Chilling 9/11 tapes reveal panic and confusion

CHILLING radio transmissions by the September 11 hijackers from the planes they commandeered were played for the first time yesterday.

They provided a horrifying portrait on that fateful day before confused air traffic controllers and military personnel.

“We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you’ll be Okay. We are returning to the airport”, a hijacker, believed to be Mohamed Atta, alleged ringleader of the 19 hijackers, told the passengers of American Airlines Flight 11.

The tape was played for the audience at the September 11 commission’s hearing in Washington. That transmission was the first inkling air traffic controllers had of the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11 shortly after takeoff from Boston’s Logan Airport at 8am.

Atta had been speaking to the plane’s passengers, but the radio transmission was received at the FAA’s Boston Centre. As FAA controllers tried desperately to contact the plane, which had changed its transponder code, they picked up another transmission, also apparently from Atta.

“Nobody move, everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you’ll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet.” Controllers tried to contact the military, even trying to raise a military alert centre in Atlantic City, New Jersey, unaware that facility had been phased out. The FAA finally reached the appropriate military office at 8:37am.

“We have a problem here,” the FAA’s Boston Centre told NEADS, the North East Air Defence Sector. “We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York, and we need someone to scramble some F-16s or something up there, help us out.”

“Is this real-world or exercise?” asked the incredulous NEADS officer.

“No, this is not an exercise, not a test,” the FAA responded.

F-15 fighter jets were scrambled from Otis Air Force Base at 8:46am. Forty seconds later, Flight 11 hit the north tower of the World Trade Centre.

For United Flight 175, the second plane hijacked from Logan, the situation was similarly disjointed. That plane took off at 8:14am. At 8:47 a.m., almost the same time as Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Centre, Flight 175 changed its transponder code.

Flight 175 hit the south tower of the World Trade Centre at 9:03 a.m.