What You Won't See in Flight 93, the Film

By JAMES RIDGEWAY

The only people to defend the United States on 911 were the
passengers and crews of the 4 hijacked planes.

The President and the Secretary of Defense, the two top
officials in the chain of command responsible for defense the
country were out of commission. Dick Cheney, the vice president,
who under the constitution has no authority to issue orders, was
running the country from the White House bunker. The FAA and the
military were nowhere.

On Flight 11, flight attendants Betty Ong and Amy Sweeney were
on the phone to American Airlines ground personnel minutes after
the hijacking began. Even though both the FAA and the airlines
had been warned more than 50 times in the months preceding the
attack, officials on the ground reacted with skepticism an
annoyance to Betty Ong's desperate call.

According to one account by people who have listened to all the
tapes, American Airlines people were anxious to keep what was
going on secret. An American Airlines tape, according to Gail
Sheehy in the New York Observer, shows the managers were
concerned about keeping things secret. People who listened to
"Keep it close,'' "keep it quiet'', "Let's keep this among
ourselves.''

So in those terrifying minutes before the first hit, two brave
women on the phone inside Flight 11 were calmly telling American
Airlines ground officials exactly what was happening.

The airline's reaction: Nothing. It did absolutely nothing.

The managers could have picked up a phone and told all their
pilots what was going on. Indeed they co told all pilots in the
air what was happening. They could have called officials in New
York. There is a real likelihood people at least could have
evacuated the second tower.

If someone on the ground had acted, Flight 93, sitting on the
Newark airport tarmac, might well have avoided the hijack.

Flight 93 took off at 8:42 that morning, a few minutes before
the Flight 11 struck the WTC. It was not hijacked until 9:28. It
is simple fact that the FAA, American Airlines and the military
knew about the 911 hijacking before Flight 93 took off. Before
its cockpit was seized two planes had hit the World Trade
Center.

The 911 Commission report states it clearly: "As news of the
hijackings filtered through the FAA and the airlines, it does
not seem to have occurred to their leadership that they needed
to alert other aircraft in the air that they too might be at
risk.''

The 911 Commission found ``no evidence…that American Airlines
ever sent any cockpit warnings to its aircraft on 911.''
United's first decisive move to inform its pilots occurred at
9:19 when a United Flight dispatcher, on his own initiative,
notified the airline's intercontinental flights: "Beware any
cockpit intrusion. Two a/c [aircraft] hit World Trade Center.''

Flight 93 got this warning at 9:24. Two minutes later the pilot
responded and asked for confirmation. And two minutes later
flight controllers in Cleveland heard shouts from the cockpit:
"Hey get out of here ... get out of here ... get out of here.''

The pilot had heard the warning, but had not had time to react.

The only people who were aware of the earlier hijackings that
day and used their knowledge to take decisive and effective
action were the passengers on Flight 93.

James Ridgeway is the author of ``Five Unanswered Questions
about 911.'' Seven Stories Press.

The Betty Ong movie is 18 Megs and playable on Quicktime 7: