American Airlines Flight 77

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American Airlines Flight 77

Flight path from Dulles to the Pentagon
Summary
Date 11 September 2001
Type Hijacking
Site The Pentagon
Passengers 58 (including 5 hijackers)
Crew 6
Fatalities 189 (all 64 onboard Flight 77, 125 on ground)
Survivors 0
Aircraft type Boeing 757-223
Operator American Airlines
Tail number N644AA
Flight origin Washington Dulles Int'l Airport
Destination Los Angeles Int'l Airport

American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled U.S. domestic flight from Washington Dulles International Airport, near Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles International Airport. It was hijacked by five individuals and deliberately crashed into The Pentagon as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Less than thirty-five minutes into the flight, the hijackers stormed the cockpit and forced the passengers to the rear of the aircraft. Hani Hanjour, one of the hijackers trained as a pilot, assumed control of the flight. Passengers aboard were able to make calls to loved ones and relay information on the hijacking.

The aircraft crashed into the western facade of the Pentagon at 09:37 Eastern Time. All 64 people on board and 125 in the building were killed, including the hijackers. Dozens of people witnessed the crash and news sources began reporting on the incident within minutes. The impact severely damaged an area of the Pentagon and subsequently caused its collapse. It was the third airliner to be deliberately crashed that morning, after American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the World Trade Center.

Contents

[edit] Hijackers

Hani Hanjour, the hijacker pilot of Flight 77
Hani Hanjour, the hijacker pilot of Flight 77

The hijackers on American Airlines Flight 77 included Hani Hanjour, the man believed to have piloted the aircraft into The Pentagon.[1] Hanjour first came to the United States in 1990.[2] He trained at the CRM Airline Training Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, earning his FAA commercial pilot's certificate in April 1999.[3] He had wanted to be a commercial pilot for the Saudi national airline, but was rejected when he applied to the civil aviation school in Jeddah in 1999. Hanjour's brother later explained that, frustrated at not finding a job, Hanjour "increasingly turned his attention toward religious texts and cassette tapes of militant Islamic preachers."[4] Hanjour left Saudi Arabia in late 1999, telling his family that he was going to the United Arab Emirates to work for an airline. Instead, it is possible he traveled to Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, where, as he was already trained as a pilot, he was selected to take part in the September 11, 2001 attacks.[5]

In December 2000, Hanjour arrived in San Diego, joining Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar who had been there since November 1999.[5][6] Soon after arriving, Hanjour and al-Hazmi left for Mesa, Arizona, where Hanjour began refresher training at Arizona Aviation.[5] By April 2001, they had relocated to Falls Church, Virginia, where they awaited the arrival of the "muscle" hijackers—those trained to storm the cockpit and control the passengers.[5] These men, Majed Moqed and Ahmed al-Ghamdi arrived together from Dubai at Dulles International Airport on May 2, 2001 and moved into an apartment with al-Hazmi and Hanjour.[7]

In February or March 2001, Hanjour and rented a room in Paterson, New Jersey.[8] Salem al-Hazmi and Abdulaziz al-Omari arrived on June 29, 2001 at John F. Kennedy International Airport from the United Arab Emirates and stayed with Hanjour.[7][8] Hani Hanjour received ground instruction and did practice flights at Air Fleet Training Systems in Teterboro, New Jersey, and at Caldwell Flight Academy in Fairfield, New Jersey.[5] Hanjour moved out of the room in Paterson and arrived at the Valencia Motel in Laurel, Maryland on September 2, 2001.[9] While in Maryland, Hanjour and fellow hijackers trained at the Gold's Gym in Greenbelt.[10] On September 10, he completed a certification flight, using a terrain recognition system for navigation, at Congressional Air Charters in Gaithersburg, Maryland.[11][12]

[edit] Flight

The American Airlines Flight 77 aircraft was a Boeing 757-223, (registration number N644AA).[13] The flight crew included pilot Charles Burlingame, First Officer David Charlebois, and flight attendants Michele Heidenberger, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth Lewis, and Renee May.[14]

[edit] Boarding

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the five hijackers arrived at Dulles International Airport, outside of Washington, D.C.[15] By 07:18 Eastern Time, the five hijackers, carrying knives and box cutters, had made it through the airport security checkpoint and boarded Flight 77 to Los Angeles. Before boarding, the hijackers were all CAPPS selectees, which required extra screening of their checked bags. Hani Hanjour, Khalid al-Mihdhar, and Majed Moqed were chosen by the CAPPS criteria, while Nawaf al-Hazmi and Salem al-Hazmi were selected because they did not provide adequate identification. They had their checked bags held until they boarded the aircraft.[16] The passenger security checkpoint at Dulles International Airport was operated by Argenbright Security, under contract with United Airlines.[17]

On the flight, Hani Hanjour was seated up front in 1B, while Salem and Nawaf al-Hazmi were seated further back in first class in 5E and 5F. Majed Moqed and Khalid al-Mihdhar were seated further back in 12A and 12B.[18] The flight was scheduled to depart at 08:10, but actually departed ten minutes late from Gate D26 at Dulles.[19][20]

[edit] Hijacking

The 9/11 Commission estimated that the flight was hijacked between 08:51 and 08:54, just minutes after the first hijacked plane had struck the World Trade Center in Manhattan at 08:46. The last normal radio communications from the aircraft to air traffic control occurred at 08:50:51.[21] At 08:54, American Airlines Flight 77 began to deviate from its normal, assigned flight path and turned south.[15] The hijackers set the flight's autopilot heading for Washington, D.C.[22] By 08:56, the flight was turned around, and the transponder had been disabled. The FAA was aware at this point that there was an emergency aboard the plane. By this time, American Airlines Flight 11 had already crashed into the World Trade Center, and United Airlines Flight 175 was known to have been hijacked. After learning of this second hijacking involving American Airlines aircraft and the hijacking involving United Airlines, American Airlines Executive Vice President Gerard Arpey ordered a nationwide ground stop for the airline.[15] The Indianapolis Air Traffic Control Center, as well as American Airlines dispatchers, made several failed attempts to contact the aircraft. At the time the plane was hijacked, it was flying over an area of limited radar coverage.[23] With air controllers unable to contact the flight by radio, an Indianapolis official declared that the plane had possibly crashed at 09:09.[23]

Two people on American Airlines Flight 77 made phone calls to contacts on the ground. At 09:12, flight attendant Renee May called her mother, Nancy May, in Las Vegas.[24] During the call, which lasted nearly two minutes, May said her flight was being hijacked by six individuals and they had been moved to the rear of the plane.[15][24] May also asked her mother to contact American Airlines, which she and her husband promptly did.[15] American Airlines was already aware of the hijacking. Between 09:16 and 09:26, passenger Barbara Olson called her husband, United States Solicitor General Ted Olson, and reported that the plane had been hijacked and that the assailants had box cutters and knives.[15][25] She reported that the passengers, and possibly the crew, had been moved to the back of the plane and that the hijackers were unaware of her call. A minute into the conversation, the call was cut off. Theodore Olson contacted the command center at the Department of Justice, and tried unsuccessfully to contact Attorney General John Ashcroft.[15] About five minutes later, Barbara Olson called again, told her husband that the pilot had announced the flight was hijacked, and asked "what do I tell the pilot to do?"[26] Ted Olson asked her location and she reported the plane was flying over a residential area.[27] He then informed her of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Soon afterwards, the call cut off again.[15]

"The speed, the maneuverability, the way that he turned, we all thought in the radar room, all of us experienced air traffic controllers, that that was a military plane. You don't fly a 757 in that manner. It's unsafe."
Danielle O'Brien, Air traffic controller at Dulles International Airport[28]

A plane was detected again by Dulles controllers on radar screens as it approached Washington, turning and descending rapidly. Controllers initially thought this was a fighter plane, due to its high speed and maneuverability.[29] Reagan Airport controllers then asked a passing Air National Guard C-130H plane to identify and follow the aircraft. The pilot, Lt. Col. Steven O'Brien, told them it was a Boeing 757 or 767, and its silver fuselage meant it was probably an American Airlines jet. He had difficulty picking out the plane in the "East Coast haze", but then saw a "huge" fireball, and initially assumed it had hit the ground. Approaching the Pentagon, he saw the west side and reported to Reagan control, "Looks like that aircraft crashed into the Pentagon sir".[15][30]

[edit] Crash

Flight 77, flying at 530 miles per hour,[13] crashed into the western side of the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, just south of Washington, D.C. at 09:37:44, killing all 53 passengers, 5 hijackers, and 6 crew.[31] It clipped several street lampposts and the right wing hit a portable generator before impact.[32][33] The flight hit the Pentagon at the first floor level.[34] As it crashed, the plane was rolled slightly to the left, with the right wing elevated.[35] When the plane impacted, the front part of the fuselage disintegrated, while the mid and tail-sections moved for another fraction of a second, with tail section debris pieces ending furthest into the building.[34] In all, the plane took eight-tenths of a second to fully penetrate 310 feet into the three outermost rings[36] and unleashed a fireball that rose 200 feet above the building.[34]

Debris from Flight 77 scattered near the Pentagon
Debris from Flight 77 scattered near the Pentagon

At the time of the attacks, approximately 18,000 people worked in the Pentagon, which was 4,000 less than before renovations began in 1998.[37] The section of the Pentagon, which had recently been renovated at a cost of $250 million,[38] housed the Naval Command Center[39] and other Pentagon offices, as well as some unoccupied offices. The crash and subsequent fire penetrated three outer ring sections of the western side. The outermost ring section was largely destroyed, and a large section collapsed. 125 people in the Pentagon died from the attack.

In all, there were 189 casualties at the Pentagon, including 125 in the Pentagon and 64 onboard Flight 77. Barbara Olson was en route to a taping of Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher.[40] A group of children, chaperons, and National Geographic Society staff members were also onboard, embarking on an educational trip to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary near Santa Barbara, California.[41] The fatalities at the Pentagon included 55 military personnel and 70 civilians.[42] Of those 125 killed, 92 were on the first floor, 31 were on the second floor, and two were on the third.[43] The Army suffered 75 casualties—far more than any other branch. Another 106 injured were treated at area hospitals.[43] Lieutenant General Timothy Maude, an Army Deputy Chief of Staff, was the highest ranking military officer killed at the Pentagon.[44]

"I don‘t want to alarm anybody right now, but apparently—it felt just a few moments ago like there was an explosion of some kind here at the Pentagon."
Jim Miklaszewski, NBC Pentagon correspondent reporting from inside the Pentagon at 09:39[45]

The Pentagon is bordered by Interstate 395 and Washington Boulevard, on the side where the impact occurred. Steve Riskus witnessed the plane crash into the Pentagon, as he was driving along Washington Boulevard and stopped to take photographs moments after the impact.[46] Mary Lyman, who was on I-395, saw the airplane pass over at a "steep angle toward the ground and going fast" and then saw the cloud of smoke from the Pentagon.[47] Mary Ann Owens, of Gannett News Service, was stuck in traffic near the Pentagon when she saw the airplane pass 50 to 75 feet overhead and crash into the Pentagon.[48] Another witness, Daryl Donley, saw the crash as he was driving on Washington Boulevard. Among debris that was scattered as the plane crashed, he found a "scorched green oxygen tank marked 'Cabin air. Airline use'" on the road.[48] Mr. Donley also had a camera with him, and took some of the first photographs after the crash.[49]

The collapsed area and subsequent fire damage
The collapsed area and subsequent fire damage

USA Today reporter Mike Walter was driving on Washington Boulevard, also witnessed the crash and remarked: "I looked out my window and I saw this plane, this jet, an American Airlines jet, coming. And I thought, 'This doesn't add up, it's really low.' And I saw it. I mean it was like a cruise missile with wings. It went right there and slammed right into the Pentagon".[50] Terrance Kean, who lived in a nearby apartment building, heard the noise of loud jet engines, glanced out his window, and saw "very, very large passenger jet." He watched "it just plow right into the side of the Pentagon. The nose penetrated into the portico. And then it sort of disappeared, and there was fire and smoke everywhere."[51] Passengers aboard a Washington Metro train heading to Ronald Reagan National Airport also saw the crash and explosion, including Allen Cleveland who explained [he] "looked out the window to see a jet heading down toward the Pentagon".[29] AP reporter Dave Winslow recounted, "I saw the tail of a large airliner. ... It plowed right into the Pentagon."[52] Tim Timmerman, who is a pilot himself, noticed American Airlines markings on the aircraft as he saw it hit the Pentagon.[53] Other drivers on Washington Boulevard, Interstate 395, and Columbia Pike, as well as people in nearby locations such as Pentagon City, Crystal City also witnessed the crash.[47]

[edit] Aftermath

[edit] Rescue and recovery

"In this area … it's so hot that the debris is melting and dripping off the ceiling onto your skin and it would sear your skin and melt your uniform. We went a little farther, turned a corner and came into this bombed out office space that was a roaring inferno of destruction and smoke and flames and intense heat you could feel searing your face."
Lieutenant Commander David Tarantino describing the scene near the Navy Command Center on the first floor.[54]

Rescue efforts began immediately after the crash. Almost all the successful rescue of survivors occurred within half an hour of the impact.[55] Initially, rescue efforts were led by the military and civilian employees within the building. Within minutes, the first fire companies arrived and found these volunteers searching near the impact site. The firemen ordered them to leave as they were not properly equipped or trained to deal with the hazards.[55] The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) assumed command of the immediate rescue operation within ten minutes of the crash. ACFD Assistant Chief James Schwartz implemented the Incident Command System (ICS) to coordinate response efforts among multiple agencies.[56] It took about an hour for the ICS structure to become fully operational.[57] Firefighters from Fort Myer and Reagan National arrived within minutes.[58][59] Rescue and firefighting efforts were impeded by rumors of additional incoming planes. Chief Schwartz ordered two evacuations during the day in response to these rumors.[60]

As firefighters attempted to extinguish the fires, they watched the building in fear of a structural collapse. One firefighter remarked that they "pretty much knew the building was going to collapse because it started making weird sounds and creaking".[60] Officials saw a cornice of the building move and ordered an evacuation. Minutes later, at 10:15, the upper floors of the damaged area of the Pentagon collapsed.[60] The collapse area was about 95 feet at its widest point and 50 feet at its deepest.[60] This amount of time between impact and collapse allowed everyone on the fourth and fifth levels to evacuate safely before the structure collapsed.[61] After the collapse, the interior fires intensified, spreading through all five floors.[62] After 11:00, firefighters mounted a two-pronged attack against the fires. Officials estimated temperatures of up to 2,000 °F (1,090 °C).[62] While progress was made against the interior fires by late afternoon, firefighters realized a flammable layer of wood under the Pentagon's slate roof had caught fire and begun to spread.[63] Typical firefighting tactics were rendered useless by the reinforced structure as firefighters were unable to reach the fire to extinguish it.[63] Firefighters instead made firebreaks in the roof on September 12 to prevent any further spreading. At 18:00 on the 12th, Arlington County issued a press release stating the fire was "controlled" but not fully "extinguished". Firefighters continued to put out smaller fires that ignited in the succeeding days.[63]

Diagram of body fragments found in the Pentagon
Diagram of body fragments found in the Pentagon

By 17:30 on September 11, Army engineers determined that no one remained alive in the building.[64] In the days after the crash, news reports emerged that up to 800 people had died.[65] Army troops from Fort Belvoir were the first teams to survey the interior of the crash site and noted the presence of human remains.[66] Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue teams, including Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue assisted the search for remains, working through the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS).[66][67] Kevin Rimrodt, a Navy photographer surveying the Navy Command Center after the attacks, remarked that "there were so many bodies, I'd almost step on them. So I'd have to really take care to look backwards as I'm backing up in the dark, looking with a flashlight, making sure I'm not stepping on somebody".[68] Investigators later identified 184 of the 189 people who died at the Pentagon, including the five hijackers.[69] The remains of the hijackers were turned over as evidence to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). On September 21, the ACFD relinquished control of the crime scene to the FBI. The Washington Field Office, National Capital Response Squad (NCRS), and the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) led the crime scene investigation at the Pentagon.[59] The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were both recovered at the Pentagon. The flight data recorder was found nearly 300 ft into the building,[70] and the cockpit voice recorder was too badly damaged and burned to retrieve any information.[71] In 2002, the remains of the five unidentified victims were buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[72] The Pentagon Memorial is currently being constructed in memory of those who lost their lives both at the Pentagon and aboard American Airlines Flight 77.[73]

[edit] Security camera video

Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon.
Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon.

On May 16, 2006, the Department of Defense released filmed footage that was recorded by a security camera of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the Pentagon, with a plane visible in one frame, as a "thin white blur"[74] and an explosion following.[75] The images were made public in response to a December 2004 Freedom of Information Act request by Judicial Watch.[76] Some still images from the video had previously been released and publicly circulated, but this was the first official release of the full video of the crash.[77] A nearby Citgo gas station also had security cameras, but this video released on September 15, 2006 did not show the crash because it was pointed away.[78][79][80] The Doubletree hotel, located nearby in Crystal City, Virginia, also had a security camera video, and on December 4, 2006 the FBI released the video in response to a freedom of information lawsuit filed by Scott Bingham. "The video is grainy and the focus is soft, but a rapidly-growing tower of smoke is visible in the distance on the upper edge of the frame as the plane crashes into the building."[81][82] No plane can be clearly seen entering the Pentagon since the camera was mounted on a lower point on the Doubletree Hotel and an elevated highway obstructs the view of the Pentagon.[83][84] However, a shape or group of shapes can be seen above the highway, moving from left to right and ending at the explosion point.[82]

[edit] Conspiracy theories

Main article: 9/11 conspiracy theories

The 9/11 attacks have spawned a number of conspiracy theories challenging the mainstream account. One of the most well-known theories was put forward by Thierry Meyssan which contends that the Pentagon was not hit by a Boeing 757, but by a missile launched by the American military.[85] Proponents say that the 75 foot hole is too small to account for an aircraft with a wingspan of 124 feet.[86] Conspiracy advocates also point to other minutiae such as small amount of debris or condition grass on the lawn.[86] Mete Sozen, a member of the ASCE team onsite after the crash, explained that an airplane does not create a "cartoon-like outline of itself" when crashing into a reinforced concrete building.[87]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chen, David W.. "A Nation Challenged: The Suspect; Man Traveled Across U.S. In His Quest to Be a Pilot", The New York Times, 2001-09-18. Retrieved on 2008-05-29. 
  2. ^ Yardley, Jim; Jo Thomas. "Traces of Terror: The F.B.I.; For Agent in Phoenix, the Cause of Many Frustrations Extended to His Own Office", The New York Times, 2002-06-19. Retrieved on 2008-06-04. 
  3. ^ Four Planes, Four Coordinated Teams. The Washington Post (2001). Retrieved on 2001-05-29.
  4. ^ Sennott, Charles M.. "Why bin Laden plot relied on Saudi hijackers", The Boston Globe, 2002-03-03. Retrieved on 2008-05-29. 
  5. ^ a b c d e The Attack Looms. 9/11 Commission Report. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  6. ^ Goldstein, Amy. "Hijackers Led Core Group", The Washington Post, 2001-09-30. Retrieved on 2008-05-29. 
  7. ^ a b "Chronology", Monograph on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, 22. Retrieved on 2008-05-25. 
  8. ^ a b Kunkle, Fredrick. "New Jersey Neighborhood Was Suspects' Inconspicuous Hub; Residents Recall Little of Visitors to Paterson Apartment", The Washington Post, 2001-10-01. 
  9. ^ Martin, John P.. "Landlord identifies terrorists as renters", The Star-Ledger, 2001-09-27. 
  10. ^ Masters, Brooke A.; Leef Smith and Michael D. Shear. "Dulles Hijackers Made Maryland Their Base; Residents Recall Men as Standoffish", The Washington Post, 2001-09-19. "The men who hijacked Flight 77 also made a concerted effort to stay in shape. All five visited the Gold's Gym on Greenbelt Road during the first week of September" 
  11. ^ Olson, Bradley. "MD. Was Among Last Stops For Hijackers; Those Who Recall Encounters Are Haunted By Proximity To Agents Of Tragic Event", The Baltimore Sun, 2006-09-09. Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 
  12. ^ Notes. 9/11 Commission Report. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  13. ^ a b Flight Path Study - American Airlines Flight 77. National Transportation Safety Board (2002-02-19). Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  14. ^ American Airlines Flight 77. CNN (2001). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i 'We Have Some Planes'. 9/11 Commission Report. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (2004). Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  16. ^ The Aviation Security System and the 9/11 Attacks - Staff Statement No. 3. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  17. ^ Orecklin, Michele; Greg Land. "Why Argenbright Sets Off Alarms", TIME Magazine, 2001-11-19. Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 
  18. ^ Summary of Flight 77. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
  19. ^ Federal Bureau of Investigation (2001-09-27). "9/11 Investigation (PENTTBOM)". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  20. ^ Maraniss, David. "September 11, 2001", The Washington Post, 2001-09-16. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. 
  21. ^ Gregor, Joseph A. (2001-12-21). ATC Report American Airlines Flight 77. National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  22. ^ O’Callaghan, John; Daniel Bower (2002-02-13). Study of Autopilot, Navigation Equipment, and Fuel Consumption Activity Based on United Airlines Flight 93 and American Airlines Flight 77 Digital Flight Data Recorder Information. National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  23. ^ a b Phillips, Don. "Pentagon Crash Highlights a Radar Gap; Limited System in One Area Made Flight 77 Invisible to Controllers for Half-Hour", The Washington Post, 2001-11-03. 
  24. ^ a b Summary of Flight 77. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  25. ^ Johnson, Glen. "Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes", The Boston Globe, 2001-11-23. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. 
  26. ^ Four flights, four tales of terror (2001-09-13). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  27. ^ "Zero Hour". Producers: Colette Beaudry and Michael Cascio. Inside 9/11. National Geographic Channel. 2005-09-23.
  28. ^ Air Traffic Controllers Recall 9/11. 20/20. ABC News (2001-10-24). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  29. ^ a b Fisher, Marc; Don Phillips. "On Flight 77: 'Our Plane Is Being Hijacked'", The Washington Post, 2001-09-12. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. 
  30. ^ Schmitt, Eric; Eric Lichtblau. "To the Minute, Panel Paints a Grim Portrait of Day's Terror", The New York Times, 2004-06-18. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. 
  31. ^ American Airlines Flight 77 FDR Report. National Transportation Safety Board (2002-01-31). Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  32. ^ 9/11 Survivor Wants Life For Moussaoui. WRC-TV. NBC (2006-04-25). Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  33. ^ Curiel, Jonathan. "The Conspiracy to Rewrite 9/11", San Francisco Chronicle, 2006-09-03. Retrieved on 2008-06-02. 
  34. ^ a b c Goldberg, Alfred et al. (2007). Pentagon 9/11. United States Government Printing Office, p. 17. ISBN 978-0-16-078328-9. 
  35. ^ Mlakar, Paul F.; Donald O. Dusenberry, James R. Harris, Gerald Haynes, Long T. Phan, Mete A. Sozen (January 2003). The Pentagon Building Performance Report. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved on 2008-06-02. 
  36. ^ Maclean, John N.. "America Under Attack: A chronicle of chaos and heroism at the Pentagon", The Washington Post, 2008-06-01. Retrieved on 2008-06-04. 
  37. ^ Pentagon 9/11, p. 3.
  38. ^ Phoenix Rising: The Rebuilding of the Pentagon (Flash). The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  39. ^ Zablotsky, Sarah. "Survivor of Pentagon attack has a positive attitude", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2003-06-11. Retrieved on 2008-06-02. 
  40. ^ Moraes, Lisa. "Letterman's Back Tonight, but Don't Expect a Biting Monologue", The Washington Post, 2001-09-17. 
  41. ^ Team from National Geographic Killed in Pentagon Crash. National Geographic Society (2001-09-12). Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  42. ^ Stone, Andrea. "Military's aid and comfort ease 9/11 survivors' burden", USA Today, 2002-08-20. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. 
  43. ^ a b Pentagon 9/11, pp. 23-24.
  44. ^ Tolzmann, Michael. "Sept. 11 fallen warrior memorialized in building dedication", United States Army, 2002-04-30. Retrieved on 2008-06-10. 
  45. ^ 'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for May 16. Hardball with Chris Matthews. MSNBC (2006-05-16). Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  46. ^ Sludge Report #133 - I Saw Flight 77 & Took Photos. Scoop (2002-03-19). Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
  47. ^ a b "Terrible Tuesday", The Washington Post, 2001-09-16. 
  48. ^ a b Wheeler, Gary. "Witnesses: Airplane hit the Pentagon hard", Gannett News Service, 2001-09-12. 
  49. ^ Documentary Photographs. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Retrieved on 2006-11-12.
  50. ^ Anderson, Porter. "Witnesses to the moment: Workers' voices", CNN, 2001-09-11. Retrieved on 2008-06-10. 
  51. ^ Sheridan, Mary B.. "Loud Boom, Then Flames In Hallways; Pentagon Employees Flee Fire, Help Rescue Injured Co-Workers", The Washington Post, 2001-09-12. 
  52. ^ Larry, Hatfield. "10,000 Feared Dead In NY Terror Attack", San Francisco Chronicle, 2001-09-11. Retrieved on 2008-06-10. 
  53. ^ America Under Attack: Eyewitness Discusses Pentagon Plane Crash. CNN (2001-09-11). Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  54. ^ Pentagon 9/11, pp. 55-56.
  55. ^ a b Pentagon 9/11, p. 51.
  56. ^ Pentagon 9/11, p. 72.
  57. ^ Pentagon 9/11, p. 77.
  58. ^ Pentagon 9/11, p. 78.
  59. ^ a b Arlington, Virginia After-Action Report. Arlington County Fire Department. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  60. ^ a b c d Pentagon 9/11, pp. 80-82.
  61. ^ Pentagon 9/11, p. 20.
  62. ^ a b Pentagon 9/11, pp. 86-90.
  63. ^ a b c Pentagon 9/11, pp. 91-95.
  64. ^ Pentagon 9/11, p. 97.
  65. ^ Twin Towers Demolished, Pentagon Hit in Terrorist Attacks. Fox News Channel (2001-09-12). Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  66. ^ a b Pentagon 9/11, p. 119.
  67. ^ Eversburg, Rudy. "The Pentagon Attack on 9-11: Arlington County (VA) Fire Department Response", Fire Engineering, 2002-11-01. Retrieved on 2008-06-10. 
  68. ^ Pentagon 9/11, pp. 121-122.
  69. ^ Vogel, Steve. "Remains Unidentified For 5 Pentagon Victims; Bodies Were Too Badly Burned, Officials Say", The Washington Post, 2001-11-21. 
  70. ^ The Pentagon Building Performance Report. American Society of Civil Engineers (January 2003). Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  71. ^ Murray, Frank J.. "Pentagon plane voice recorder is too 'cooked' to aid in probe", The Washington Times, 2001-09-15. 
  72. ^ Vogel, Steve. "Lost and, Sometimes, Never Found; Pentagon Families Bury 25 of Their Dead Together and Mourn Five Not Identified", The Washington Post, 2002-09-13. 
  73. ^ Shaughnessy, Larry. "Nearly complete Pentagon memorial tells story of 9/11", CNN, 2008-05-24. Retrieved on 2008-06-10. 
  74. ^ Video of 9/11 plane hitting Pentagon is released. Associated Press. MSNBC (2006-05-16). Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
  75. ^ Security camera release. U.S. Department of Defense, FOIA office.
  76. ^ "Judicial Watch Obtains September 11 Pentagon Video", Judicial Watch, May 16, 2006. 
  77. ^ "Images show September 11 Pentagon crash", CNN, March 8, 2002. 
  78. ^ CITGO Gas Station Cameras Near Pentagon Evidently Did Not Capture Attack. Judicial Watch (September 15, 2006).,
  79. ^ Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Citgo Video. Judicial Watch / YouTube.
  80. ^ More analysis of the Citgo security video. debunk911myths.org (September 16, 2006).
  81. ^ FBI Releases New Footage of 9/11 Pentagon Attack. KWTX News (December 5, 2006).
  82. ^ a b Flight77.info's FOIA Release: Doubletree Hotel 9/11. Flight77.info/ YouTube.
  83. ^ Doubletree Hotel security video. debunk911myths.org.
  84. ^ Doubletree Hotel Crystal City-National Airport. Doubletree Hotels.
  85. ^ Bittermann, Jim (2002-06-26). French buy into 9/11 conspiracy. CNN. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  86. ^ a b Grossman, Lev. "Why the 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Won't Go Away", TIME Magazine, 2006-09-03. Retrieved on 2008-06-08. 
  87. ^ "Debunking the 9/11 Myths: Special Report", Popular Mechanics, March 2005. Retrieved on 2008-06-08. 

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 38.87095° N 77.05827° W

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Victims
Hijacked airliners
Flight 11 · Flight 175 · Flight 77 · Flight 93
Sites of destruction
Effects and aftermath
Response
Perpetrators
Miscellaneous
Response
v • d • e
Reported hijackers in the September 11, 2001 attacks
Flight 11
Flight 175
Flight 77
Flight 93
20th hijacker
suspects
Wrongly accused