Page 349 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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September 11 Attacks———329

An overhead view of “Ground Zero” at the World Trade Center in New York
Source: U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

Flight 77 somewhere west of Indiana. The flight had attack, so the damage to the building was not as great
departed Dulles International Airport in Virginia for as it might have been. None of the U.S. senior military
Los Angeles at about 8:20 A.M. After disabling the leaders were lost.
transponder, the hijackers turned the plane east toward
Washington, D.C. By 9:30 A.M., federal authorities FOURTH AIRPLANE
realized that the third hijacked plane was flying
toward Washington, D.C. The White House and the Flight 93 was the latest of the four flights, leaving
Capitol were evacuated, and military planes were sent Newark International Airport in New Jersey for San
to intercept the hijacked airliner. Francisco at 8:45 A.M. Unlike the other hijacked planes,
Minutes later, however, Flight 77 crashed into the Flight 93 had only four terrorists aboard: al-Jarrah,
southwest side of the Pentagon in nearby Arlington, al-Haznaw, al-Ghamdi, and al-Nami. Investigators
Virginia. The impact and resulting fire destroyed parts believe that first Bin al-Shibh, then Moussaoui, had
of three of the Pentagon’s five concentric rings, killing been slated to be the fifth member of the hijacking team.
184 people in the building and all 59 passengers and The flight traveled its normal route until it reached
crew on board the plane. Ohio, then it turned back, presumably to strike
The toll could have been far greater, however—that another target in the Washington, D.C., area. Despite
area of the Pentagon, which contained the offices of the smaller team, the Flight 93 hijackers were no less
Army and Navy operations personnel, was under ren- aggressive: at least one passenger was stabbed to
ovation with many of the offices empty. The renova- death in the course of the hijacking, and the hijackers
tions had fortified the building to withstand a bomb told the passengers they had a bomb on board.