American Airlines Flight 77

Infobox Aircraft crash
name = American Airlines Flight 77

---

caption = Two still images from a Pentagon security camera video immediately before and after the crash highlighting Flight 77 prior to impact
date = September 11, 2001
type = Hijacking
site = Pentagon
fatalities = 189 (all 64 onboard Flight 77, 125 on ground)
injuries =
aircraft_type = Boeing 757-223
origin = Washington Dulles Int'l Airport
destination = Los Angeles Int'l Airport
operator = American Airlines
tail_number = airreg|N|644AA
passengers = 58 (including 5 hijackers)
crew = 6
survivors = 0

American Airlines Flight 77 was the third flight hijacked as part of the September 11 attacks, and it was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon. The scheduled U.S. domestic flight from Washington Dulles International Airport, near Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles International Airport was hijacked by five Islamic terrorists less than 35 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. Unknown to the hijackers, 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 ignited a large fire. A portion of the Pentagon collapsed and firefighters spent days trying to fully extinguish the blaze. The damage to the Pentagon was rebuilt in 2002, with occupants moving back into the damaged area on August 15, 2002.

The 184 victims of the attack are memorialized in the Pentagon Memorial adjacent to the Pentagon. The 1.93-acre park consists of 184 benches, one for each of the victims, arranged according to the year of birth, ranging from 1930 (age 71) to 1998 (age 3). Flight 77's flight path cuts directly through the park.

Hijackers

The hijackers on American Airlines Flight 77 included Hani Hanjour, who piloted the aircraft into the Pentagon.cite news |last=Chen |first=David W |title= A Nation Challenged: The Suspect; Man Traveled Across U.S. In His Quest to Be a Pilot |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03EFDF153BF93BA2575AC0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |work=The New York Times |date=2001-09-18 |accessdate=2008-05-29] Hanjour first came to the United States in 1990. [cite news |last=Yardley |first=Jim |coauthors=Thomas, Jo |title= Traces of Terror: The F.B.I.; For Agent in Phoenix, the Cause of Many Frustrations Extended to His Own Office |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DE0DD173FF93AA25755C0A9649C8B63 |date=2002-06-19 |work = The New York Times |accessdate=2008-06-04] He trained at the CRM Airline Training Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, earning his FAA commercial pilot's certificate in April 1999. [cite news |title=Four Planes, Four Coordinated Teams |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/graphics/attack/hijackers.html |work=The Washington Post |year=2001 |accessdate=2001-06-17] 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". [cite news |last=Sennott |first=Charles M |title=Why bin Laden plot relied on Saudi hijackers |url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/driving_a_wedge/part1.shtml |work=The Boston Globe |date=2002-03-03 |accessdate=2008-05-29] Hanjour left Saudi Arabia in late 1999, telling his family that he was going to the United Arab Emirates to work for an airline.cite book |chapter=The Attack Looms |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch7.htm |year=2004 |title=9/11 Commission Report |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |accessdate=2008-05-29] Instead, Hanjour likely ended up in Afghanistan where Al Qaeda recruits were screened for special skills they may have. Already having selected the Hamburg Cell members, Al Qaeda leaders selected Hanjour to lead the fourth team of hijackers. [cite book |author=Wright, Lawrence |title=Looming Tower |chapter=Chapter 18, "Boom" |year=2006 |publisher=Alfred P. Knopf]

In December 2000, Hanjour arrived in San Diego, joining "muscle" hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, who had been there since November 1999. [cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Amy |title=Hijackers Led Core Group |work = The Washington Post |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2002/national-reporting/works/093001.html |date=2001-09-30 |accessdate=2008-05-29] Soon after arriving, Hanjour and al-Hazmi left for Mesa, Arizona, where Hanjour began refresher training at Arizona Aviation. In April 2001, they relocated to Falls Church, Virginia, where they awaited the arrival of the remaining "muscle" hijackers. One of these men, Majed Moqed, arrived on May 2, 2001 with Flight 175 hijacker Ahmed al-Ghamdi from Dubai at Dulles International Airport and moved into an apartment with al-Hazmi and Hanjour.cite book |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/911_TerrTrav_Ch2.pdf |title=Monograph on 9/11 and Terrorist Travel |chapter=Chronology |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |pages=p. 22 |format=PDF|accessdate=2008-05-25]

On May 21, 2001, Hanjour rented a room in Paterson, New Jersey, where he stayed with other hijackers through the end of August.cite news |last=Martin |first=John P. |title=Landlord Identifies Terrorists as Renters |publisher=The Star-Ledger |date=2001-09-27] The last Flight 77 "muscle" hijacker, Salem al-Hazmi, arrived on June 29, 2001 with Flight 11 hijacker Abdulaziz al-Omari at John F. Kennedy International Airport from the United Arab Emirates and stayed with Hanjour. 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. Hanjour moved out of the room in Paterson and arrived at the Valencia Motel in Laurel, Maryland on September 2, 2001. While in Maryland, Hanjour and fellow hijackers trained at the Gold's Gym in Greenbelt. [cite news |last=Masters |first=Brooke A. |coauthors=Smith, Leef; Shear, Michael D. |title=Dulles Hijackers Made Maryland Their Base; Residents Recall Men as Standoffish |work = The Washington Post |date=2001-09-19 |quote=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] On September 10, he completed a certification flight, using a terrain recognition system for navigation, at Congressional Air Charters in Gaithersburg, Maryland. [cite news |author=Olson, Bradley |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/custom/attack/bal-te.md.terrorist09sep09,0,5567459.story |title=MD. Was Among Last Stops For Hijackers; Those Who Recall Encounters Are Haunted By Proximity To Agents Of Tragic Event |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=2006-09-09 |accessdate=2008-05-30] cite book |url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Notes.htm |author=9/11 Commission |chapter=Notes |year=2004 |title=9/11 Commission Report |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |accessdate=2008-05-30] On September 10, Nawaf al-Hazmi, accompanied by other hijackers, checked into the Marriott in Herndon, Virginia.cite web |url=http://www.911myths.com/index.php/
]

Flight

The American Airlines Flight 77 aircraft was a Boeing 757-223 (registration number N644AA).cite web |title=Flight Path Study - American Airlines Flight 77 |url=http://www.ntsb.gov/info/Flight_%20Path_%20Study_AA77.pdf |date=2002-02-19 |format=PDF|publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |accessdate=2008-05-30] The flight crew included pilot Charles Burlingame, First Officer David Charlebois, and flight attendants Michele Heidenberger, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth Lewis, and Renee May. [cite web |title=American Airlines Flight 77 |url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/victims/AA77.victims.html |year=2001 |publisher=CNN |accessdate=2008-05-29] The capacity of the aircraft was 176 passengers, but with 58 passengers on September 11, the load factor was 33 percent. Tuesdays were the least traveled day of the week, with the same level of load factor seen on Tuesdays in the previous three-months for Flight 77.

Boarding

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the five hijackers arrived at Dulles International Airport, outside of Washington, D.C. At 07:15, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Majed Moqed checked-in at the American Airlines ticket counter for Flight 77,cite book |chapter='We Have Some Planes' |url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch1.htm |year=2004 |title=9/11 Commission Report |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |accessdate=2008-05-30] and they arrived at the passenger security checkpoint a few minutes later at 07:18.cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/staff_statement_3.pdf |format=PDF|title=The Aviation Security System and the 9/11 Attacks - Staff Statement No. 3 |work=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |accessdate=2008-05-30] Both men set off the metal detector and were put through secondary screening. Moqed continued to set off the alarm, so he was searched with a hand wand.cite episode |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0407/21/acd.01.html | title =New Video of 9/11 hijackers at Dulles Airport before attacks |series=Anderson Cooper 360 |network=CNN |airdate=2004-07-21] The al-Hazmi brothers checked in together at the ticket counter at 07:29. Hani Hanjour checked in separately, and arrived at the passenger security checkpoint at 07:35. Hanjour was followed minutes later at the checkpoint by Salem and Nawaf al-Hazmi, the latter who set off the metal detector's alarm. The screener at the checkpoint never resolved what set off the alarm. As seen in security footage later released, Nawaf Hazmi appeared to have an unidentified item in his back pocket, but four-inch utility knives were nonetheless permitted by the FAA as carry-on items. The passenger security checkpoint at Dulles International Airport was operated by Argenbright Security, under contract with United Airlines. [cite news |last=Orecklin |first=Michele |coauthors=Land, Greg |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1001252,00.html |title=Why Argenbright Sets Off Alarms |work=Time |date=2001-11-19 |accessdate=2008-05-30]

The hijackers were also all selected for extra screening of their checked bags. Hani Hanjour, Khalid al-Mihdhar, and Majed Moqed were chosen by the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System criteria, while Nawaf al-Hazmi and Salem al-Hazmi were selected because they did not provide adequate identification and deemed suspicious by the airline check-in agent. Hanjour, al-Mihdhar, and Nawaf al-Hazmi did not check any bags for the flight. Checked bags belonging to Moqed and Salem al-Hazmi were held until they boarded the aircraft.cite web |url=http://www.archives.gov/legislative/research/9-11/staff-report-sept2005.pdf |title=Staff Monograph on the "Four Flights and Civil Aviation Security" |month=September | year=2005 |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |format=PDF |accessdate=2008-08-14] By 07:50, the five hijackers, carrying knives and box cutters, had made it through the airport security checkpoint and boarded Flight 77 to Los Angeles. 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.cite web |url=http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/notablecases/moussaoui/exhibits/prosecution/flights/P200054.html |title=Summary of Flight 77 |publisher=United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia |accessdate=2007-02-04] The flight was scheduled to depart at 08:10, but ended up departing 10 minutes late from Gate D26 at Dulles.

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. [cite web |last=Gregor |first=Joseph A. |url=http://www.ntsb.gov/info/ATC_%20Report_AA77.pdf |format=PDF|title=ATC Report American Airlines Flight 77 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=2001-12-21 |accessdate=2008-06-01] At 08:54, American Airlines Flight 77 began to deviate from its normal, assigned flight path and turned south. The hijackers set the flight's autopilot heading for Washington, D.C. [cite web |url=http://www.ntsb.gov/info/autopilot_AA77_UA93_study.pdf |format=PDF|title=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 |last=O’Callaghan |first=John |coauthors=Bower, Daniel |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=2002-02-13 |accessdate=2008-06-01] 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. 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.cite news |last=Phillips |first=Don |title=Pentagon Crash Highlights a Radar Gap; Limited System in One Area Made Flight 77 Invisible to Controllers for Half-Hour |date=2001-11-03 |work = The Washington Post] With air controllers unable to contact the flight by radio, an Indianapolis official declared that the plane had possibly crashed at 09:09.

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. 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. May also asked her mother to contact American Airlines, which she and her husband promptly did. 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. [cite news |last=Johnson |first=Glen |url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm |title=Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes |work=The Boston Globe |date=2001-11-23 |accessdate=2008-06-01] 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. 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?" [cite news |last=Parker |first=Laura |title=Four flights, four tales of terror |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/09/12/flights-main.htm |work=USA Today |date=2001-09-13 |accessdate=2008-06-18] Ted Olson asked her location and she reported the plane was flying over a residential area. [cite episode |title=Zero Hour |series=Inside 9/11 |serieslink=Inside 9/11 |airdate=2005-09-23 |credits=Producers: Colette Beaudry and Michael Cascio |network=National Geographic Channel] He then informed her of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Soon afterwards, the call cut off again.

Rescue efforts began immediately after the crash. Almost all the successful rescues of survivors occurred within half an hour of the impact.Goldberg et al., p. 51.] 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. The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD) assumed command of the immediate rescue operation within 10 minutes of the crash. ACFD Assistant Chief James Schwartz implemented the Incident Command System (ICS) to coordinate response efforts among multiple agencies. [Goldberg et al., p. 72.] It took about an hour for the ICS structure to become fully operational. [Goldberg et al., p. 77.] Firefighters from Fort Myer and Reagan National arrived within minutes. [Goldberg et al., p. 78.] cite web |url=http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/Fire/edu/about/docs/after_report.pdf |format=PDF|title=Arlington, Virginia After-Action Report |publisher=Arlington County Fire Department |accessdate=2008-06-10] 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.Goldberg et al., pp. 80–82.]

[

Injured victim of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon Building being loaded onto an ambulance.]

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". 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. The collapse area was about convert|95|ft|m|0 at its widest point and convert|50|ft|m|0 at its deepest. This amount of time between impact and collapse allowed everyone on the fourth and fifth levels to evacuate safely before the structure collapsed. [Goldberg et al., p. 20.] After the collapse, the interior fires intensified, spreading through all five floors.Goldberg et al., pp. 86–90.] After 11:00, firefighters mounted a two-pronged attack against the fires. Officials estimated temperatures of up to convert|2000|°F|°C. 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.Goldberg et al., pp. 91–95.] Typical firefighting tactics were rendered useless by the reinforced structure as firefighters were unable to reach the fire to extinguish it. 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.

Various pieces of aircraft debris were found within the wreckage at the Pentagon. While evacuating the Navy Command Center, Lt. Kevin Shaeffer came across the aircraft's nose cone and |accessdate=2008-06-19] Personal effects belonging to passengers and office workers were also found, and taken to Fort Myer. [cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/09/1031115990939.html |author=Wilkinson, Marian |title=Capital punishment |publisher=The Age (Australia) |date=2002-09-09 |accessdate=2008-06-24]

Remains

Army engineers determined by 17:30 on the first day that no one remained alive in the damaged section of the building. [Goldberg et al., p. 97.] In the days after the crash, news reports emerged that up to 800 people had died. [cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,34177,00.html |title=Twin Towers Demolished, Pentagon Hit in Terrorist Attacks |date=2001-09-12 |publisher=Foxnews.com |accessdate=2008-06-10] Army troops from Fort Belvoir were the first teams to survey the interior of the crash site and noted the presence of human remains.Goldberg et al., p. 119.] 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). [cite news |last=Eversburg |first=Rudy |title=The Pentagon Attack on 9-11: Arlington County (VA) Fire Department Response |url=http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/article_display.html?id=165238 |work=Fire Engineering |date=2002-11-01 |accessdate=2008-06-10] 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". [Goldberg et al., pp. 121–122.] Debris from the Pentagon were taken to the Pentagon's north parking lot for more detailed search for remains and evidence.

Remains recovered from the Pentagon were turned over to the Armed Forces Medical Examiner office, located at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The medical examiner's office was able to identify remains belonging to 179 of the victims. [cite web |url=http://www.edgewood.army.mil/hld/dl/MFM_Capstone_August_2005.pdf |title=Mass Fatality Management for Incidents Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction |publisher=U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command and the Office for Domestic Preparedness |month=August | year=2005 |accessdate=2008-06-24|format=PDF] The remains of the five hijackers were identified through a process of elimination, and were turned over as evidence to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). [cite news |last=Vogel |first=Steve |title=Remains Unidentified For 5 Pentagon Victims; Bodies Were Too Badly Burned, Officials Say |work = The Washington Post |date=2001-11-21] 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. By October 2, 2001, the search for evidence and remains was complete and the site was turned over to Pentagon officials. Investigators eventually identified 184 of the 189 people who died in the attack identified by a forensic team. [cite news |last=Kelly |first=Christopher |url=http://www.dcmilitary.com/dcmilitary_archives/stories/112901/12279-1.shtml |title=Forensic feat IDs nearly all Pentagon victims |work=Stripe |date=2001-11-29 |accessdate=2008-06-27] In 2002, the remains of twenty-five victims were buried collectively at Arlington National Cemetery, with a five-sided granite marker inscribed with the names of all the victims in the Pentagon.cite news |last=Vogel |first=Steve |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2002/09/13/AR2006031501324.html |title=Lost and, Sometimes, Never Found |work = The Washington Post |date=2002-09-13 |accessdate=2008-08-07] The ceremony also honored the five victims whose remains were never found.

Continuity of operations

At the moment of impact, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was in his office on the other side of the Pentagon, away from the crash site. He ran to the site and assisted the injured. [cite news |last=Vobejda |first=Barbara |title='Extensive Casualties' in Wake of Pentagon Attack |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/daily/sep01/attack.html |work=The Washington Post |date=2001-09-11 |accessdate=2008-06-20] Rumsfeld then returned to his office, and went to a conference room in the Executive Support Center where he joined a secure videoteleconference with Vice President Dick Cheney and other officials. [cite book |author=Creed, Patrick and Rick Newman |title=Firefight: Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon on 9/11 |year=2008 |publisher=Presidio Press |isbn=0891419055 |pages=pp. 276–277] On the day of the attacks, Department of Defense officials considered moving command operations to Site R, a backup facility in Pennsylvania. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld insisted he remain at the Pentagon, instead sending Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz to Site R. The National Military Command Center (NMCC) continued to operate at the Pentagon, even with smoke getting into the facility. [cite news |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90696597&ft=1&f=1012 |title=Battling the Pentagon Blaze After 9/11 |publisher=NPR/WHYY - Fresh Air |date=May 22, 2008 |accessdate=2008-06-24] Engineers and building managers manipulated the ventilation and other building systems that still functioned to draw smoke out of the NMCC and bring in fresh air. [Creed and Newman, p. 278] During a press conference held inside the Pentagon at 18:42, Rumsfeld announced "The Pentagon's functioning. It will be in business tomorrow." [cite web |title=DoD News Briefing on Pentagon Attack |url=http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=1613 |publisher=United States Department of Defense |date=2001-09-11 |accessdate=2008-06-24] Pentagon employees returned to the next day to offices in areas of the Pentagon mostly unaffected. By the end of September, more workers returned to the lightly damaged areas of the Pentagon. cite news |author=Vogel, Steve |title=Search for Remains Ends at Pentagon |publisher=The Washington Post |date=2001-10-03]

Aftermath

Early estimates on rebuilding the damaged section of the Pentagon were that it would take three years to complete. However, the project moved forward at an accelerated pace and was completed by the one-year anniversary. [cite news |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/09/04/ar911.pentagon.reconstruction/ |title=Project Phoenix: Pentagon offices rise from rubble |publisher=CNN |date=2002-09-04 |accessdate=2008-06-24] The rebuilt section of the Pentagon includes a small indoor memorial and chapel at the point of impact. [cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/09/09/public_honors_9_11_fallen_at_pentagon/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News |title=Public Honors 9/11 Fallen at Pentagon |publisher=Boston Globe |date=2006-09-09 |accessdate=2008-06-24] An outdoor memorial, designed by Julie Beckman and Keith Kaseman, was completed on schedule for dedication on September 11, 2008. [cite news |last=Shaughnessy |first=Larry |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/23/pentagon.memorial/ |title= Nearly complete Pentagon memorial tells story of 9/11 |publisher=CNN |date=2008-05-24 |accessdate=2008-06-10]

In keeping with standard airline procedure after disasters, the flight number was changed after the incident. American's morning flight from Dulles to Los Angeles is now Flight 149. [ [http://www.aa.com/aa/homePage.do American Airlines] ]

ecurity camera video

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" and an explosion following. [cite web |author=Associated Press |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12818225/ |title=Video of 9/11 plane hitting Pentagon is released |publisher=MSNBC |date=2006-05-16 |accessdate=2008-06-10] The images were made public in response to a December 2004 Freedom of Information Act request by Judicial Watch. [cite press release |title=Judicial Watch Obtains September 11 Pentagon Video |url=http://www.judicialwatch.org/5772.shtml |publisher=Judicial Watch |date=2006-05-16 |accessdate=2008-06-11] 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. [cite news |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/03/07/gen.pentagon.pictures/ |title=Images show September 11 Pentagon crash |publisher=CNN |date=2002-03-08 |accessdate=2008-06-11] 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. [cite press release |url=http://www.judicialwatch.org/5965.shtml |title=CITGO Gas Station Cameras Near Pentagon Evidently Did Not Capture Attack |date=2006-09-15 |publisher=Judicial Watch |accessdate=2008-06-11] [cite news |title=Videotapes dispel conspiracy;Plane, not missile seen hitting Pentagon on 9/11 |work = The Washington Times |date=2006-05-17] 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 footage 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". [cite web |url=http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/4821121.html |title=FBI Releases New Footage of 9/11 Pentagon Attack |publisher=KWTX-TV |date=2006-12-04 |accessdate=2008-06-11]

Conspiracy theories

The 9/11 attacks have spawned a number of conspiracy theories challenging the mainstream account. One of the best-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.cite web |author=Bittermann, Jim |title=French buy into 9/11 conspiracy |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/06/26/france.book/ |publisher=CNN |date=2002-06-26 |accessdate=2008-06-08] Proponents say that the convert|75|ft|m|sing=on hole is too small to account for an aircraft with a wingspan of convert|124|ft|m|0.cite news |last=Grossman |first=Lev |title=Why the 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Won't Go Away |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1531304,00.html |work=Time |date=2006-09-03 |accessdate=2008-06-08] 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.cite news |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1227842.html?page=6 |title=Debunking the 9/11 Myths: Special Report |work=Popular Mechanics |date=March 2005 |accessdate=2008-06-08] Conspiracy advocates also point to other minutiae such as small amount of debris or the condition of grass on the lawn. The documentary film "Loose Change" asserts that there were no discernible pieces of debris from Flight 77. [cite video |people=Dylan Avery (Director) |date2=2006-06-01 |title=Loose Change: Second Edition |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0831315/ |medium=Documentary |publisher=Louder than Words |accessdate=2008-06-21 |time=0:15:55] Blast expert Allyn E. Kilsheimer was the first structural engineer to arrive at the Pentagon after the crash and helped coordinate the emergency response. He states that Flight 77 "was absolutely a plane. I saw the marks of the plane wing on the face of the building. I picked up parts of the plane with the airline markings on them. I held in my hand the tail section of the plane, and I found the black box." In addition, Kilsheimer's account is supported by the photos of plane wreckage inside and outside the building.

ee also

*American Airlines Flight 11
*United Airlines Flight 175
*United Airlines Flight 93

References

External links

* [http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/fire/edu/about/fireeduaboutafterreport.aspx Arlington County After-Action Report] - Arlington County Fire Department, July 23, 2002
* [http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=0188155&size=L&width=1024&height=631&sok=&photo_nr=1813/ Picture of Aircraft Pre 9-11]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20010911233514/http://www.aa.com/ Archive of American Airlines site] – explaining that all aircraft are accounted for (September 11, 2001)
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20010912191349/http://www.aa.com/ Archive of American Airlines site with condolences for deceased] (September 12, 2001)