15. “in the face”: Transcript from Voice Recorder, September 11, 2001, Northeast Air Defense Sector, Rome, New York, p. 61.
16. shootdown order: Interview with Kevin Nasypany, March 20, 2017.
17. “What are we gonna do”: Priscilla D. Jones, The First 109 Minutes: 9/11 and the U.S. Air Force, Monograph published by the Air Force History and Museums Program, Washington, D.C., 2011, p. 44.
18. Trolley Problem: Thomas Cathcart, The Trolley Problem, or Would You Throw the Fat Guy Off the Bridge? A Philosophical Conundrum (New York: Workman Publishing Company, 2013).
19. whatever needed to be done: Interview with Kevin Nasypany, March 20, 2017.
20. it reached 19,000 feet: NTSB Flight Path Study, United Airlines Flight 93, p. 4.
21. “The best thing”: Intelwire CVR, Flight 93.
22. dialed a navigational code: Four Flights Monograph, p. 45.
23. preferred the White House: 9/11 Commission Report, p. 244 and p. 248.
24. “High Security Alert”: FBI document labeled “ACARS Messages from Dispatch; Messages from Aircraft to Ed Ballinger and Chad McCurdy; and Messages to Flight 93.”
25. could only wonder: 9/11 Commission staff interview with Ed Ballinger, April 24, 2004, p. 6; Drew Griffin, Kathleen Johnston, and Brian Rokus, “The Footnotes of 9/11,” CNN, September 9, 2011, www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/06/september.11.footnotes/. In this tearful video interview, aboard his boat after his retirement, Ballinger asks the interviewer, “Should I have said something else? What’s more to the point than ‘beware of cockpit intrusion’? Should I have said ‘lock the so-and-so door’? Should I have said ‘hijacking alert, hijacking’? . . . I wake up at night, thinking about it.”
26. “passengers are getting together”: Jefferson, p. 53.
27. fly the plane: 9/11 Commission staff interview with Lisa Jefferson, May 11, 2004.
28. Several minutes before ten: The Four Flights Monograph places the time of the revolt at 9:57 a.m. On the cockpit voice recorder, a hijacker asks in Arabic, “Is there something?” at 9:57:55 a.m.
29. Fearsome yells: Intelwire CVR, Flight 93. Dialogue and descriptions of fight noises and yells are from this document.
30. rock the plane: Four Flights Monograph, p. 45.
31. “In the cockpit!”: The transcript notes that these yells came from “a native English-speaking male.”
32. streaking toward him at 8,000 feet: Four Flights Monograph, p. 45.
33. landing gear down: “FAA Summary of Air Traffic Hijack Events, September 11, 2001,” p. 23.
34. two most likely targets: A great deal of speculation and investigation has focused on the hijackers’ thwarted destination for Flight 93. Based on intelligence reports and interrogations of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh, U.S. investigators concluded that the fourth flight targeted either the U.S. Capitol or the White House. Investigators said Osama bin Laden specifically wanted a plane to strike the White House, but Mohamed Atta worried that the president’s home would be more difficult to reach than the U.S. Capitol. According to the 9/11 Commission Report: “When Binalshibh persisted, Atta agreed to include the White House but suggested they keep the Capitol as an alternate target in case the White House proved too difficult.” 9/11 Commission Report, p. 248.
35. crash the plane: 9/11 Commission Report, p. 244: “If any pilot could not reach his intended target, he was to crash the plane.”
36. hard to the right: Four Flights Monograph, p. 46.
37. 563 miles per hour: Four Flights Monograph, p. 46.
38. fifteen minutes’ flight time away: 9/11 Commission Staff Statement No. 17, “Improvising a Homeland Defense,” p. 28. “Had it not crashed in Pennsylvania at 10:03, we estimate that United 93 could not have reached Washington, D.C., any earlier than 10:13, and most probably would have arrived before 10:23.”
39. Steve O’Brien asked his crew: 9/11 Commission staff interview with Lt. Colonel Steven O’Brien, May 6, 2004, conducted by Miles Kara and Lisa Sullivan.
40. reached some five thousand feet: Audio tape of Lt. Colonel Steven O’Brien reporting black smoke to the Cleveland Center, found at http://www.oredigger61.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/1005-Gofer-06-reports-black-smoke.mp3.
41. wasn’t a hijacking: Rutgers University Law Review, Rutgers Law Review audio transcript: www.rutgerslawreview.com/2011/full-audio-transcript/.
42. first learned: This timeline was confirmed by the 9/11 Commission (See Staff Statement No. 17, “Improvising a Homeland Defense,” pp. 17–18), which contradicted claims by numerous government and military officials in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 that fighters were pursuing Flight 93 and would have prevented it from reaching Washington, had the plane not crashed. Controversy also erupted over whether President Bush or Vice President Cheney authorized a shoot-down at roughly 10:15 a.m. In his outstanding book, 9/11 Commission senior counsel John Farmer concludes that the authorization came from the vice president, based largely on the absence of any record of a phone call between Bush and Cheney in which the issue was settled. Farmer, pp. 226–32.
43. “Negative clearance”: Rutgers University Law Review, Rutgers Law Review audio transcript: www.rutgerslawreview.com/2011/full-audio-transcript/; Michael Bronner, “9/11 Live: The Norad Tapes,” Vanity Fair, August 2006.
44. “Are they loaded?”: Rutgers University Law Review, Rutgers Law Review audio transcript: www.rutgerslawreview.com/2011/full-audio-transcript/.
45. “United Ninety-Three”: Rutgers University Law Review, Rutgers Law Review audio transcript: www.rutgerslawreview.com/2011/full-audio-transcript/.
46. eighty miles from the capital: Farmer, p. 226.
47. permissive rules of engagement: 9/11 Commission Staff Statement No. 17, “Improvising a Homeland Defense,” p. 17. Farmer, pp. 230–31. Although the 9/11 Commission indicated that the Andrews jets launched “weapons free,” based on a statement by General David Wherley, Sasseville told the commission and interviewers that he knew he had wide latitude but didn’t formally receive “weapons free” ROE until later.
48. “shoot them down”: 9/11 Commission Staff Statement No. 17, “Improvising a Homeland Defense,” pp. 25–26.
49. “bastards snuck one by us”: 9/11 Commission Staff Statement No. 17, “Improvising a Homeland Defense,” p. 28.
50. prudent to wait: 9/11 Commission Staff Statement No. 17, “Improvising a Homeland Defense,” pp. 25–26. As described in the statement, Marr told the 9/11 Commission “he did not pass along the order because he was unaware of its ramifications.” Nasypany and Fox “indicated they did not pass the order to the fighters circling Washington and New York City because they were unsure how the pilots would, or should, proceed with this guidance.”
51. At 10:39 a.m., Cheney updated: 9/11 Commission Report, p. 43.
52. depths of confusion, misinformation, and chaos: This is captured clearly in the declassified transcript of the Air Threat Conference call, available at https://www.archives.gov/files/declassification/iscap/pdf/2012-076-doc1.pdf.
53. seventh in line for takeoff: Matthew L. Wald, “An Inquiry: FBI Asks if Hijacking Plot Included Plane at Kennedy,” New York Times, October 20, 2001.
54. told a similar story: 9/11 Commission staff interview with Ed Ballinger, April 14, 2004, p. 5. Also see Spencer, Touching History, pp. 102–105. The 9/11 Commission Report made no mention of Flight 23.
55. shortly after noon: “FAA Chronology of the September 11 Attacks,” http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB165/faa4.pdf.
56. Gander, Newfoundland: Jim DeFede. The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland (New York: Regan Books, 2003).
57. “any of the four hijacked flights”: Farmer, p. 240.
58. bold claims: The clearest and most authoritative explanation of the false claims can be found in Farmer, pp. 241–90.
59. “It’s happening now!”: Flight 93 National Memorial Oral History Transcript, interview with Lorne Lyles conducted by Kathie Shaffer, October 25, 2006,
p. 30.
60. “The mightiest building in the world”: Garrett M. Graff, “We’re the Only Plane in the Sky,” Politico, September 9, 2016.
61. “keep that light from shining”: Statement by the President in His Address to the Nation, September 11, 2001, https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010911-16.html.
62. wrote in his diary: Dan Balz and Bob Woodward, “America’s Chaotic Road to War,” Washington Post, January 27, 2008.
63. one hundred fifty fighter jets: Spencer, Touching History, p. 281.
Chapter 11: “We Need You”
1. hemorrhaging money: Interview with Ron Clifford, January 25, 2017, with follow-ups for fact-checking. In addition to interviews with Clifford, information about his experiences comes from his testimony at Moussaoui trial, transcript pp. 3154–60; Niall O’Dowd, Fire in the Morning (Kerry, Ireland: Brandon, 2002), pp. 13–23; and Hampton Sides, Americana: Dispatches from the New Frontier (New York: Anchor Books, 2002), pp. 369–401.
2. Elaine Duch swam leisurely: Interview with Elaine Duch and Janet Cardwell, September 27, 2017.
3. agreement to lease: July 24, 2001, press release from Port Authority of New York & New Jersey on privatization lease of the World Trade Center. See www.panynj.gov/press-room/press-item.cfm?headLine_id=81.
4. Jay Jonas’s mind: Interview with FDNY Deputy Chief John A. (Jay) Jonas, October 13, 2017, with email and phone follow-ups for fact-checking.
5. a burning tenement: Leslie Gevirtz, “Smoke-Eater Saves a Life”: New York Post, May 4, 1982, p. 13. Jay Jonas wrote an account of the fire in the Division 7 Training and Safety Newsletter from September 2016.
6. “We need you”: Interview with Deputy Chief John A. (Jay) Jonas, October 13, 2017.
7. 11,336 firefighters: U.S. Centers for Disease Control Report, “Injuries and Illnesses Among New York City Fire Department Rescue Workers After Responding to the World Trade Center Attacks,” dated September 11, 2002. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm51SPa1.htm.
8. To pay his rent: Interview with Christopher Briggs Young, November 15, 2017.
9. “a pizza bagel”: “Portraits of Grief: Dominique Pandolfo,” New York Times, July 14, 2002.
10. Carlos and Cecilia Lillo: Interviews with Cecilia Lillo, January 6 and 8, 2018, with phone and email follow-ups.
11. Brian Clark and Stan Praimnath: Interviews with Brian Clark on October 5, 2017, and Stan Praimnath on October 4, 2017, with follow-up phone and email interviews. Throughout the text, quotes and descriptions from both men come from those interviews as well as the accounts they each gave to the 9/11 Commission. Some details also came from videos of their public talks and previous media accounts of their survival, subsequently reconfirmed by both men.
12. men in shirtsleeves: A video posted on YouTube captures the atmosphere of Euro Brokers in 1988, including images of Brian Clark at work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOsaYsUo_x4.
13. a small village: Interview with Stan Praimnath, October 4, 2017. Also see Stanley Praimnath and William Hennessey, “Plucked from the Fire,” (Pittsburgh: Rose Dog Books, 2004), pp. 1–3.
14. Alayne Gentul: Interview with Jack Gentul, November 13, 2017, and follow-up emails and phone calls.
15. Harry rode to the top: Interview with Harry Friedenreich, November 24, 2017, with email follow-ups.
16. plunged toward earth: Interview with Dr. David Tarantino, July 12, 2017, with telephone follow-ups. Also David Tarantino Jr., “A Letter to Stanford Crew from a 9/11 Hero,” 2003 Stanford Crew Yearbook, p. 3.
17. Marilyn Wills: Interview with Lieutenant Colonel Marilyn Wills (Ret.), June 8, 2017.
18. Jack Punches: Interviews with Janice Punches, Jennifer Punches-Botta, and Jeremy Punches, August 4, 2017. Video of Jack Punches’s 2000 retirement ceremony provided by his family. Also see Tom Philpott, “Remember This Name,” Washingtonian, November 2001.
19. Terry Shaffer was in trouble: Interviews with Terry and Kathie Shaffer, May 8–10, 2018, with phone and email follow-ups.
20. Christian Shank: Yvonne Brett, “Reflections of Stonycreek, 1776–1976,” Stonycreek-Shanksville-Indian Lake Bicentennial Committee (1976), p. 7.
21. “You’ve got to remember”: Flight 93 Memorial Oral History Transcript, interview with Wallace Miller, July 19, 2007, conducted by Kathie Shaffer.
Chapter 12: “How Lucky Am I?”
1. “human scale”: The comment attributed to Yamasaki reportedly came in response to a press conference question about why he designed two 110-story buildings and not one 220-story building. If he did say it, most considered the statement to be tongue-in-cheek. See Ada Louise Huxtable, “Big, But Not So Bold, Trade Center Towers are Tallest, But Architecture is Smaller Scale,” New York Times, April 5, 1973, p. 34.
2. Monica Rodriguez Smith: Family Tribute to Monica Rodriguez Smith at the 9/11 Memorial. www.911memorial.org/family-tribute-monica-rodriguez-smith, accessed February 4, 2017.
3. large display ad: James Glanz and Eric Lipton, “The Height of Ambition,” New York Times, Sept. 8, 2002. Glanz and Lipton’s book, City in the Sky: The Rise and Fall of the World Trade Center (New York: Times Books, 2003), recounts this episode as well, and does a masterful job of telling the political, economic, architectural, and engineering history of the complex. Although the display ad appeared in May 1968, Wien had been talking about the B-25 crash and raising similar doubts about the towers for years.
4. “only local damage”: Glanz and Lipton, pp. 135–36. Also see Thomas W. Ennis, “Critics Impugned on Trade Center,” New York Times, Feb. 15, 1964.
5. no such detailed analysis: NIST NCSTAR 1, WTC Investigation, p. 13. Also see Glanz and Lipton, pp. 135–39.
6. oversized filing cabinets: Pioneering city planner and philosopher Lewis Mumford is widely credited with calling them “glass and metal filing cabinets,” although he used that phrase generally to describe modern skyscrapers in the late 1960s. He did, however, call the plans for the World Trade Center “a sheer disaster.” See Alden Whitman, “Mumford Finds City Strangled by Excess Cars and People,” New York Times, March 22, 1967.
7. “On balance”: Ada Louise Huxtable, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Buildings?” New York Times, May 29, 1966.
8. structural steel: NIST NCSTAR 1, WTC Investigation, p. 3. The NIST report offers a detailed description of the towers’ design and engineering.
9. thirty thousand square feet: NIST NCSTAR 1, WTC Investigation, p. 57.
10. afraid of heights: Glanz and Lipton, p. 109.
11. wasn’t required to comply: NIST NCSTAR 1, WTC Investigation, pp. 52–60.
12. at least a fourth stairwell: This was a significant finding of the NIST report, although the Port Authority disputed it. It is worth noting that the issue was not whether the three stairwells had the capacity to evacuate everyone in the towers. Based on occupancy on September 11, they did. Rather, the question surrounding a fourth stairwell was whether it might have been accessible to some of the nearly two thousand people trapped above the impact zones of the two buildings. As explained on NIST p. 59, “It is conceivable that such a fourth stairwell, depending on its location and the effects of aircraft impact on its functional integrity, could have remained passable, allowing evacuation by an unknown number of additional occupants from above the floors of impact.” Also see Dwyer and Flynn, pp. 105–109.
13. sprayed-on fire retardants: NIST NCSTAR 1, WTC Investigation, p. 56; Glanz and Lipton, pp. 325–27.
14. Port Authority officials essentially guessed: NIST NCSTAR 1, WTC Investigation, p. 56. The NIST report uses more bureaucratic language: “NIST was unable to find any indication that such tests were performed, nor any technical basis for the specification of the particular SFRM (sprayed fire-resistive material) selected or its application thickness.”
15. more than four hundred companies: Tenant list for the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, http://interactive.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Tenant-List.htm and www.cnn.com/SP
ECIALS/2001/trade.center/tenants1.html.
16. upgraded and replaced fireproofing: NIST NCSTAR 1, WTC Investigation, pp. 73–74. Dwyer and Flynn, p. 10.
17. $2 million a year: David W. Dunlap, “Parking That Yacht—For $2.25 Million,” New York Times, June 19, 1989.
18. ordered her morning coffee: Interview with Elaine Duch, September 27, 2017. Elaine Duch’s experience, thoughts, and quotes come from this interview in her home and several subsequent phone calls for elaboration and fact-checking.
19. bowl of Wheaties: Interview with FDNY Deputy Chief John A. (Jay) Jonas, October 13, 2017, with email and phone follow-ups for fact-checking. Although each quote from Jonas is not cited individually in the notes, all quotes from him come from these interviews. Some, confirmed independently with Jonas, originally appeared in an oral history interview he contributed to Report from Ground Zero by Dennis Smith (New York: Viking, 2002). Also valuable was a transcript of a talk Jonas gave in 2002 called “The Entombed Man’s Tale,” published September 8, 2002, in the Times Herald-Record of Orange County, NY.
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