Government releases detailed 9/11 hijacking information

Raw Story

The United States government this week released much sought-after information regarding events surrounding the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, RAW STORY has learned.

Included in the release are full transcripts of aircraft-to-ground air traffic recordings from all four flights hijacked on 9/11, as well as flight path studies for three of the flights. The transcripts are the government’s first full disclosure of the recordings’ contents.

The release is in response to a freedom of information act request made by the National Security Archive. The documents were previously withheld as “under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

The flight studies contain detailed technical information available to data related to the path of the hijackings. Compiled from recorded radar data and information from the Flight Data Recorders, the studies reconstruct the routes of American Airlines Flight 11, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 175. Illustrations of radar ground tracks, maps and altitude profiles provide graphic guides to each hijacking.

The transcripts of the aircraft-to-ground communications are the first complete government disclosure of each flight’s air traffic control recordings. Included in the transcripts is a text message sent to United Flight 93 at 9:23am the morning of the attacks: “BEWARE OF ANY COCKPIT INTROUSION [sic]. TWO AIRCRAFT IN NY, HIT TRADE CNTER BUILDS [sic].” Five minutes, Flight 93 sent the message “(mayday) (hey get out of here) *,” as it was being hijacked.

The Documents, as released by the National Security Archive, are:

NTSB report, “Flight Path Study-American Airlines Flight 11,” Feb. 19, 2002 [Chapter 1, The 9/11 Commission Report, “We Have Some Planes.” Footnotes 23, 33]

NTSB report, “Flight Path Study-American Airlines Flight 77,” Feb. 19, 2002 [Chapter 1, The 9/11 Commission Report, “We Have Some Planes.” Footnote 53]

NTSB report, “Flight Path Study-United Airlines 175,” Feb. 19, 2002 [Chapter 1, The 9/11 Commission Report, “We Have Some Planes.” Footnote 41]

NTSB report, “Specialist’s Factual Report of Investigation-Digital Flight Data Recorder” for United Airlines Flight 93, Feb. 15, 2002 [Chapter 1, The 9/11 Commission Report, “We Have Some Planes.” Footnotes 70, 71]

NTSB report, Air Traffic Control Recording-American Airlines Flight 11, Dec. 21, 2001 [Chapter 1, The 9/11 Commission Report, “We Have Some Planes.” Footnote 24]

NTSB report, Air Traffic Control Recording-American Airlines Flight 77, Dec. 21, 2001 [Chapter 1, The 9/11 Commission Report, “We Have Some Planes.” Footnote 54]

NTSB report, Air Traffic Control Recording-United Airlines Flight 175, Dec. 21, 2001 [Chapter 1, The 9/11 Commission Report, “We Have Some Planes.” Footnotes 24, 41, 42, 44]

NTSB report, Air Traffic Control Recording-United Airlines Flight 93, Dec. 21, 2001 [Chapter 1, The 9/11 Commission Report, “We Have Some Planes.” Footnote 71]