Unidentified Aircraft heads for Washington D.C.

“It was an unidentified plane to the southwest of Dulles, moving at a very high rate of speed ... I had literally a blip and nothing more.”[i]

                                                     — O’Brien, Dulles air traffic controller (ATC)

Dulles flight controllers see an “unidentified aircraft”.

According to the 9/11 Commission, the Dulles Airport terminal control facility in Washington has been looking for unidentified primary radar blips since 9:21 a.m. and now finds one.

At roughly 9:30 a.m., Chris Stephenson, the flight controller in charge of the Reagan National Airport tower said that he was called by the Secret Service around this time.  He was told an unidentified aircraft was speeding toward Washington.  He looked at the radarscope and saw an aircraft about five miles to the west.[ii]  Several Dulles flight controllers “observed a primary radar target tracking eastbound at a high rate of speed”.  The identity or aircraft type was unknown since it was flying without a transponder signal. ^{NOTEREF _Ref129831029 \h  \* MERGEFORMAT 97}

“Unidentified aircraft” on Dulles radar (Photo: NGS).

According to Todd Lewis, a flight controller at Washington’s Dulles Airport, in an interview with Tom Brokaw on MSNBC:

 
Todd Lewis: “One of my colleagues, saw a primary target moving quite fast from northwest to the southeast.  So, we all started watching that target.  And she notified the supervisor.  But nobody knew that was a commercial flight at the time.  Nobody knew that was American 77.”
Tom Brokaw: “What did you think, it was a military flight of some kind—

Todd Lewis: “I thought it was a military flight.  I thought that Langley had scrambled some fighters and maybe one of them got up there.”
Tom Brokaw: “It was really moving fast.”
Todd Lewis: “It was moving very fast, like a military aircraft might move at a low altitude.”[iii]

O’Brien, a flight controller at Dulles Airport, told ABC News:

…It was an unidentified plane to the southwest of Dulles, moving at a very high rate of speed ... I had literally a blip and nothing more.  … I was yelling ...  We’ve got a target headed right for the White House!  At a speed of about 500 miles an hour, the plane was headed straight for what is known as P-56, protected air space 56, which covers the White House and the Capitol.  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.  The plane was between 12 and 14 miles away.  …and it was just a countdown.  Ten-miles west.  Nine miles west ... Our supervisor picked up our line to the White House and started relaying to them the information, [that] we have an unidentified very fast-moving aircraft inbound toward your vicinity, 8 miles west. …  And it went six, five, four.  … And I had it in my mouth to say, three, and all of a sudden the plane turned away.  In the room, it was almost a sense of relief.  This must be a fighter.  This must be one of our guys sent in, scrambled to patrol our capital, and to protect our president, and we sat back in our chairs and breathed for just a second. …

But the plane continued to turn right until it had made a 360-degree maneuver.  We lost radar contact with that aircraft.   And we waited.  And we waited.  And your heart is just beating out of your chest waiting to hear what’s happened… And then the Washington National [Airport] controllers came over our speakers in our room and said, “Dulles, hold all of our inbound traffic.  The Pentagon’s been hit.”¹⁸⁸

In addition, Chris Stephenson, head of Reagan National Airport’s control tower claimed he looked out the tower window and saw the “jet” turning to the right and descending.  He followed it until it disappeared behind a building in Crystal City, Virginia.¹⁸⁹   Is it not interesting, that Chris Stephenson only claims to have seen  a “jet”?  He would have been one of the closest to see the aircraft that must have been literally just outside his window during its most southern position of the turn.

Path of “Unidentified aircraft” as per Dulles ATC

(Map: Expedia.com).

How is it possible that the head of Reagan National’s control tower could not identify this “jet”?  If anyone would be able to make a positive identification, it would be from a trained eye of an experienced controller.  Could it be that he knows more than he is willing or able to tell?

Timeline of events derived from the Situation Room.

We can design a timeline using observations by Richard Clarke, in the Situation Room and combining them with other sources including radar evidence:

9:26 a.m. – Norman Mineta recalled hearing in the PEOC, “the plane is 50 mi. out”.  A count down follows down to “10 miles out” (that’s just over 1 min away at 500 mph).  The entire episode, at that speed would last 6 min., thus impacting at 9:32 a.m.¹⁰⁰

9:30 a.m. or before – air controllers notice a high-speed aircraft on radar 5 mi. away.¹⁸⁹ [less than 1 min. from Pentagon, thus impacting at 9:31 a.m.]

9:31 a.m. – this is the time of the Pentagon explosion as evidenced by two frozen clocks found in the debris.

9:37 a.m. or before – FAA’s Garvey warns of potential hijacks: Delta 1989 and United 93.⁶⁰ She didn’t mention anything of Flight 77.  Also, at about this time, an explosion, fire, then finally, a “plane attack” reported at the Pentagon (official time). 

Shortly after,

Situation Room deputy director Ralph Seigler alerts Clarke: “Radar [probably Secret Service] shows aircraft headed this way.”⁶⁰   Was this Flight 77?  Or was it Flight 93?  Which is at this time, about 9:37 a.m., just southwest of Cleveland, some 400 miles away, with no indication that it is heading to Washington D.C.

9:45 a.m. – White House evacuated.⁹⁷

9:45 a.m. or after – Rumsfeld on a video link with Clarke, complains of “smoke getting into the Pentagon secure teleconferencing studio.”⁶⁰

Later,

Ralph Seigler, “Secret Service reports hostile aircraft ten minutes out.”

Two minutes later, “Hostile aircraft eight minutes out.” ^{NOTEREF _Ref129829055 \h  \* MERGEFORMAT 60} (about 60-65 miles from the White House, that is in Virginia or Maryland, but not Pennsylvania)

10:03 a.m. – Flight 93 goes down 145 mi. away.⁹⁷

10:32 a.m. – ABC News reported that Flight 77 had been hijacked (but there was no suggestion that it had returned to Washington and hit the Pentagon).[iv]

This remarkable account of another “hostile aircraft” was much later (more than 10 min.) than the “bomb”, fire, and then, “plane attack” reported at the Pentagon.  Furthermore this aircraft doesn’t coincide with the estimated distances of Flight 93, thus, indicating that there was another aircraft.  Remember that Flight 93 crashed 145 mi. away, which is about 2½ times further than the projections of the estimated distance of the “hostile aircraft” (60–65 mi.).  The Dulles Airport radar controllers did not mention seeing this second “hostile aircraft”.

If Flight 77 flew the Dulles radar path — how many eyewitnesses can collaborate it?

One of the few who claimed to have seen it was, Major Joseph Candelario, who watched from the River by Fort McNair,  “I noticed a large aircraft flying low towards the White House.  This aircraft then made a sharp turn and flew towards the Pentagon and seconds later crashed into it.”[v]  This only witness, who is a Major in the military, claims to have seen the aircraft making the maneuver described by the Dulles ATC. 

However, there is a large disconnect between the Dulles radar report and the visual interpretations by most witnesses that had seen the aircraft come from the southwest.  Practically no one can collaborate the radical maneuvers.

In fact, some eyewitnesses were quite perplexed with the official story.

Someone who worked just opposite the Pentagon across the  River, Scott P. Cook, claimed:  ”I cannot fathom why neither myself nor Ray, a former Air Force officer, missed a big 757, going 400 miles an hour, as it crossed in front of our window in its last 10 seconds of flight.”

And, why didn’t anyone on the streets around Capital Hill see the 757 streaking toward the White House or screaming over the Capital Building?  Where were all the camera-touting tourists?  Interestingly, there were no tourist-witnesses.  And the aforementioned American icons were only evacuated at 9:45 a.m., more than 10 minutes later.

Interestingly, the supposed sighting of the “unidentified aircraft” happens during the busiest time for air traffic controllers — while they are trying to land almost 5,000 aircraft over the U.S. — and the East Coast is among the busiest.

Why did the hijacked aircraft turn away from the mother of all targets?

The aircraft had been on a collision course with the White House.  The air traffic controller had been counting down the seconds as she anticipated its impact, but it turned away!  What U.S. target is more protected and more important than the White House?  Why would the hijackers pass up on such a target directly in their sights, and unprotected to boot!  But instead they pass on this and decide to go for a risky scheme (a fighter pilot maneuver):

…he does a hard right at near maximum speed, puts the aircraft in a G-force provoking spiral, and attempts a headlong 330-degree hairpin turn.  (Not bad for a first timer!)  He feels confident that he will not get shot down while over the most protected airspace in the U.S.  After the completion of this maneuver, he makes a brilliant recovery, where he had just pulled the aircraft up at the last second.  Simultaneously he aligns the large 757 only mere feet off the ground and goes for a horizontal attack of the Pentagon’s non renovated and mostly unoccupied section between Wedge 1and 2.  Meanwhile, they have passed up on the White House, Capitol Building, and the side of the Pentagon with the offices of the top commanders including Rumsfeld, in lieu of these unoccupied Wedges. (for minimum causalities!)  The entire ordeal was completed with a super fast 757, while making a perfect trek to Washington with no navigational errors.  [And he was only wishing, that those flight instructors was there to see him.  Those who wouldn’t rent him the Cessna, because they didn’t think He could fly.]

More-than-ever, wouldn’t this support what the Dulles controllers’ believed they saw?  A military jet — not a 757.

If the transponder is off — how do the Dulles’ controllers know that the aircraft dived 7,000 ft.?

The FAA and the controllers claimed the aircraft circled and descended from 7,000 feet, to just overhead the Pentagon.  Only a functioning transponder would yield a digital display, indicating the altitude.  In the world of facts, they can’t have it both ways.  The transponder was either on or off. 

If it was on, the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) would allow the transponders of different aircraft to electronically warn each other of a collision threat — with computerized audio and visual warnings in the cockpits of the planes involved.  These warnings command pilots to climb or descend to evade a collision.  Wouldn’t other aircraft in the congested D.C. area, have gotten warnings from this hostile aircraft while they were trying to land during the FAA grounding?  

Tom Hovis, who worked in the transport sector, noted:

The plane had been seen making a lazy pattern in the no fly zone over the White House and US Cap.  Why the plane did not hit incoming traffic coming down the river from the north to Reagan Nat’l. is beyond me.  Strangely, no one at the Reagan Tower noticed the aircraft.  Andrews AFB radar should have also picked up the aircraft I would think.[vi]

Were the Dulles controllers following  a Lear or Gulfstream jet?

Several witnesses reported seeing a mid-sized jet.  Steve Patterson saw “a silver commuter jet …which appeared to hold about eight to 12 people…  The plane, which sounded like the high-pitched squeal of a fighter jet…”²⁹⁷ And, Meseidy Rodriguez confirmed “it was a mid size plane”.[vii]  Interestingly, some of the witnesses at Shanksville, PA saw a Gulfstream or Lear jet circling above the crash site of Flight 93, as well as the same C-130.  Also, an eyewitness had seen “an F-16 flew right over
the Pentagon. It was just a few minutes too late.”²²⁰

Could a Lear jet have been the “Unidentified aircraft”?

(Photo: NDIA)

Conclusions:

According to Washington Dulles Airport radar controllers, events deduced from Norman Mineta testimony, and two frozen clocks (See chapter: Attack at the Pentagon!) the Pentagon attack happened some time between 9:31 and 9:32 a.m.

The first unidentified aircraft wasn’t picked up by Dulles radar until it was only 5 miles (others claim 12–14 mi.) away.  However, the Cheney PEOC had been following it from more than 50 miles out.  What was it?

After the Pentagon was hit, the Secret Service track another “hostile aircraft”, this aircraft was picked up by [who?] and then tracked as it approached Washington D.C., to eight minutes out.  It was not Flight 93.

Because of the disconnect of any supporting eyewitnesses, the Dulles ATC report of an “unidentified aircraft” with military-type moves, if true at all, was almost surely not a 757.

Did Eyewitnesses See a 757?

Interestingly, the first reports on Washington D.C. radio spoke of a crash of an airliner on the 14th street Bridge.  And the first call for fire trucks directed them to a crash on the northern end of Reagan National Airport.  How is it possible that nobody visually saw the plane in the control tower at Reagan National Airport?  They were several times closer than the Dulles tower controllers and directing aircraft on approaches in that exact area. 

Again, Scott P. Cook, said, “I cannot fathom why neither myself nor Ray … missed a big 757, going 400 miles an hour, as it crossed in front of our window…”

One Pentagon worker was interviewed by Gregory Hilder, who said, “No plane hit the Pentagon”.  James Tucker reported:

Gregory was operating a radio talk show in Los Angeles when a man who works at the Pentagon called him and they talked on air.  “He said ‘no plane hit the Pentagon’ and agreed to meet me at Joe Louis grove in Arlington Cemetery,” Gregory recalled.  …  According to authorities, the low-flying suicide plane flew across that portion of the cemetery moments before crashing into the Pentagon.  Yet, there were no tree branches down or other ground disturbances that would be expected.[viii] 

In regards to the Secret Service and the FBI, who had secured the Pentagon’s west side (the side that got attacked) — what did they see?  Why did none of these government officials go on the record with details of what they saw?  Also, if they had stinger missiles (SAMs) to protect President Bush down in Florida, why would they not have them at the Pentagon, where Bush was supposedly going to fly after coming back from Florida?  Why would they not fire at an attacking hostile aircraft to protect the Pentagon?  By the way, how often does the President fly to the Pentagon for a visit?  Was it a ploy to secure the area beforehand?

Top government officials claimed the airliner was headed for the White House and possibly circled the Capitol building.[ix]  Where were the thousands of camera-toting tourists who would have seen the 757 diving, with engines screaming over the Mall and Capital Building, D.C.’s tourist Mecca?  There were NONE. 

Did it pass less than a mile in front of Reagan’s control tower before it aligned on the sparsely populated wedges of the Pentagon?  Or did a more conspicuous event occur?  Was the aircraft that flew over the Pentagon just so ordinary that no one noticed it?  Like a jet making a routine landing.

After 9:45 a.m., Dale Watson, counterterrorism chief at the FBI, reported to the CSG in the Situation Room, “We have a report of a large jet crashed in Kentucky, near the Ohio line” (last known position of Flight 77).  So even after the Pentagon attack the FBI believes that Flight 77 crashed when it was lost on radar.

            Some believed that they had seen a turboprop, helicopter, missile, small twin-engine jet, or a F-16 strike the building.  But it was only after Donald Rumsfeld had returned from outside that it was certain what had happened.  After Rumsfeld’s account of what happened, was brought forth, the Pentagon’s website stated that an airliner had hit it.  Victoria Clarke recalled:

When he [Rumsfeld] came back in the building about half an hour later, he was the first one that told us he was quite sure it was a plane. … He was the one that told us, the staff that was in the room.  So he was really the first one who told us that it was most likely a plane.[x]