Timeline of 9/11

(Before 7:59 a.m.): Hijacker Mohamed Atta on Flight 11 calls hijacker Marwan 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 (B) ]

Flight 175's intended and actual routes. [USA Today]

8:14 a.m.: Flight 175 takes off from Boston's Logan Airport, 16 minutes after the scheduled departure time. [ CNN, 9/17/01 , Washington Post, 9/12/01 , Guardian, 10/17/01 , Associated Press, 8/19/02 , Newsday, 9/10/02 ]

8:37 a.m.: Flight controllers ask the Flight 175 pilots to look for a lost American Airlines plane 10 miles to the south—a reference to Flight 11. They respond that they can see it. They are told to keep away from it. [8:37:08, Guardian, 10/17/01 , 8:37, Boston Globe, 11/23/01 , the incident is not included in New York Times flight controller transcript of New York Times, 10/16/01 (B) ]

(8:40 a.m.): Major 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. [ Cape Cod Times, 8/21/02 ] NEADS senior technician Jeremy Powell also later says that he telephones Otis Air Base and tells it to upgrade its “readiness posture.” [ Newhouse News, 1/25/02 ] Duffy also says he is told in advance about the hijacking by the FAA in Boston. [ Aviation Week and Space Technology, 6/3/02 ] Nash and Duffy put on their flight gear and get ready. [ Cape Cod Times, 8/21/02 ] 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 [get] the scramble order and [take] off.” [ Aviation Week and Space Technology, 6/3/02 ]

United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767.

8:41 a.m.: The pilots of Flight 175 tell ground control about Flight 11, “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.” [8:41, Guardian, 10/17/01 , 8:41, Newsday, 9/10/02 , 8:41:32, New York Times, 10/16/01 (B) ] An alternate version: “We heard a suspicious transmission on our departure from B-O-S [Boston's airport code]. Sounds like someone keyed the mike and said, ‘Everyone, stay in your seats.’” [ Boston Globe, 11/23/01 ] The last transmission from Flight 175, still discussing this message, comes a few seconds before 8:42. [ New York Times, 10/16/01 (B) ]

8:42 a.m.: Flight 175 veers from its official course. [ Boston Globe, 11/23/01 ] (An early CNN reports says the deviation happens at 8:50, but that's probably when the plane, already off-course, makes a complete U-turn north.) [ CNN, 9/17/01 ]

8:42 a.m.: A flight controller says of Flight 175, “… looks like he's heading southbound but there's no transponder no nothing and no one's talking to him.” [ New York Times, 10/16/01 (B) ]

Brian Sweeney, right, and Peter Hanson, left, both called from Flight 175.

(Before 8:43 a.m.): At some unknown time period, businessman Peter Burton Hanson calls his father from Flight 175 and says, “Oh, my God! They just stabbed the airline hostess. I think the airline is being hijacked.” Despite being cut off twice, he manages to report how men armed with knives are stabbing flight attendants, apparently in an attempt to force crew to unlock the doors to the cockpit. He calls again and says good-bye just before the plane crashes. [ Toronto Sun, 9/16/01 , BBC, 9/13/01 ]

8:43 a.m.: NORAD is notified that Flight 175 has been hijacked. [8:43, NORAD, 9/18/01 , 8:43, CNN, 9/17/01 , 8:43, Washington Post, 9/12/01 , 8:43, Associated Press, 8/19/02 , 8:43, Newsday, 9/10/02 ] Apparently NORAD doesn't need to be notified, because by this time NEADS technicians have their headsets linked to the FAA in Boston to hear about Flight 11, and so NORAD learns instantly about Flight 175. [ Newhouse News, 1/25/02 ]

8:44 a.m.: The pilot of US Airlines Flight 583 tells flight control, regarding Flight 175, “I just picked up an ELT [emergency locator transmitter] on 121.5 it was brief but it went off.” The controller responds, “O.K. they said it's confirmed believe it or not as a thing, we're not sure yet…” [ New York Times, 10/16/01 (B) ]

The hole caused by the Flight 11 crash [Reuters]

(8:46 a.m.): Flight 175 stops transmitting its transponder signal, according to some reports. It is 50 miles north of New York City, headed toward Baltimore. [8:46:18, Guardian, 10/17/01 , “about the same time” as Flight 11 crash, Newsday, 9/10/02 ] Note that at 8:42, a flight controller said, “There's no transponder no nothing.” [ New York Times, 10/16/01 (B) ] However, the transponder is turned off for only about 30 seconds, then changed to a signal that is not designated for any plane on that day. [ Newsday, 9/10/02 ] This “allow[s] controllers to track the intruder easily, though they couldn't identify it.” [ Washington Post, 9/17/01 ]

(Between 8:46-9:03 a.m.): As soon as Boston flight controllers hear news that a plane might have hit the WTC, they know it was Flight 11. They have been tracking it continually since it began behaving erratically. It takes “several minutes” for Boston to report to NORAD that Flight 11 is responsible. [ New York Times, 9/13/01 (F) , Newhouse News, 1/25/02 ] However, flight controllers in New York City complain that they aren't given a conclusive report of what happened to Flight 11 until just before Flight 175 crashes at 9:03. “We had 90 to 120 seconds; it wasn't any 18 minutes,” says one controller, referring to the actual elapsed time between the two crashes. Another controller says: “They dove into the airspace. By the time anybody saw anything, it was over.” [ New York Times, 9/13/01 (F) ]

(8:50 a.m.): Rich “Doc” Miles, manager of United's Chicago system operations center, receives a call from a mechanic at an airline maintenance center in San Francisco that takes in-flight calls from flight attendants about broken items. The mechanic says a female flight attendant from Flight 175 just called and said, “Oh my God. The crew has been killed, a flight attendant has been stabbed. We've been hijacked.” Then the line went dead. A dispatcher monitoring the flight then sends messages to the plane's cockpit computer but gets no response. [ Boston Globe, 11/23/01 ]

A typical F-15.

8:52 a.m.: Two F-15s 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 , 8:52, ABC News, 9/11/02 ] This is 38 minutes after flight controllers lost contact with the plane. They go after Flight 175 instead. 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 ] An F-15 can travel over 1875 mph. [ Air Force News, 7/30/97 ] Duffy later says, “As we're climbing out, we go supersonic on the way, which is kind of nonstandard for us.” He says his target destination is over Kennedy airport in New York City. [ ABC News, 9/11/02 ] According to Major Gen. Paul Weaver, director of the Air National Guard, “The pilots [fly] ‘like a scalded ape,’ topping 500 mph but [are] unable to catch up to the airliner.” [ Dallas Morning News, 9/16/01 ] ABC News later says, “The fighters are hurtling toward New York at mach 1.2, nearly 900 miles per hour.” [ ABC News, 9/11/02 ] NORAD commander Major General Larry Arnold says they head straight for New York City at about 1100 to 1200 mph. [ MSNBC, 9/23/01 (C) , Slate, 1/16/02 ] “An F-15 departing from Otis can reach New York City in 10 to 12 minutes, according to an Otis spokeswoman.” [ Cape Cod Times, 9/16/01 ] At an average speed of 1125 mph, they would reach the city in 10 minutes—9:02. So if NORAD commander Arnold's speed is correct, these fighters should reach Flight 175 just before it crashes.

(After 8:52 a.m.): William Wibel, principal of a school inside Otis Air National Guard Base in the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts, is inside the Otis base preparing for a meeting. He hears about the WTC attack and is told the meeting is canceled. He says, “As I drove away, and was listening to the news on the radio, the 102nd was scrambling into duty.” [ Cape Cod Times, 9/12/01 ]

8:53 a.m.: A flight controller says to other airplanes in the sky regarding Flight 175, “We may have a hijack. We have some problems over here right now.” [ Guardian, 10/17/01 , 8:53:23, New York Times, 10/16/01 (B) ]

8:58 a.m.: Brian Sweeney on Flight 175 tries to call his wife but can only leave a message. “We've been hijacked, and it doesn't look too good.” He calls his mother and tells her what's happening onboard. [ Hyannis News, 9/13/01 , ]

(Between 9:01-9:03 a.m.): Flight 175 is an unmarked blip to flight controllers in New York City. One controller stands up in horror. “No, 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!” [ ]

Flight 175 an instant before it hits the WTC south tower. [AP]

9:02:54 a.m.: 2004-04-08 Flight 175 hits the south tower, 2 World Trade Center. [9:02, CNN, 9/17/01 , 9:02, NORAD, 9/18/01 , 9:02, Washington Post, 9/12/01 , 9:03, New York Times, 9/12/01 , 9:03 (based on seismic data), New York Times, 9/12/01 , 9:03, Guardian, 10/17/01 , 9:03, CNN, 9/12/01 , 9:03, Associated Press, 8/19/02 , 9:03, Newsday, 9/10/02 , 9:03, USA Today, 9/3/02 , 9:03, USA Today, 8/13/02 , 9:05, MSNBC, 9/22/01 , 9:05, Washington Post, 1/27/02 , 9:02:54, New York Times, 9/11/02 , 9:02:54, seismic records, USA Today, 12/20/01 ] Millions watch the crash live on television. The plane strikes the 78th through 84th floors in the 110 story building. Approximately 100 people are killed or injured in the initial impact; 600 people in the tower eventually die. All but four work above the crash point. The death toll is far lower than in the north tower because about two-thirds of the tower's occupants get out in the 17 minutes after the first tower is struck (see also (8:55 a.m.)). [ USA Today, 12/20/01 ] F-15 fighter jets from Otis Air National Guard Base are still 71 miles or eight minutes away when the tower is hit. [ NORAD, 9/18/01 ]

Flight 175 hits the WTC south tower at 9:03.

(9:03 a.m. and After): The minute Flight 175 hits the south tower, F-15 pilot Major Daniel Nash says that clear visibility allows him to see smoke pour out of Manhattan, even though NORAD says he is 71 miles away. However, he says he can't recall actually being told of the Flight 11 hit. [ Cape Cod Times, 8/21/02 ] He isn't told about the danger of Flight 175 until after it too has crashed and he is 60 miles away. [ ABC News, 9/14/02 ] And instead of being ordered to New York City, the two F-15s are ordered to hover in a 150-mile chunk of air space off the coast of Long Island. Nash states,“Neither the civilian controller or the military controller knew what they wanted us to do.” But then a few minutes later, they receive orders to head to Manhattan for combat air patrol, and they do that for the next four hours. At no point are these pilots given permission to shoot down any airliners. Nash points out that even if he had reached New York City before Flight 175, he couldn't have shot it down because only the President could make that decision and he was indisposed at a public event. [ Cape Cod Times, 8/21/02 ] The pilot of the other fighter, Lt. Col. Timothy Duffy, says that after Flight 175 has crashed, “at that point they [say] the second aircraft just hit the World Trade Center. That was news to me. I thought we were still chasing American 11.” [ ABC News, 9/11/02 ]

(9:03-9:08 a.m.): 2004-04-08 In a series of stages, flight control managers ban aircraft from flying near the cities used by the hijackers. First, takeoffs and landings in New York City are stopped within a minute of the Flight 175 crash, without asking for permission from Washington. Boston and Newark follow suit in the next few minutes. Around 9:08, departures nationwide heading to or through New York and Boston airspace are canceled. [ Associated Press, 8/12/02 , Newsday, 9/10/02 , Associated Press, 8/19/02 , USA Today, 8/13/02 ] The actual order to stop all planes from taking off at New York's La Guardia airport is given to the airplanes on the ground at 9:07. [ New York Times, 12/30/03 ] Also “a few minutes” after the Flight 175 crash into the WTC at 9:03, all takeoffs from Washington are stopped. [ USA Today, 8/12/02 , USA Today, 8/13/02 ]

Bush listens to the Pet Goat story.

(9:06-9:16 a.m.): Bush, having just been told of the second WTC crash (see (9:06 a.m.)), does not leave the Sarasota, Florida, classroom he entered around 9:03. Rather, he stays and listens as 16 Booker Elementary School second-graders take turns reading a story called Pet Goat, about a girl's pet goat. [ AFP, 9/7/02 ] They are just about to begin reading when Bush is warned of the attack. One account says that the classroom is then silent for about 30 seconds, maybe more. Bush then picks up the book and reads with the children “for eight or nine minutes.” [ Tampa Tribune, 9/1/02 ] In unison, the children read out loud, “The—Pet—Goat. A—girl—got—a—pet—goat. But—the—goat—did—some— things—that—made—the—girl's— dad—mad.” And so on. Bush mostly listens, but does ask the children a few questions to encourage them. [ Washington Times, 10/7/02 ] At one point he says, “Really good readers, whew! … These must be sixth-graders!” [ ] In the back of the room, Press Secretary Ari Fleischer catches Bush's eye and holds up a pad of paper for him to read, with “DON'T SAY ANYTHING YET” written on it in big block letters. [ Washington Times, 10/7/02 ] CNN reported in 1999, “Only the president has the authority to order a civilian aircraft shot down.” [ CNN, 10/26/99 ] The pilot of one of the planes flying to catch Flight 175 notes that it wouldn't have mattered if he caught up with it, because only Bush could order a shootdown, and Bush is at a public event at the time. [ Cape Cod Times, 8/21/02 ]

WTC south tower collapses at 9:59. [AP]

9:59 a.m.: The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses. It was hit by Flight 175 at 9:02. [9:50, Washington Post, 9/12/01 , 9:59, MSNBC, 9/22/01 , 9:59, Associated Press, 8/19/02 , 9:59, ABC News, 9/11/02 , 9:59 (based on seismic data), New York Times, 9/12/01 , 10:05, CNN, 9/12/01 , 10:05, New York Times, 9/12/01 , 9:59:39, US Army authorized seismic study , 9:59:04, , USA Today, 12/20/01 ]