- Passengers on board the first plane to be hijacked on
11 September were told "we are returning to the airport", it
emerged yesterday.
The hijackers were audible on a cockpit microphone as they took over American
Airlines Flight 11 and told passengers: "Everything will be okay."
Minutes later, the plane slammed into the north tower of the World Trade
Centre.
The terrorists' words emerged in transcripts from air traffic control recordings
published in the New York Times.
On the first hijacked plane, air traffic controllers were trying to contact
it after minutes of radio silence when they heard: "We have some planes.
Just stay quiet and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport.
"Nobody move, everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves,
you'll endanger yourself and the aeroplane. Just stay quiet."
A confused controller asked: "Who's trying to call me?"
But all he heard were the last words, as a voice said: "Nobody move
please, we are going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid
moves."
It was also revealed that the pilot of the second hijacked flight, United
Airlines Flight 175, was the first to inform controllers on the ground
of the hijacking of AA Flight 11.
The pilot told controllers: "We heard a suspicious transmission on
our departure from Bos (Boston). Sounds like someone keyed the mike and
said, 'everyone stay in your seats'."
The transmission came at 8.41am local time and, within five minutes, the
United plane's transponder had been turned off, raising fears it was hijacked.
At 8.53pm, a controller said: "We have a hijack. We have some problems
over here right now." And 10 minutes later, the plane hit the south
tower.
The plane that hit the Pentagon in Washington, AA Flight 77, was last heard
from at 8.50am local time, soon after its transponder was switched off
and controllers could not work out its speed or exact height.
A controller said: "We, uh, lost track of the guy. He's in coast track
but we haven't we don't know really where his target (radar location)
is." The plane was not in radio contact.
Also in the air nearby was UA Flight 93, which later crashed into a field
in Pennsylvania. At 8.53am, realising that hijacks had happened, a text
message was sent to all United planes, saying: "Beware, cockpit intrusion."
The pilot of the United flight replied with another text message, saying:
"Confirmed."
At 9.28am, the hijack on UA 93 could be heard over the radio. A source
told the New York Times there was "a very noisy sound of a confrontation,
the frequency, very garbled, but with discernible phrases like, 'Hey, get
out of here'."
As that happened, fighter jets were scrambled into the air and told to
head for New York.
But the two F15s, one flown by an off-duty commercial pilot, were too late
and three fighters sent to Washington were also too late although an air
force cargo plane had witnessed the Boeing 767 which flew into the Pentagon
moving "low and very fast" over the city.
Fighters were also too late to intercept UA 93. If they had been earlier,
they may have had to shoot down the plane.
National Guard Major General Mike Haughen said: "It kept us from having
to do the unthinkable use our own weapons and own training against our
own citizens."
After the flights had all crashed, the fighter pilots were given the most
chilling order they had ever heard.
General Haughen said: "A person came on the radio and identified themselves
as being with the Secret Service and he said, 'I want you to protect the
White House at all costs'."
|
