reply to post by Alfie1
....if he meant this C130....
There was also an E-4B in the vicinity. Radio call sign Venus77. It was launched
after American 77 hit the Pentagon.
It took off from Andrews AFB at about 0943 EDT. Recall that AAL 77 struck at 0937 EDT.
The E-4B is used as a support aircraft for Air Force One. "Venus77" was launched to be airborne and act in that support as Bush was about to go
airborne on AF1 down in Florida. When you listen, you will hear it cleared for takeoff on Runway 1....this means it was headed north at that point.
Then listen as they contact Washington Departure.
Here is a YouTube video with the actual Air Traffic Control recordings. I can guarantee that these are real, they are authentic, this IS how it
really sounds (unlike what you may see on TV or in movies....Hollywood rarely gets it right).
Some confusion for laypersons arise because a Controller is also taped whenever he/she is talking on landlines, too. And/or, they can also be on more
than one radio frequency, and this is all recorded on one tape. Also, it includes both the Andrews Tower, and the Departure Control....different
Controllers, different frequencies. It is to "follow along" with "Venus 77" for clarity:
@2:44 the Tower controller is passing on the information about "Venus 77" on the landlline.
@3:15 "Venus 77" calls Departure.
@3:30, the Departure Controller asks their intentions....because, note that they were scrambled on short notice, and have NO filed Flight Plan. The
pilot responds that they want to go direct to Wright-Patterson. This is the AFB in Ohio. They turn now to a 330° heading. Andrews AFB is to the
East, and slightly South, of the Pentagon, and the Washington, D.C. area. 330%deg is North/Northwest.
The video shows blue dots to represent the ground track.
Listen to the conversation between two Controllers on the landline. Then:
@5:00, the crew informs the Controller of a change in plans. Obviously, because the Secret Service is still deciding what to do with the President,
and AF1. They request a holding pattern, South of DC. (Holding patterns are common, it is a way to keep an airplane in flight in a general area.
The Controller tells them to turn right from 330° to 340°....then, when he hears their request to hold, he clears them to just continue the
right turn now to the South, or 180°.
So you can listen, and watch....and see how the reports of the "mystery white jet" over DC came about ......
Some "conspiracy theorists" have tried to claim that the E-4B was there in the sky to somehow "direct the attack". This is nonsense.
Edit....and note, even in the confusion, the Controller gets it wrong as to type of airplane. Several times he tells others it's a "757"....when in
fact, the E-4B is a 747. (Remember, he has no info on the flight, except a verbal from someone else. He has no "Data Strip", nor the info in the
Radar data block on his radar screen. In hindsight, he should have called the flight to ask their airplane type. Again, this shows Human fallibility,
and the reality of the situation, and the stress).
This is part of and an example of the sort of confusion that reigned that morning.
edit on Mon 5 March 2012 by ProudBird because: (no reason
given)
