TOUCHING HISTORY - New Book about fight to control skies on 9/11

TOUCHING HISTORY is a new book by airline pilot Lynn Spencer. The
author spent 3 years interviewing airline pilots, FAA officials, air traffic
controllers and Air Guard pilots who fought to control the sky on 9/11

It dispproves many of the myths conspiracy loons had raised about
NORAD "stand down" or exercises as cover for attacks. Spencer
recounts minute by minute the attempt by air traffic control and NEADS
(Northeast Air Deense Sector) to determine what was happening and
try head it off.

But take heart conspiracy types - Spencer does spend several pages
discussing UNITED 23, which was ground stopped at JFK (not Newark
as commonly reported) and had several mysterious "Arab" passengers
run off the aircraft after reached terminal.

Excerpt

Combat Air Patrol over Washington, D.C., 11:25 a.m.

As yet more military aircraft arrive in the skies over Washington, pilots’ flying skills and judgment are being put to a daunting test. Pilots are calling on all of their training to improvise solutions and to reach past their comfort zone to attend to the demands of this unprecedented crisis.

Langley Air Force Base F-16 pilot Borgy Borgstrom is now running out of fuel. His flight lead, Dean Eckmann, directs him to a refueling tanker plane that has been positioned just off the coast. When Borgy arrives at the tanker, his eyes widen to see the immense aircraft in front of him. Oh #! he thinks. The plane is a KC-10 jumbo jet, the military version of a DC-10, and he’s never refueled on one before; he’s used to refueling on the much smaller KC-135 plane.

“Hey, Otis,” he calls in a panic, using Eckmann’s military call sign. “It’s a -10!”

“Yeah, so?” Eckmann responds, not quite sure what the problem is.

“I’ve never tanked on a -10 before!” Borgy urgently replies.

“It's okay,” Eckmann reassures. “Here’s what you’re gonna do…”

He coaches his wingman through the process, which is somewhat trickier than refueling on a KC-135. Borgy is learning on the fly, quite literally, today.

Several minutes later, he rejoins the combat air patrol with a call to Eckmann.

“That thing’s huge!” he exclaims, enormously relieved to have succeeded at the tricky maneuver.

Soon, F-18s from the 321 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron of Andrews Air Force Base join the air defense over Washington, adding further confusion to the mix. When Northeast Air Defense Sector Weapons Director Smurf Murphy tries to authenticate one of the Marine pilots—giving the authentication code that demonstrates that he is who he says he is and that his orders are legal and lawful—the pilot does not respond with the appropriate authentication; the code he comes back to Northeast Air Defense Sector with has too many letters. What the hell is he talking about? Smurf wonders. He tries again to authenticate the pilot.

“Dude, I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me,” the pilot responds. It quickly occurs to Smurf that he has an unexpected challenge on his hands: these fighters, who are not normally part of North American Aerospace Defense Command, do not have NORAD authenticators. Instead, they have authenticators from Air Combat Command. They don’t match! #!

Smurf knows that this problem is going to be repeated frequently as increasing numbers of non-NORAD fighters take to the skies. Searching for a solution, he directs fellow Weapons controller Animal Julian to help him call the various squadron commanders of the non-alert jets launching to patrol the Northeast in order to resolve the problem. Doing so is of critical importance. The authentication system is set up to ensure that a pilot knows he is being given a valid order, and a pilot cannot legally comply with an order unless he can authenticate it first. Smurf gets on a secured line to their unit, the 321 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base.

“We use this authenticator,” Smurf announces. “Are you using the same one?”

“No.”

“Uh…okay! Here’s what we’re gonna do.” He improvises a plan of action, and soon faxes are fired off over secured lines to every squadron launching aircraft to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Meanwhile, the Marine pilots already in the air over Washington waiting to be checked in are doing some of their own improvising. They know of only one way to solve their authentication problem: voice recognition. Smurf is a Marine buddy of some of the pilots, and they know his voice. The Marine pilots decide that they will accept orders from him and him only.

“No, no!” one pilot objects when another Weapons controller tries to give him instructions. “Smurf’s voice only! That’s all I want to hear.”

Smurf gets on the radio to check him in. “All right! Devil 1-1, Smurf, I authenticate…You’re in the Combat Air Patrol. Here’s your mission…I’m turning you over to my controller.”

“Roger that!” the pilot responds, and one by one, Smurf checks in all the Marine fighters.

But having these fighters is helpful only if Northeast Air Defense Sector can communicate with them, and right now radio reception is nonexistent below 20,000 feet over Washington. The NEADS radio transmitter, like all radio transmitters, operates by line of sight. This means that the radio signals, which travel in a straight line, require an unobstructed path between the transmitter and the jets. Given the curvature of the earth and the distance to Washington, the fighters’ radio receivers cannot pick up the NEADS signal when they descend below that line of sight. What’s needed is an Airborne Early Warning and Control System plane, which has the capability to provide both radar and radio coverage over a citywide area.

Smurf gets on his radio to an AWACS from the 552nd Air Control Wing of Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Earlier this morning, the aircraft had been in the D.C. area for a training mission, but in the immediate confusion after the attacks it had been directed to return to its Oklahoma base. Smurf calls for it to turn right back around.

Here’s the deal,” he announces. “We need you to cover the NCA [National Capital Area].”

“Roger that,” the pilot responds. “Where do you want us?”

“No, no,” Smurf answers. “You’re the one with the big jet with the rotor-dome on it. You tell me where you need to go to get me a surface-to-infinity look at that area.”

The problem of radar and radio coverage over D.C. has been solved. For Smurf, it’s right on to the next task.

You cannot disprove the NORAD "stand down."

Unless Norman Mineta is a stone-cold liar, Cheney did in fact allow the plane to hit the Pentagon. That, in and of itself, is a "stand down."

reply to post by thedman
Hey dman, do you actually have a copy of this book? I ordered the e-book version from Simon & Schuster over two months ago and it's still not available.

Double Eights--

You cannot prove the NORAD stand down. Norman Mineta was repeatedly mistaken about his timeline. The overwhelming majority of evidence supports that fact.

Here is a small example from page C46 of the Arlington County after action report:

At about 10:15 a.m. on September 11, the WFO Command Center was notified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that another airliner, United Airlines Flight #93, was hijacked after taking off from Newark, NJ, and was flying on a course from western Pennsylvania toward the Washington Metropolitan Area. The FAA estimated it would reach Washington, DC, in 20 minutes. The Command Center relayed the information to Special Agent Combs at the ACFD ICP who alerted Chief Schwartz. Special Agent Combs located a Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority (WMAA) firefighter equipped with a radio and confirmed the information about Flight #93. Chief Schwartz ordered a complete area evacuation, directing the response force to relative safety beneath nearby highway overpasses. Special Agent Combs stayed at Chief Schwartz’ side, giving him updates as the FAA tracked the course of Flight #93. The last update came when the airliner was 4 minutes away from the Pentagon. Five minutes later, Special Agent Combs reported to Chief Schwartz that Flight #93 had crashed into Camp David in Maryland. In fact, it crashed in a field near Shanksville, PA. Chief Schwartz sounded the all clear.

Originally posted by thedman
Excerpt

Combat Air Patrol over Washington, D.C., 11:25 a.m.

What time was the pentagon hit again?

9:43 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon, sending up a huge plume of smoke. Evacuation begins immediately.

archives.cnn.com...

Why not post an excerpt from the time when they knew it was an attack to the time Flight 77 hit the pentagon?

9:03 a.m.: A second hijacked airliner, United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston, crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes. Both buildings are burning.

What happened between 9:03 AM to 9:43 AM? Not an hour and a half later?

reply to post by Griff

What happened between 9:03 AM to 9:43 AM? Not an hour and a half later?

What does 9:03 have to do with flight 77?

The Pentagon was impacted at 9:37. 77 was hijacked at 8:54 a.m., the transponder was turned off tat 8:56. No one thought it was hijacked until around 9:20 because the controllers at Indianapolis Center thought it had crashed after they lost the primary radar return.

77 wasn't noticed again until 9:32, five minutes before impact.

Originally posted by Boone 870
The Pentagon was impacted at 9:37.

According to the CNN archives link I posted it was 9:43. You guys can't even get your times straight. And you want us to believe you on other things?

reply to post by Griff


And he was posting a section illustrating some of the confusion that was going on that day.....all day....

Originally posted by Boone 870
What does 9:03 have to do with flight 77?

Because at 9:03 the WTC 2 was hit and it was clear we were under attack. So, what happened between 9:03 and 9:43?

Originally posted by Swampfox46_1999
And he was posting a section illustrating some of the confusion that was going on that day.....all day....

What caused this confusion? Don't we have enough competant people out there that practice this stuff all the time to avoid confusion when it actually happens?

Again, the excuse is incompetence and confusion.

I hope another attack doesn't occur with all this incompetence and confusion running amok.

[edit on 6/10/2008 by Griff]

Well, I just bought it at Barnes & Noble yesterday and stayed up until 3 am to finish it. Couldn't put it down. She's got some incredible information here from hundreds of people - from the highest levels of the FAA to the controllers talking to the fighters and even the fighter and airline pilots themselves. Very fascinating look at what was happening behind the scenes. Just googled her and she has a link on her website to an excerpt on Smithsonian's Air & Space website. www.touchinghistory911.com.

reply to post by Griff


Must have missed the part about Marine pilots responding....not having refueled from certain tankers.....or having worked with other units also responding that day.....

And no, responding and creating CAPs over the US ISNT something that gets a lot of practice.

Originally posted by Swampfox46_1999
Must have missed the part about Marine pilots responding....not having refueled from certain tankers.....or having worked with other units also responding that day.....

Yes, must have missed the part where it says that was at 11:20 A.M.

I'm interested in what happened between 9:03 and 9:43. I thought we went over this?

And no, responding and creating CAPs over the US ISNT something that gets a lot of practice.

Well, maybe they should? What was the point of all the terror drills then? So you guys could sit there with your thumbs up your ass when an actual terror incident happens?

[edit on 6/10/2008 by Griff]

Originally posted by Griff

Originally posted by Boone 870
The Pentagon was impacted at 9:37.

According to the CNN archives link I posted it was 9:43. You guys can't even get your times straight. And you want us to believe you on other things?

Hi Griff,

I'm not sure who you mean by "you guys" in your response to Boone, nor what you mean by "you guys can't even get your times straight".

Your repeated references in this thread to the crash into the Pengaton occuring at "9.43" are quite simply incorrect.

I know that the CNN archives at the link you posted contain a chronology that says "9:43 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon" but that statement is simply one example (of many that I could give) of incorrect statements made by the media on 9/11 and subsequent days.

Unfortunately, some obvious errors made by the media in the immediate aftermath of the attacks are still repeated on various websites (including here on ATS) by some individuals nearly 7 years later.

The CNN chronology gives a date at the top of the relevant webpage of 12 September 2001. Presumably it was either written on 9/12, or (in common with various chronologies I've seen on media websites) it was created and updated almost in real time, with the date on the top of 12 September 2001 indicating the date of the last edit or update to that chronology.

The crash into the Pentagon clearly happened before 9.43am (at 9.37am), as can be seen from witness statements and subsequent reports upon the events of that day (including the 9/11 Commission Report).

In fact, if you watched (or now watch) the CNN coverage of 9/11, you will see that CNN itself reported a "fire" at the Pentagon prior to 9.43am. The television coverage on CNN included:

(a) at 9.40am, a caption stating "Breaking News: Reports of Fire at Pentagon",

(b) at 9.42am, Chris Plante reported by telephone upon an on-going evacuation, with police and fire departments responding to a "very, very significant fire" with an enormous "plume of smoke".


I realise that many people will not be interested in the precise details, but sloppiness in relation to basic details can result in sloppy thinking about the bigger picture.


Kind Regards,

Isaac

OK. What happened between 9:03 and 9:37 then? Better? Oh, those 6 minutes time really make the difference in the world don't they?

BTW, pardon me for taking something from a news archive as a source. I'll know better next time to only listen to the 9/11 commission. Who, BTW, fear they were lied to.

Suspicion of wrongdoing ran so deep that the 10-member commission, in a secret meeting at the end of its tenure in summer 2004, debated referring the matter to the Justice Department for criminal investigation, according to several commission sources.

www.washingtonpost.com...

Yeah, I'm going to put full faith in the 9/11 commission report when they themselves were going to criminaly investigate the pentagon officials? OK.

Originally posted by Griff
Oh, those 6 minutes time really make the difference in the world don't they?

Accurate facts are certainly preferable to false information.

Originally posted by IsaacKoi
Accurate facts are certainly preferable to false information.

Yes, I can agree to this.

So, why are we still looking at the 9/11 Commission Report then?

At 9:58:59, the South Tower collapsed in ten seconds,

www.gpoaccess.gov...

Page 305 of the 9/11 Commission Report.

Is this "accurate"?

I'm interested in what happened between 9:03 and 9:43. I thought we went over this?

So go buy the book.

It was confirmed later that they were not lied to:

Investigators found no evidence that aviation officials intentionally misled the Sept. 11 commission when they made inaccurate statements about their response to the 2001 terrorist attacks but recommended that two officials face "appropriate administrative action" for failing to correct the record, according to a report released yesterday. thewashingtonpost.com

OK. What happened between 9:03 and 9:37 then? Better? Oh, those 6 minutes time really make the difference in the world don't they?

Flight 77 flew toward Washington, DC unnoticed for 30 of the 34 minutes between 9:03 and 9:37.

[edit on 10-6-2008 by Boone 870]

Originally posted by Swampfox46_1999
So go buy the book.

So, it's evil for Alex Jones to sell a book, but not this man? Biased much?

Originally posted by Boone 870
It was confirmed later that they were not lied to:
thewashingtonpost.com

By the way, the full report of the Department of Transport's Inspector General can be found online here.

All the best,

Isaac


[edit on 10-6-2008 by IsaacKoi]