Air National Guard Lockheed C-130 Hercules to identify and follow the aircraft. The pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Steven O'Brien, told them it was a Boeing 757 or 767, and that its silver fuselage meant it was probably an American Airlines jet. He had difficulty picking out the airplane in the "East Coast haze", but then saw a "huge" fireball and assumed it had hit the ground. Approaching the Pentagon, he saw the impact site on the building's west side and reported to Reagan control, "Looks like that aircraft crashed into the Pentagon, sir."[23][37]

Crash

According to the 9/11 Commission Report, as Flight 77 was 5 miles (8.0 km) west-southwest of the Pentagon, it made a 330-degree spiral turn clockwise. At the end of the turn, it was descending through 2,200 feet (670 m), pointed toward the Pentagon and downtown Washington. Hani Hanjour advanced the throttles to maximum power and dove toward the Pentagon. While level above the ground and seconds from impact, the wings clipped five street lampposts and the right wing struck a portable generator, creating a smoke trail seconds before smashing into the Pentagon.[39][40] Flight 77, flying at 530 mph (853 km/h, 237 m/s, or 460 knots) over the Navy Annex Building adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery,[41] impacted the western side of the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, just south of Washington, D.C., at 09:37:46.[42] The plane hit the Pentagon at the first-floor level,[43] and at the moment of impact, the airplane was rolled slightly to the left, with the right wing elevated.[44] The front part of the fuselage disintegrated on impact, while the mid and tail sections moved for another fraction of a second, with tail section debris penetrating furthest into the building.[43] In all, the airplane took eight-tenths of a second to fully penetrate 310 feet (94 m) into the three outermost of the building's five rings[45] and unleashed a fireball that rose 200 feet (61 m) above the building.[43]

Debris from Flight 77 scattered near the Pentagon

At the time of the attacks, approximately eighteen thousand people worked in the Pentagon, four thousand fewer than before renovations began in 1998.[46] The section of the Pentagon that was struck, which had recently been renovated at a cost of $250 million,[47] housed the Naval Command Center.[48]

A fire at the Pentagon, with police and EMS in the foreground

In all, there were 189 deaths at the Pentagon site, including the 125 in the Pentagon building in addition to the 64 on board the aircraft. Passenger Barbara Olson was en route to a recording of the TV show Politically Incorrect.[49] A group of children, their chaperones, and two National Geographic Society staff members were also on board, embarking on an educational trip west to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary near Santa Barbara, California.[50] The fatalities at the Pentagon included 55 military personnel and 70 civilians.[51] Of those 125 killed, 92 were on the first floor, 31 were on the second floor, and two were on the third.[52] Seven Defense Intelligence Agency civilian employees were killed while the Office of the Secretary of Defense lost one contractor. The U.S. Army suffered 75 fatalities – 53 civilians (47 employees and six contractors) and 22 soldiers – while the U.S. Navy suffered 42 fatalities – nine civilians (six employees and three contractors) and 33 sailors.[53] Lieutenant General Timothy Maude, an Army Deputy Chief of Staff, was the highest-ranking military officer killed at the Pentagon; also killed was retired Rear Admiral Wilson Flagg, a passenger on the plane.[54] LT Mari-Rae Sopper, JAGC, USNR, was also on board the flight, and was the first Navy Judge Advocate ever to be killed in action.[55] Another 106 were injured on the ground and were treated at area hospitals.[52]

"I don't want to alarm anybody right now, but apparently – it felt just a few moments ago like there was an explosion of some kind here at the Pentagon."

—Jim Miklaszewski, NBC Pentagon correspondent reporting from inside the Pentagon at 09:39[56]

On the side where the plane hit, the Pentagon is bordered by Interstate 395 and Washington Boulevard. Motorist Mary Lyman, who was on I-395, saw the airplane pass over at a "steep angle toward the ground and going fast" and then saw the cloud of smoke from the Pentagon.[57] Omar Campo, another witness, was on the other side of the road:

I was cutting the grass and it came in screaming over my head. I felt the impact. The whole ground shook and the whole area was full of fire. I could never imagine I would see anything like that here.[58]

Afework Hagos, a computer programmer, was on his way to work and stuck in a traffic jam near the Pentagon when the airplane flew over. "There was a huge screaming noise and I got out of the car as the plane came over. Everybody was running away in different directions. It was tilting its wings up and down like it was trying to balance. It hit some lampposts on the way in."[58] Daryl Donley witnessed the crash and took some of the first photographs of the site.[59]

Aerial view of the collapsed area and subsequent fire damage

USA Today reporter Mike Walter was driving on Washington Boulevard when he witnessed the crash:

I looked out my window and I saw this plane, this jet, an American Airlines jet, coming. And I thought, 'This doesn't add up, it's really low.' And I saw it. I mean it was like a cruise missile with wings. It went right there and slammed right into the Pentagon.[60]

Terrance Kean, who lived in a nearby apartment building, heard the noise of loud jet engines, glanced out his window, and saw a "very, very large passenger jet". He watched "it just plow right into the side of the Pentagon. The nose penetrated into the portico. And then it sort of disappeared, and there was fire and smoke everywhere."[61] Tim Timmerman, who is a pilot himself, noticed American Airlines markings on the aircraft as he saw it hit the Pentagon.[62] Other drivers on Washington Boulevard, Interstate 395, and Columbia Pike witnessed the crash, as did people in Pentagon City, Crystal City, and other nearby locations.[57]

Former Georgetown University basketball coach John Thompson had originally booked a ticket on Flight 77. As he would tell the story many times in the following years, including a September 12, 2011 interview on Jim Rome's radio show, he had been scheduled to appear on that show on September 12, 2001. Thompson was planning to be in Las Vegas for a friend's birthday on September 13, and initially insisted on traveling to Rome's Los Angeles studio on the 11th. However, this did not work for the show, which wanted him to travel on the day of the show. After a Rome staffer personally assured Thompson he would be able to travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas immediately after the show, Thompson changed his travel plans. He felt the impact from the crash at his home near the Pentagon.[63]

Rescue and recovery
"In this area ... it's so hot that the debris is melting and dripping off the ceiling onto your skin and it would sear your skin and melt your uniform. We went a little farther, turned a corner and came into this bombed out office space that was a roaring inferno of destruction and smoke and flames and intense heat you could feel searing your face."

—Lieutenant Commander David Tarantino describing the scene near the Navy Command Center on the first floor.[64]

Rescue efforts began immediately after the crash. Almost all the successful rescues of survivors occurred within half an hour of the impact.[65] Initially, rescue efforts were led by the military and civilian employees within the building. Within minutes, the first fire companies arrived and found these volunteers searching near the impact site. The firemen ordered them to leave as they were not properly equipped or trained to deal with the hazards.[65] The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) assumed command of the immediate rescue operation within ten minutes of the crash. ACFD Assistant Chief James Schwartz implemented an incident command system (ICS) to coordinate response efforts among multiple agencies.[66] It took about an hour for the ICS structure to become fully operational.[67] Firefighters from Fort Myer and Reagan National Airport arrived within minutes.[68][69] Rescue and firefighting efforts were impeded by rumors of additional incoming planes. Chief Schwartz ordered two evacuations during the day in response to these rumors.[70]

An injured victim being loaded into an ambulance at the Pentagon

As firefighters attempted to extinguish the fires, they watched the building in fear of a structural collapse. One firefighter remarked that they "pretty much knew the building was going to collapse because it started making weird sounds and creaking."[70] Officials saw a cornice of the building move and ordered an evacuation. Minutes later, at 10:10, the upper floors of the damaged area of the Pentagon collapsed.[70] The collapsed area was about 95 feet (29 m) at its widest point and 50 feet (15 m) at its deepest.[70] The amount of time between impact and collapse allowed everyone on the fourth and fifth levels to evacuate safely before the structure collapsed.[71] After the collapse, the interior fires intensified, spreading through all five floors.[72] After 11:00, firefighters mounted a two-pronged attack against the fires. Officials estimated temperatures of up to 2,000 °F (1,090 °C).[72] While progress was made against the interior fires by late afternoon, firefighters realized a flammable layer of wood under the Pentagon's slate roof had caught fire and begun to spread.[73] Typical firefighting tactics were rendered useless by the reinforced structure as firefighters were unable to reach the fire to extinguish it.[73] Firefighters instead made firebreaks in the roof on September 12 to prevent further spreading. At 18:00 on the 12th, Arlington County issued a press release stating the fire was "controlled" but not fully "extinguished". Firefighters continued to put out smaller fires that ignited in the succeeding days.[73]

Various pieces of aircraft debris were found within the wreckage at the Pentagon. While on fire and escaping from the Navy Command Center, Lt. Kevin Shaeffer observed a chunk of the aircraft's nose cone and the nose landing gear in the service road between rings B and C.[74] Early in the morning on Friday, September 14, Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team members Carlton Burkhammer and Brian Moravitz came across an "intact seat from the plane's cockpit",[75] while paramedics and firefighters located the two black boxes near the punch out hole in the A–E drive,[76] nearly 300 feet (91 m) into the building.[44] The cockpit voice recorder was too badly damaged and charred to retrieve any information,[77] though the flight data recorder yielded useful information.[42] Investigators also found a part of Nawaf al-Hazmi's driver's license in the North Parking Lot rubble pile.[78] Personal effects belonging to victims were found and taken to Fort Myer.[79]

Remains
Diagram of body fragments found in the Pentagon. Most body fragments were found near the impact zone.

Army engineers determined by 17:30 on the first day that no one remained alive in the damaged section of the building.[80] In the days after the crash, news reports emerged that up to 800 people had died.[81] Army soldiers from Fort Belvoir were the first teams to survey the interior of the crash site and noted the presence of human remains.[82] Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue teams, including Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue assisted the search for remains, working through the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS).[82][83] Kevin Rimrodt, a Navy photographer surveying the Navy Command Center after the attacks, remarked that "there were so many bodies, I'd almost step on them. So I'd have to really take care to look backwards as I'm backing up in the dark, looking with a flashlight, making sure I'm not stepping on somebody."[84] Debris from the Pentagon was taken to the Pentagon's north parking lot for more detailed search for remains and evidence.[85]

Remains recovered from the Pentagon were photographed, and turned over to the Armed Forces Medical Examiner office, located at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The medical examiner's office was able to identify remains belonging to 179 of the victims.[86] Investigators eventually identified 184 of the 189 people who died in the attack.[87] The remains of the five hijackers were identified through a process of elimination, and were turned over as evidence to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[88] On September 21, the ACFD relinquished control of the crime scene to the FBI. The Washington Field Office, National Capital Response Squad (NCRS), and the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) led the crime scene investigation at the Pentagon.[69]

By October 2, 2001, the search for evidence and remains was complete and the site was turned over to Pentagon officials.[85] In 2002, the remains of 25 victims were buried collectively at Arlington National Cemetery, with a five-sided granite marker inscribed with the names of all the victims in the Pentagon.[89] The ceremony also honored the five victims whose remains were never found.[89]

Flight recorders
The cockpit voice recorder from American Airlines Flight 77, as used in an exhibit at the Moussaoui trial

About 03:40 on September 14, a paramedic and a firefighter who were searching through the debris of the impact site found two dark boxes, about 1.5 feet (46 cm) by 2 feet (61 cm) long. They called for an FBI agent, who in turn called for someone from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The NTSB employee confirmed that these were the flight recorders ("black boxes") from American Airlines Flight 77.[90] Dick Bridges, deputy manager for Arlington County, Virginia, said the cockpit voice recorder was damaged on the outside and the flight data recorder was charred. Bridges said the recorders were found "right where the plane came into the building".[91]

The cockpit voice recorder was transported to the NTSB lab in Washington, D.C., to see what data was salvageable. In its report, the NTSB identified the unit as an L-3 Communications, Fairchild Aviation Recorders model A-100A cockpit voice recorder – a device which records on magnetic tape. No usable segments of tape were found inside the recorder; according to the NTSB's report, "[t]he majority of the recording tape was fused into a solid block of charred plastic".[92] On the other hand, all the data from the flight data recorder, which used a solid-state drive, was recovered.[93]

Continuity of operations

At the moment of impact, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was in his office on the other side of the Pentagon, away from the crash site. He ran to the site and assisted the injured.[94] Rumsfeld returned to his office, and went to a conference room in the Executive Support Center where he joined a secure videoteleconference with Vice President Dick Cheney and other officials.[95] On the day of the attacks, DoD officials considered moving their command operations to Site R, a backup facility in Pennsylvania. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld insisted he remain at the Pentagon, and sent Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to Site R. The National Military Command Center (NMCC) continued to operate at the Pentagon, even as smoke entered the facility.[96] Engineers and building managers manipulated the ventilation and other building systems that still functioned to draw smoke out of the NMCC and bring in fresh air.[97]

During a press conference held inside the Pentagon at 18:42, Rumsfeld announced, "The Pentagon's functioning. It will be in business tomorrow."[98] Pentagon employees returned the next day to offices in mostly unaffected areas of the building. By the end of September, more workers returned to the lightly damaged areas of the Pentagon.[85]

Aftermath
Damaged section of the Pentagon under reconstruction in October 2001

Early estimates on rebuilding the damaged section of the Pentagon were that it would take three years to complete.[85] However, the project moved forward at an accelerated pace and was completed by the first anniversary of the attack.[99] The rebuilt section of the Pentagon includes a small indoor memorial and chapel at the point of impact.[100] An outdoor memorial, commissioned by the Pentagon and designed by Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman, was completed on schedule for its dedication on September 11, 2008.[101] Since September 11, American Airlines continues to fly from Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. As of September 2018, flight number 77 has been renumbered to 252, now using a Boeing 737-800, departing at 07:27.[102]

Security camera video

The Department of Defense released filmed footage on May 16, 2006, that was recorded by a security camera of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the Pentagon, with a plane visible in one frame, as a "thin white blur" and an explosion following.[103] The images were made public in response to a December 2004 Freedom of Information Act request by Judicial Watch.[104] Some still images from the video had previously been released and publicly circulated, but this was the first official release of the edited video of the crash.[105]

A nearby Citgo service station also had security cameras, but a video released on September 15, 2006, did not show the crash because the camera was pointed away from the crash site.[106][107]

The Doubletree Hotel, located nearby in Crystal City, Virginia, also had a security camera video. The FBI released the video on December 4, 2006, in response to a FOIA lawsuit filed by Scott Bingham. The footage is "grainy and the focus is soft, but a rapidly growing tower of smoke is visible in the distance on the upper edge of the frame as the plane crashes into the building."[108]

Memorials
Panel S-74 of the National September 11 Memorial's South Pool, one of six on which the names of Pentagon victims are inscribed[109]
The Pentagon Memorial, shortly before it opened on September 11, 2008

On September 12, 2002, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dedicated the Victims of Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.[110] The memorial specifically honors the five individuals for whom no identifiable remains were found.[111] This included Dana Falkenberg, age three, who was aboard American Airlines Flight 77 with her parents and older sister.[111] A portion of the remains of 25 other victims are also buried at the site.[112] The memorial is a pentagonal[113] granite marker 4.5 feet (1.4 m) high.[111] On five sides of the memorial along the top are inscribed the words "Victims of Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon September 11, 2001". Aluminum plaques, painted black, are inscribed with the names of the 184 victims of the terrorist attack.[111] The site is located in Section 64,[114] on a slight rise, which gives it a view of the Pentagon.[111]

At the National September 11 Memorial, the names of the Pentagon victims are inscribed on six panels at the South Pool.[115]

The Pentagon Memorial, located just southwest of The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, is a permanent outdoor memorial to the 184 people who died as victims in the building and on American Airlines Flight 77 during the September 11 attacks.[116] Designed by Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman of the architectural firm of Kaseman Beckman Advanced Strategies[117] with engineers Buro Happold,[118] the memorial opened on September 11, 2008, seven years after the attack.

Nationalities of victims on the aircraft

The 53 passengers (excluding the hijackers) and six crew were from:

NationalityPassengersCrewTotal
United States47653
China202
Australia101
Ethiopia101
South Korea101
United Kingdom101
Total53659

See also

References
  1. David W. Chen (September 19, 2001). "A Nation Challenged: The Suspect – Man Traveled Across U.S. In His Quest to Be a Pilot". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  2. Yardley, Jim; Thomas, Jo (June 19, 2002). "Traces of Terror: The F.B.I.; For Agent in Phoenix, the Cause of Many Frustrations Extended to His Own Office". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 17, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  3. "Four Planes, Four Coordinated Teams". The Washington Post. 2001. Archived from the original on February 24, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2001.
  4. Sennott, Charles M. (March 3, 2002). "Why bin Laden plot relied on Saudi hijackers". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  5. "The Attack Looms". 9/11 Commission Report. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. 2004. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  6. Wright, Lawrence (2006). "Chapter 18, "Boom"". Looming Tower. Alfred P. Knopf. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  7. Bamford, James; Willis, Scott (February 3, 2009). "The Spy Factory". PBS. Archived from the original on April 11, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  8. The Spy Factory, PBS Frontline episode based on James Bamford's book, Shadow Factory Archived April 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  9. Goldstein, Amy (September 30, 2001). "Hijackers Led Core Group". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  10. "Chronology". Monograph on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel (PDF). National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
  11. Martin, John P. (September 27, 2001). "Landlord Identifies Terrorists as Renters". The Star-Ledger.
  12. Masters, Brooke A.; Smith, Leef; Shear, Michael D. (September 19, 2001). "Dulles Hijackers Made Maryland Their Base; Residents Recall Men as Standoffish". The Washington Post. The men who hijacked Flight 77 also made a concerted effort to stay in shape. All five visited the Gold's Gym on Greenbelt Road during the first week of September
  13. Olson, Bradley (September 9, 2006). "MD. Was Among Last Stops For Hijackers; Those Who Recall Encounters Are Haunted By Proximity To Agents Of Tragic Event". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
  14. 9/11 Commission (2004). "Notes". 9/11 Commission Report. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
  15. Federal Bureau of Investigation (February 4, 2008). "Hijackers' Timeline" (PDF). 9/11 Myths. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
  16. Isikoff, Michael (February 2, 2011). "WikiLeaks cable revives talk of 9/11 support network". MSNBC. Archived from the original on February 11, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  17. "FAA Registry (N644AA)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  18. "Flight Path Study – American Airlines Flight 77" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. February 19, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
  19. "N644AA AMERICAN AIRLINES BOEING 757-200". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  20. "FAA REGISTRY". Federal Aviation Administration. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  21. "American Airlines Flight 77". CNN. 2001. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  22. "Staff Monograph on the "Four Flights and Civil Aviation Security"" (PDF). National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  23. "'We Have Some Planes'". 9/11 Commission Report. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. 2004. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
  24. "The Aviation Security System and the 9/11 Attacks – Staff Statement No. 3" (PDF). National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
  25. "New Video of 9/11 hijackers at Dulles Airport before attacks". Anderson Cooper 360. July 21, 2004. CNN. Archived from the original on June 1, 2013.
  26. Orecklin, Michele; Land, Greg (November 19, 2001). "Why Argenbright Sets Off Alarms". Time. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
  27. "Summary of Flight 77". United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  28. Gregor, Joseph A. (December 21, 2001). "ATC Report American Airlines Flight 77" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  29. O'Callaghan, John; Bower, Daniel (February 13, 2002). "Study of Autopilot, Navigation Equipment, and Fuel Consumption Activity Based on United Airlines Flight 93 and American Airlines Flight 77 Digital Flight Data Recorder Information" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  30. Phillips, Don (November 3, 2001). "Pentagon Crash Highlights a Radar Gap; Limited System in One Area Made Flight 77 Invisible to Controllers for Half-Hour". The Washington Post.
  31. Johnson, Glen (November 23, 2001). "Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 8, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  32. O'Brien, Tim (September 11, 2001). "Wife of Solicitor General alerted him of hijacking from plane". CNN. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  33. Laura Parker (September 13, 2001). "Four flights, four tales of terror". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  34. Producers: Colette Beaudry and Michael Cascio (September 23, 2005). "Zero Hour". Inside 9/11. National Geographic Channel.
  35. "Air Traffic Controllers Recall 9/11". 20/20. ABC News. October 24, 2001. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  36. Fisher, Marc; Phillips, Don (September 12, 2001). "On Flight 77: 'Our Plane Is Being Hijacked'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  37. Schmitt, Eric; Lichtblau, Eric (June 18, 2004). "To the Minute, Panel Paints a Grim Portrait of Day's Terror". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  38. "Flight 77, Video 2". Judicial Watch. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009.
  39. "9/11 Survivor Wants Life For Moussaoui". WRC-TV. April 25, 2006. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  40. Curiel, Jonathan (September 3, 2006). "The Conspiracy to Rewrite 9/11". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 19, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  41. Goldberg et al., p. 14.
  42. "American Airlines Flight 77 FDR Report" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. January 31, 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  43. Goldberg, Alfred; et al. (2007). Pentagon 9/11. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-16-078328-9.
  44. Mlakar, Paul F.; Dusenberry, Donald O.; Harris, James R.; Haynes, Gerald; Phan, Long T.; Sozen, Mete A. (January 2003). The Pentagon Building Performance Report (PDF). American Society of Civil Engineers. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  45. John N. Maclean (August 1, 2008). "America Under Attack". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  46. Goldberg et al., p. 3.
  47. "Phoenix Rising: The Rebuilding of the Pentagon" (Flash). The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  48. Zablotsky, Sarah (June 11, 2003). "Survivor of Pentagon attack has a positive attitude". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on December 5, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  49. Moraes, Lisa (September 17, 2001). "Letterman's Back Tonight, but Don't Expect a Biting Monologue". The Washington Post.
  50. "Team from National Geographic Killed in Pentagon Crash". National Geographic Society. September 12, 2001. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  51. Andrea Stone (August 20, 2002). "Military's aid and comfort ease 9/11 survivors' burden". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 11, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  52. Goldberg et al., pp. 23–24.
  53. Goldberg, Alfred, Pentagon 9/11, pp. 208–12.
  54. "Sept. 11 fallen warrior memorialized in building dedication" (Press release). United States Army. April 30, 2002. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  55. "Mari-Rae Sopper: 9112001". Mari-rae.net. Archived from the original on August 5, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  56. "'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for May 16". Hardball with Chris Matthews. NBC News. May 16, 2006. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
  57. "Terrible Tuesday". The Washington Post. September 16, 2001.
  58. Borger, Julian (September 12, 2001). "'Everyone was screaming, crying, running. It's like a war zone'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  59. "Documentary Photographs". Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Archived from the original on November 11, 2006. Retrieved November 12, 2006.
  60. Anderson, Porter (September 11, 2001). "Witnesses to the moment: Workers' voices". CNN. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  61. Sheridan, Mary B (September 12, 2001). "Loud Boom, Then Flames In Hallways; Pentagon Employees Flee Fire, Help Rescue Injured Co-Workers". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  62. "Transcripts – America Under Attack: Eyewitness Discusses Pentagon Plane Crash". CNN. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on March 19, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  63. Brennan, Eamonn (September 12, 2011). "John Thompson's surreal 9/11 story". College Basketball Nation Blog. ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  64. Goldberg et al., pp. 55–56.
  65. Goldberg et al., p. 51.
  66. Goldberg et al., p. 72.
  67. Goldberg et al., p. 77.
  68. Goldberg et al., p. 78.
  69. "Arlington, Virginia After-Action Report" (PDF). Arlington County Fire Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  70. Goldberg et al., pp. 80–82.
  71. Goldberg et al., p. 20.
  72. Goldberg et al., pp. 86–90.
  73. Goldberg et al., pp. 91–95.
  74. Swift, Earl (September 9, 2002). "Inside the Pentagon on 9/11: The Call of Duty". The Virginian-Pilot (Hampton Roads). Archived from the original on July 30, 2004.
  75. "Web Exclusive: Washington's Heroes – On the ground at the Pentagon on Sept. 11". MSNBC. September 28, 2001. Archived from the original on September 10, 2010.
  76. Creed, Patrick; Rick Newman (2008). "Chapter 41: A Great Find". Firefight: Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon on 9/11. Random House.
  77. Murray, Frank J. (September 15, 2001). "Pentagon plane voice recorder is too 'cooked' to aid in probe". The Washington Times.
  78. "Prosecution Trial Exhibits – Exhibit Number PE00102". United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  79. Wilkinson, Marian (September 9, 2002). "Capital punishment". Melbourne: The Age (Australia). Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  80. Goldberg et al., p. 97.
  81. "Twin Towers Demolished, Pentagon Hit in Terrorist Attacks". Foxnews.com. September 12, 2001. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  82. Goldberg et al., p. 119.
  83. Eversburg, Rudy (November 1, 2002). "The Pentagon Attack on 9-11: Arlington County (VA) Fire Department Response". Fire Engineering. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  84. Goldberg et al., pp. 121–22.
  85. Vogel, Steve (October 3, 2001). "Search for Remains Ends at Pentagon". The Washington Post.
  86. "Mass Fatality Management for Incidents Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction" (PDF). U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command and the Office for Domestic Preparedness. August 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 2, 2008. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  87. Kelly, Christopher (November 29, 2001). "Forensic feat IDs nearly all Pentagon victims". Stripe. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2008.
  88. Vogel, Steve (November 21, 2001). "Remains Unidentified For 5 Pentagon Victims; Bodies Were Too Badly Burned, Officials Say". The Washington Post.
  89. Steve Vogel (September 13, 2002). "Lost and, Sometimes, Never Found". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  90. Rosenberg, Debra (September 28, 2001). "Washington's Heroes: On the ground at the Pentagon on Sept. 11". MSNBC. Archived from the original on May 26, 2004. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  91. "Searchers find Pentagon black boxes". USA Today. Associated Press. September 14, 2001. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  92. "Specialist's Factual Report of Investigation: Cockpit Voice Recorder". National Transportation Safety Board. April 30, 2002. Archived from the original on April 11, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  93. "Specialist's Factual Report of Investigation: Digital Flight Data Recorder" (PDF). NTSB. January 31, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  94. Vobejda, Barbara (September 11, 2001). "'Extensive Casualties' in Wake of Pentagon Attack". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  95. Creed, Patrick; Rick Newman (2008). Firefight: Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon on 9/11. Presidio Press. pp. 276–77. ISBN 978-0-89141-905-1.
  96. "Battling the Pentagon Blaze After 9/11". NPR/WHYY – Fresh Air. May 22, 2008. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  97. Creed and Newman, p. 278
  98. "DoD News Briefing on Pentagon Attack". United States Department of Defense. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  99. "Project Phoenix: Pentagon offices rise from rubble". CNN. September 4, 2002. Archived from the original on June 10, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  100. Kevin Freking (September 9, 2006). "Public Honors 9/11 Fallen at Pentagon". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  101. Shaughnessy, Larry (May 24, 2008). "Nearly complete Pentagon memorial tells story of 9/11". CNN. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  102. "Flight Finder ✈ Washington Dulles Intl (KIAD) – Los Angeles Intl (KLAX) ✈ FlightAware". FlightAware. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  103. "Video of 9/11 plane hitting Pentagon is released". NBC News. Associated Press. May 16, 2006. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  104. "Judicial Watch Obtains September 11 Pentagon Video" (Press release). Judicial Watch. May 16, 2006. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  105. "Images show September 11 Pentagon crash". CNN. March 8, 2002. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  106. "CITGO Gas Station Cameras Near Pentagon Evidently Did Not Capture Attack" (Press release). Judicial Watch. September 15, 2006. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  107. "Videotapes dispel conspiracy; Plane, not missile seen hitting Pentagon on 9/11". The Washington Times. May 17, 2006.
  108. "FBI Releases New Footage of 9/11 Pentagon Attack". KWTX-TV. December 4, 2006. Archived from the original on December 8, 2006. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  109. "South Pool: Panel S-74 – Timothy J. Maude". National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  110. Garamone, Jim. "Remains of Pentagon Attack Victims Buried at Arlington". American Forces Press Service. September 12, 2002. Accessed September 7, 2011. Archived November 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  111. Cass, Connie. "Cremated Remains of Pentagon Victims Are Laid to Rest at National Cemetery". Associated Press. September 13, 2002.
  112. "Arlington Funeral Honors Unidentified Victims". CNN.com. September 12, 2002. Accessed September 7, 2011. Archived October 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  113. Pusey, Allen. "Final Service Honors Victims of Pentagon Attack". Dallas Morning News. September 13, 2002.
  114. Vogel, Steve. "Lost and, Sometimes, Never Found". Washington Post. September 13, 2002.
  115. About: The Memorial Names Layout. Memorial Guide: National 9/11 Memorial. Retrieved December 11, 2011. Archived July 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  116. "Pentagon Memorial Project Schedule". Pentagon Renovation Program. Archived from the original on March 13, 2003. Retrieved October 12, 2006.
  117. Miroff, Nick (September 11, 2008). "Creating a Place Like No Other". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Archived from the original on August 20, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  118. "Pentagon Memorial". Archived from the original on September 10, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.