Flight American Airlines 77

“Lt. Colonel Steven Butler has been suspended for writing a letter in which he called President Bush ‘a joke’ and accused Bush of knowing about the Sept. 11 attacks.”

             — The Monterey County Herald, 3 June 2002

Why did the alleged terrorists fly all the way out to Kentucky?

The hijackers would have known that the longer the flight the higher the risk of being intercepted by the military.  Or, having the FAA warn the pilots of potential hijackings, before it supposedly headed all the way back to Washington, D.C.?  Why didn’t they quickly turn into the Pentagon shortly after taking off?  Notice how close Dulles Airport is to the Pentagon? 

Why would the hijackers turn off the transponders?

Allegedly, “someone on board Flight 77 had flipped off the transponder, the device that sends a plane’s airline identification, flight number, speed and altitude to controllers’ radar screens.”¹³⁰

Why did all the hijacked planes turn their transponders off, when that would serve to alert air traffic controllers that something was wrong?  After, their planes were identified — the FAA would notify NORAD.  NORAD then would track them with high tech radar and satellite systems, and in turn, would send an intercept promptly.  That’s the standard operating procedure (SOP).  Wouldn’t that risk a rather premature intercept of their planes?  But it didn’t happen like that — because the system was rigged that fateful day. 

If the hijackers had turned off their transponders, civil authorities could no longer track their planes with transponders.  This sets off alarms and puts the aircraft in coast track status (more on that later).  The controllers then need to account for the plane with primary radar (covers 90% of the U.S.), if unsuccessful then they need to alert NORAD.  The FAA increasingly relies on only transponder data instead of the primary type (blip on a screen), however the primary radar is available and is used routinely in cases when a transponder malfunctions.

Are there other reasons why an air traffic controller (ATC) would not receive transponder data?

• Malfunctioning ATC computer – Probably would not lose the primary blip nor radio communications, another controller should easily find the aircraft on his display.
• Malfunctioning transponder – Would not lose primary blip or radio communications.  Usually the transponder only needs to be recycled (rebooted).
• Transponder is turned off – In high traffic areas, sometimes aircraft are told to temporary turn off their transponder, to reduce a cluttered controller screen.  Would not lose primary blip or radio communications.
• Transponder overloaded – One theory is that if a S-mode transponder is occupied with data transmissions on B and D modes, (for military use) it may not be able to send the requested data on A and C modes, (ID and altitude).  However, it would not lose its primary blip or radio communications.
• Radar jamming – would cause a loss of transponder, primary blip, and (with EM jamming) their radio transmissions.
• Aircraft crash – would cause a loss of transponder, primary blip, and their radio transmissions.

Therefore the only two possibilities are that Flight 77 had really crashed or it was being followed by a jamming aircraft (like an EC-130) and had its radar signals jammed.

A timeline of Flight 77 movement in the United States.

According to witnesses, authorities, and media reports: (times EDT)

8:20 a.m.: AA Flight 77, (N644AA) delayed 10 min., departed Dulles for Los Angeles.

8:38 a.m.: The Federal Aviation Administration notified the military air defense command of a hijacking (AA Flight 11).

8:43 a.m.: The FAA notified military authorities of a second hijacking (UA Flight 175).

8:46 a.m.: Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

8:56 a.m.: Flight 77 begins turning southwest as directed by controller.  It then goes coast track (Transponder data not being received by controller.  It is now 36 min. into flight).

9:02 a.m.: Flight 175 crashes into south tower of the World Trade Center.

*9:10 a.m.: Flight 77 was detected by radar in West Virginia, heading east (50 min. into flight.15 min. from turning off course).

9:25 a.m.: The FAA was notified that Flight 77 was lost and a possible hijack (1:05 into flight. 29 min. from losing transponder).

9:35 a.m.: The jets from Langley took off, after delays (Langley AFB is over a 150 miles from Pentagon.  Andrews AFB is only 13 miles away).

**9:37 a.m.: Explosion at the west side of the Pentagon (77 min. into flight; 41 min. from losing transponder).

*   Denotes: information is not substantiated or there are conflicting

     reports.[i]

** Evidence however supports 9:31 a.m. as the correct time.

Boeing 757–200 general characteristics:

Overall length: 155 feet, 3 inches.
Wingspan: 124 feet, 10 inches.

Engines: 2 x 40,080 lb Pratt & Whitney PW 2040 or 2 x 43,070 lb Rolls-Royce RB211– 535E4B.

Maximum cruising speed: 567 mph.

Capacity: 239.

Weight: 126,250 lbs. (empty) 

Max takeoff Wt:  240,000 lbs.
Fuel capacity: 9,370 gallons.

Aircraft identifying details:

Boeing 757.
Registered Owner: Wilmington Trust Company Trustee.

Serial Number: 24602/365.

Company: American Airlines.

Tail Number: N644AA (reported as destroyed only in 1/14/2002).
Fleet Number: 5BP (N5BPAA).

Flight 77 schedule details:

Scheduled time: Not Scheduled (The earliest scheduled AA flight to LA that day was Flight 135 at 11.15 a.m.).

Passengers: 64 aboard, including the official hijackers (they are not on any passenger list).
Official Route: Washington Dulles (IAD) to Los Angeles (LAX).
Official Flight Arrival Time: *****TBD***** (To Be Determined).
Official Departure Time: 8:10 a.m.
Official Final Departure Time: 8:20 a.m.

 

The 757, Fleet Number: N5BPAA, had returned from Los Angeles (LAX) as Flight 144 to Washington Dulles (IAD) with actual arrival time of 22:27 on 10 Sept. 2001. 

 

American Airlines 757 (Top photo: Airliner.net).