Directorate of
Public Affairs, Headquarters, North American Aerospace Defense Command
& US Space Command, 250 S. Peterson Blvd, Suite 116, Peterson
AFB, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80914-3190
Phone (719) 554-6889 DSN 692-6889 NORAD and US
Space Command website address: http://www.peterson.af.mil/norad
or http://www.peterson.af.mil/usspacecom
NORTH AMERICAN
AEROSPACE DEFENSE COMMAND
18 September, 2001
PETERSON AFB, Colo. --The following timelines show NORAD’s response to the airliner hijackings on September 11, 2001.
*
All times are Eastern Daylight Time; NEADS
= North East Air Defense Sector, NORAD
**
Scramble = Order to get an aircraft airborne as soon as possible
***Estimated = loss of radar
contact
****
Flight times are calculated at 9 miles per minute or .9 Mach
***** The FAA and NEADS
established a line of open communication discussing AA Flt 77 and UA Flt 93
American Airlines
Flight 11 – Boston enroute to Los Angeles
FAA Notification to NEADS 0840*
Fighter Scramble Order (Otis Air National Guard Base, Falmouth,
Mass. Two F-15s) 0846**
Fighters Airborne 0852
Airline Impact Time (World
Trade Center 1) 0846
(estimated)***
Fighter Time/Distance from
Airline Impact Location Aircraft
not airborne/153 miles
United Airlines
Flight 175 – Boston enroute to Los Angeles
FAA Notification to NEADS 0843
Fighter Scramble Order (Otis
ANGB, Falmouth, Mass. Same 2 F-15s as Flight 11) 0846
Fighters Airborne 0852
Airline Impact Time (World
Trade Center 2) 0902
(estimated)
Fighter Time/Distance from
Airline Impact Location approx
8 min****/71 miles
American Flight 77
–Dulles enroute to Los Angeles
FAA Notification to NEADS 0924
Fighter Scramble Order (Langley
AFB, Hampton, Va. 2 F-16s) 0924
Fighters Airborne 0930
Airline Impact Time
(Pentagon) 0937(estimated)
Fighter Time/Distance from
Airline Impact Location approx
12 min/105 miles
United Flight 93 –
Newark to San Francisco
FAA Notification to NEADS N/A
*****
Fighter Scramble Order (Langley
F-16s already airborne for AA Flt 77)
Fighters Airborne (Langley F-16 CAP remains in place to protect
DC)
Airline Impact Time
(Pennsylvania) 1003
(estimated)
Fighter Time/Distance from
Airline Impact Location approx
11 min/100 miles
(from DC F-16
CAP)
-30-