hijacking squads were checking in for flights to Los Angeles: five as passengers at another Logan terminal to board United Flight 175, five others as passengers on American Airlines Flight 77 leaving Dulles International (near Washington, D.C.), and a group of four at the Newark, New Jersey, airport on United Flight 93. All 14 of these men passed through security despite 5 of them being selected by CAPPS or customer service for increased security screening, 2 setting off metal detectors, 1 having no photo identification, and 1 having trouble giving acceptable responses to standard security questions.
…….American Flight 11 departed Logan at 7:59 AM. Over the next 15 minutes, the flight crew piloted the aircraft to 26,000 feet and the attendants began preparations for serving breakfast. At 8:14, the crew responded to flight instructions from Boston's air traffic control, but a second set of instructions 16 seconds later went unanswered. Authorities believe that this moment marked the beginning of the worst hostile attack ever committed on U.S. territory.
……. The hijacking began as two terrorists seated in the second row of the first-class section left their scats and stabbed two members of the cabin crew. They then gained access to the cockpit, possibly by using a key from one of the injured attendants or by force. The "pilot" hijacker and one other member of the attack team then moved forward from their seats in the business section to take control of the plane. A passenger seated directly behind them, who may have tried to intervene, was stabbed by the fifth attacker, seated one row farther back. The hijackers then subdued the passengers by spraying mace and claiming that a bomb was onboard. ……….During the ordeal, one of the flight attendants was able to reach an American Airlines call center via air phone to report the situation. At 8:24 AM, the hijackers themselves notified air traffic controllers, when they mistakenly broadcast a radio message they had meant to announce over the cabin public address system.
……… At 8:27, the jet made an unexpected turn to the south and started descending soon thereafter
(see Exhibit 10.3). The plane continued flying erratically over the next 18 minutes, until it suddenly began to dive.