This came from a Delta pilot.
-------Original Message-------
Guys,
Susie and I just got back from seeing "UAL Flight 93", it was absolutely
gripping, and as a former airline pilot who was flying a trip that morning
on a Boeing 767 from Cincinnati to Orlando it was almost too horrific to
watch...it was very disturbing! For you pilot types, the attention to
detail, the cockpit, the preflight, the crew, pilots and flight attendants
boarding the aircraft and making small talk was or so real and
routine...just another day in the office! Likewise the views from central
flow control, NY and Boston ARTCC and the NORAD command center were very
realistic. Should anyone have any doubts about our response, or lack of
that morning you need to view this movie. Watching all the various
controllers and their supervisors trying to get their arms around the
problem and to come to grips and connect the dots is so very real. The
movie appears to almost happen in real time and you can really sense the
problem that the commanders had in thinking outside the box and realizing
that we were really at war. Fighters are scrambled, late, and in the wrong
direction, as threats are suppose to come from over the water to the east
not from over land to the west; the planes are not armed, can they ram, and
who has the authority to give that command...the command is given but not
relayed to the pilots. The lack of communications, or rather the disbelief
and lack of coordination is stunning but easy to understand. Even the
pilots of UAL Flt 93 are given a data link message that the Towers have been
hit and to beware of cockpit intruders...they brush it off in disbelief, as
I'm sure any pilot would have prior to that date. The time line given at
the end of the movie and the confusion over what planes were involved, and
which flights were being hijacked is very revealing...we just couldn't get
it together quickly enough. As pilots and crew members we had never been
trained to deal with suicidal hijackers who were prepared to die, it was
simply inconceivable at the time. A key point, though not belabored, was
when the supervisor (he played himself in the movie) of the FAA Central Flow
Control ordered that all aircraft in US airspace land immediately, (there
were over 4200 in the air), that no planes from overseas would be allowed
into the country and would be turned back, and that there were to be no over
flights. He realized that we were at war but didn't know with whom...it was
a very bold and brave move
and he was thinking way outside the box... AND it was his first day on the
job as the boss!
All Americans should see this movie as it may help them get a grip on the
terrorist threat that we are up against vs. the radical Muslim world. I
don't know if we belong in Iraq or how we should deal with Iran or North
Korea or the Sudan, but I know that there is a real threat to our way of
life from the radical Islamic fundamentalists. I continually hear that this
is not a true reflection of the Koran or true Islamic beliefs. Well that may
be true, and it might not be, but there would appear to be plenty of Muslims
in the world that have an entirely different and radical interpretation of
the Koran which we cannot ignore.
What was probably as disturbing as watching an airline crew, that could have
been me or any of my friends, seeing their world and their life taken away,
was the hijackers preparing to die, washing themselves and praying to their
god as if they were doing his will. They looked like ordinary young men, and
to think that they could sit next to all these people on that plane that
they were going to kill, who had nothing against them or done nothing to
them, was beyond words. I guess if nothing else it gives you insight into
the minds of suicide bombers, which to our Western way of thought is beyond
comprehension. This movie will make you angry, very angry.
My experience on 9/11. We were just ready to close the door for our Delta
767 flight from CVG to MCO when the gate agent came on board and asked if we
had heard anything about a small plane hitting the World Trade Center, we
had not, so she said goodbye and closed the door. Shortly thereafter we
were airborne climbing out on a beautifully clear crisp fall morning heading
to Florida with not a cloud in the sky or a care in the world. I heard a
bizjet ask for a reroute since he could not get to New York and I thought
that was strange. Then another bizjet said "well I guess we won't be going
there either" and asked for a clearance to an alternate.. At that point I
asked center what was going on. There was a pause and then the controller
came back in a very excited voice and said "they have hit both of the Trade
Center Towers, they have hit the Pentagon, they have hit the Capitol and the
White House"...well you can imagine it got really lively on the frequency. I
turned to my Co-Pilot and said "I don't know what has happened, but I do
know that things will never be the same", and I think I got that right!
Within seconds the controller had composed himself and said all flights on
this frequency standby, and it was dead quiet. He then said all flights are
to land immediately and went down the list of the planes under his
control..."American 235 turn right heading 230 you're landing at Pittsburgh,
Continental 456 turn left heading 180 for Cincinnati, Delta 235 (that's me)
turn right to 250 and descend to 8000, you're landing at Knoxville, airport
your 2 o'clock 40 miles....etc" It was the best, fastest and most efficient
handling I have ever had from ATC. They had everyone on the ground all over
the country in minimum time. After all the initial confusion, their
professionalism, and
that of all the flight crews was exemplary! We spent two days in Knoxville
and then ferried an empty 757 back to Atlanta and I believe were one of the
first flights to land back at our main hub. Our arrival at ATL was one of
the most moving experiences of my flying career. The airspace was totally
empty, there was no talk on the radio, and we were the only plane in the sky
over ATL, the busiest airport in the U.S., but we did have, unknown to us
until informed by the controller, an F-16 right on our tail, but we never
saw him. When we taxied in the normally frantic ramp area was dead quiet,
all the ground equipment, tugs, baggage carts, tugs, fuelers etc. were lined
up in military precision and the ground crew were standing at attention and
saluted...wow, I'll never forget that. They needed a sign that things were
getting back to normal...that we were moving and flying again.
Reflections. As you may know I was on a United Flight several weeks ago from
Chicago to Sacramento that had a passenger who tried to open the front cabin
door, allegedly claimed to have a bomb, and took a swing at the flight
attendant. We'll yours truly was sound asleep in the last row of coach and
missed all the action, but suffice it to say that before he got very far he
was rapidly subdued by the first class section and we diverted to Denver.
Unlike Flight 93 he couldn't have gotten into the cockpit as the cockpit
door is now armored and no passenger is going to sit still and let anyone
interfere with the flight. I always felt that with the improved cockpit door
that I would be totally safe, and that all my passengers in the cabin would
act as Sky Marshals...I was and they did...they remembered 9/11, lets hope
that we never forget!
I would also like to mention that all the crew members on my United flight
as well as all the ground rescue folks in Denver and the United station
personnel did an absolutely marvelous job in handling this incident. It made
me proud to have once been a part of this profession.
John
"Flight 93", the movie
Moderator: Latest news team
All Americans should see this movie as it may help them get a grip on the
terrorist threat that we are up against vs. the radical Muslim world.
I think you've been watching too much FOX News. (Just kidding.) Seriously though, I have heard very good things about this movie and I must see it. I remember that day like it was yesterday. Rest assured though, that no person will make it into the flightdeck alive to hijack an airplane again. With the Federal Air Marshalls and the new FFDO program, it is nearly impossible for the same horrific acts that happened on that day to happen again.
"What's this button do?? I don't know, push it and find out................."
I honestly do not know if they were in operation in 2001. I highly doubt they were on the aircraft because, as you stated, there are normally MORE than one. And I do doubt that the hijackers killed all of the Air Marshalls with box-cutters. What I do know is that planes seem swarming with them these days. Box-cutters vs. a USP .40, I've got my money on the USP.
"What's this button do?? I don't know, push it and find out................."
What are box-cutters?
Anyway, it seems like a very good film. Thankfuly, I don't know anyone caught up with anything terrorist. However, in my opinion, every terrorist/radical cleric/west hater should be locked up, and the key thrown away. Iran's government should be included in this aswell, with treats to blow up Israel. Although I do not aprove of Israel's handleing of the situation, that is no reason to wipe the country off the face of the earth. I have nothing against Muslims (I have friends who are Muslim), but these twisted freaks who want to blow us up are evil. They are complete hypocrits: They hate Israel for 'taking' the Palestinian's land, yet they want Islamic Law in places like Britain, which is like taking my land.
Anyway, it seems like a very good film. Thankfuly, I don't know anyone caught up with anything terrorist. However, in my opinion, every terrorist/radical cleric/west hater should be locked up, and the key thrown away. Iran's government should be included in this aswell, with treats to blow up Israel. Although I do not aprove of Israel's handleing of the situation, that is no reason to wipe the country off the face of the earth. I have nothing against Muslims (I have friends who are Muslim), but these twisted freaks who want to blow us up are evil. They are complete hypocrits: They hate Israel for 'taking' the Palestinian's land, yet they want Islamic Law in places like Britain, which is like taking my land.
