Radio transmissions provide chilling record of 9/11

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

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

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

The tape was played for the audience at the Seprtember 11 commission’s hearing in Washington.

That transmission was the first inkling federal air traffic controllers had of the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11 shortly after takeoff from Boston’s Logan Airport at 8am (1pm Irish time).

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 OK. 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 (1.37 Irish time).

“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 you guys to, 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 ordered scrambled from Otis Air Force Base at 8.46am (1.46pm Irish time) 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 (1.14 Irish tim) from Boston’s Logan Airport.

At 8.47am, (1.47 Irish time) almost the same time as Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Centre, Flight 175 changed its transponder code.

At 8:58am, (1.58pm Irish time) a controller at the FAA’s New York Centre told another New York controller: “We might have a hijack over here, two of them.”

At 9 am, (2pm Irish time) a New York Centre manager tells the FAA Command Centre in Virginia: “We have several situations going on here. It’s escalating big, big time. We need to get the military involved with us.”

Flight 175 hit the south tower of the World Trade Centre at 9.03am (2.03pm Irish time).

The third hijacked plane, American Airlines Flight 77, had left Dulles International Airport near Washington at 8.20am (1.20 Irish time).

At 8.54am, (1.54pm Irish time) the plane deviated from its flight plan. It was tracked by an Indianapolis-based controller, then unaware of the other hijackings. When the controller couldn’t raise the aircraft, it notified other agencies that it was missing and may have crashed.

The military did not know about the search for Flight 77. Instead, it was mistakenly told by the FAA’s Boston Centre that American’s Flight 11 was still in the air and headed toward Washington. Fighter jets were ordered scrambled from Langley Air Force Base at 9.24am (2.24pm Irish time) and headed toward Washington.

FAA radar, meanwhile, had apparently been able to track Flight 77, but for what the commission said were technical reasons, the information was not immediately displayed to controllers at the Indianapolis centre. It eventually re-emerged on radar, and by 9.32am (2.32pm Irish time) controllers at Dulles observed that it was headed to Washington.

The FAA asked an unarmed military cargo plane to identify and follow the airliner. At 9.38am (2.38pm Irish time), the pilot of that plane reported to the Washington control tower that it ”looks like that aircraft crashed into the Pentagon, sir".

United Airlines Flight 93 had taken off from Newark at 8.42am (1.42pm Irish time). Its last transmission was at 9.28am (2.28 Irish time) A minute later, the Cleveland-based FAA controller heard “a radio transmission of unintelligible sounds of possible screaming or a struggle from an unknown origin".

There was a second transmission, with sounds of screaming someone yelling, “Get out of here, get out of here.” Then came another transmission. “Keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board.”

Between 9.34am (2.34 Irish time) and 9.38am (2.38pm Irish time) the controller observed United 93 climbing and moved several aircraft out of its way. Then another transmission came from the plane.

“Uh, is the captain. Would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board and are going back to the airport, and to have our demands (unintelligible). Please remain quiet.”

United 93 was spotted by another aircraft and reported to be “waving its wings". It crashed in Pennsylvania at 10.03am (3.03pm Irish time) near Johnstown.