Sunday September 16 1:34 AM ET

FAA Attack Alert Failed to Reach Pentagon - Report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top U.S. defense officials were unaware that a hijacked passenger plane was hurtling toward the Pentagon (news - web sites) on Tuesday despite a Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) alert to the nation's military air defense command, the Washington Post said on Sunday.

The newspaper, citing defense officials and a Pentagon chronology of the attack, said the FAA alerted the U.S. military air defense command that the airliner was heading toward the Pentagon 12 minutes before it struck.

But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his top aides were unaware of imminent danger until the fuel-laden plane hit the building, 35 minutes after two commercial planes plowed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

Pentagon authorities responsible for guarding the building also received no alert and so did not order an evacuation, the paper said.

The Post said two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled in response to the FAA information but took off from Virginia's Langley Air Force Base, about 130 miles from the Pentagon, rather than Andrews Air Force Base, just 15 miles away.

The airliner slammed into the side of the Pentagon just two minutes after the jets took off, the Post said, quoting Air Force generals as saying the service was unprepared for a threat of that nature.

Pilot exercises under a Cold War-era air defense system had always dealt with intercepts outside U.S. borders, over the sea, with time to divert the aircraft and consult with the White House before undertaking drastic action, the newspaper said.

A decision to shoot down a commercial aircraft generally would require presidential approval, the newspaper said, citing Air Force officials.

Rescue workers continue to comb the rubble at the site of the impact for the remains of 187 people who are unaccounted for, including 64 people on board the hijacked plane.

-- Anonymous, September 16, 2001

Answers

Amazing, isn't it? The two hits on the WTC had already occured. The FAA *knew* it had *another* rogue aircraft in the sky in the DC area. No doubt about any of that. But, the military didn't sound any alarms to the people in the Pentagon. I saw a TV interview with a couple of the Pentagon military people who had survived the hit, and they both said they had no idea what had happened. They were taken by complete surprise. They thought maybe a bomb had gone off. But in both cases they had not been given any warning about a possible additional hijacked plane in their area. Terrific!

-- Anonymous, September 16, 2001