Words and Their Stories Voices From 9-11 Tell Story of Fast-Moving Events

Today, we t ell the st ory of the 9-11 attacks through some of the words spoken that morning ten years ago. A newly released document includes recordings of air t raffic controllers, milit ary pilots and others reacting to the fast-moving events.
On Sept ember eleventh, two thousand one, nineteen al-Qaida members hijacked four passenger planes in the east ern United Stat es. They crashed two of them into the World Trade Center in New York Cit y, dest roying the Twin Towers.
A third plane hit the Pentagon, the Defense Department headquart ers outside Washington. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
The document is known as an "audio monograph." It begins with normal radio calls shortly aft er eight o'clock. American Airlines Flight 11 had just left Boston for Los Angeles with ninet y-two people.
AA11: "Boston Center, good morning, American 11 with you passing through one nine zero for two three zero."
CONTROLLER: "American 11, Boston Center, roger, climb, maintain level two eight zero."
Soon radio contact is lost. A flight attendant on the plane, Betty Ong, called a company office t o report the hijacking.
A woman at that office then calls the airline's emergency line.
NIDIA GONZALEZ: "So far, what I've gott en, the number five flight att endant's been st abbed, but she seems to be breathing. The number one seems t o be stabbed prett y badly and she's lying down on the floor, they don't know whether she is conscious or not. The other flight att endants are in the back, um, and that's as far as I know. It seems like the passengers in coach might not be aware of what's going on right now."
At eight y twenty-four, the voice of hijacker Mohamed Att a was heard over the radio.
MOHAMED ATTA: "Nobody move. Everything will be OK. If you try to make any moves you will injure yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet."
At eight fifty, controllers in New York received a call from another plane.
UKNOWN PILOT: "Anybody know what that smoke is in lower Manhattan?"
NEW YORK CENTER: "I'm sorry, say again."
UKNOWN PILOT: "Lot of smoke in lower Manhattan."
NEW YORK CENTER: "A lot of smoke in lower Manhattan?"
UKNOWN PILOT: "Coming out of the, ah, t op of the World Trade Center building, a major fire."
Air t raffic controllers had already informed the military about the hijacking.
CONTROLLER: "We have, ah, a problem here, we have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New, New York and we need you guys t o, we need someone t o scramble some F-16s or something up there to help us out."
MILITARY OFFICIAL: "Is, is this real world or exercise?"
CONTROLLER: "No, this is not an exercise, not a test."
An order to launch fighter jets came as Flight 11 was hitting the North Tower. At the same time, another plane -- Unit ed Flight 175 -- was being hijacked. It struck the South Tower.
At nine thirty-eight, American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. A military transport plane reported the crash.
TRANSPORT PLANE: "Roger, we're climbing to three thousand, sir, and it looks like that aircraft has impact ed the west side of the Pentagon."
CONTROLLER: "All right. Thank you."
The fourth plane, United Flight 93, crashed just after ten near Shanskville, Pennsylvania. Passengers had rebelled against the hijackers, who had turned the plane toward Washingt on.
At ten thirt y-two came this message for milit ary officials.
MALE VOICE: "You need to read this. Region commander has declared that we can shoot down tracks if they are not responding t o our, uh, directions."。