The following detailed timeline was assembled from a number of different news accounts and stories. Many of the times did not gibe between the stories and I have a endeavored to rationalize the differences. All times are in EDT which is -0500 GMT. Please send me any corrections, additional information, or pointers to more information.
This is part of my The New Day of Infamy pages.
| 0759 | Flight 11 | American Airlines flight 11 (Boeing 767 with 24,000 gallons of fuel) takes off from Boston's Logan International Airport with 81 passengers and 11 crew aboard for Los Angeles. |
| 0801 | Flight 93 | United Airlines flight 93 (Boeing 757 with 11,300 gallons of fuel) pushed back from the gate in Newark International Airport with 44 (maybe 45) people aboard bound for San Francisco. They are 1 minute behind schedule but will sit on the ground for 41 minutes before taking off. |
| 0813 | Flight 11 | Flight 11 gets instructions to turn 20 degrees to the right. Boston Control Center: "AAL11 turn 20 degrees right." Flight 11 responds: "20 right AAL11." [Moments later] Controller: "AAL11 now climb maintain FL350 [35,000 feet]." Controller: "AAL11 climb maintain FL350." Controller: "AAL11 Boston." There is no reply from Flight 11. |
| 0814 | Flight 175 | United Airlines flight 175 (Boeing 767) takes off from Boston's Logan International Airport with 56 passengers and 9 crew aboard for Los Angeles. |
| 0820 | Flight 11 | Flight 11 stops transmitting IFF beacon signal while over the Hudson River. |
| 0820 | Flight 77 | American Airlines flight 77 (Boeing 757) departs Washington Dulles Airport near Washington with 64 people aboard for Los Angeles. Other reports put this at 0810 or 0814. |
| 0824 | Flight 11 | Flight 11 broadcasts "We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you will be OK. We are returning to the airport. Nobody move." Apparently, one of the hijackers confused the aircraft's radio with its public-address system. Air traffic control responds "Who's trying to call me?" Then from flight 11, "Everything will be OK. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet." |
| 0825 | Flight 11 | Boston Air Traffic Control notifies several air traffic control centers that hijack is in progress. |
| 0825 | Flight 1989 | Delta Airlines flight 1989 takes off from Boston for LA. Although it too is a 767 fully loaded with fuel, it is not hijacked. |
| 0827 | Flight 11 | Flight 11 takes a sudden turn south, veering away from Albany towards New York City. |
| 0827 | Flight 11 | Betty Ong, a flight attendant on flight 11, calls American Airlines System Operations Control from the seat-back phone. "She said two flight attendants had been stabbed, one was on oxygen," said the the manager on duty. "A passenger had his throat slashed and looked dead and they had gotten into the cockpit." She says the four hijackers had come from first-class seats 2A, 2B, 9A and 9B and confirms that the plane is descending. She says the hijackers had hit people with some sort of spray that made her eyes burn. She was having trouble breathing |
| 0833 | Flight 11 | Another transmission from flight 11, "Nobody move please. We are going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves." |
| 0837 | Flight 175 | Flight 175 receives an unusual call asking them to locate Flight 11. The pilot responds, "Affirmative, we have him, uh, he looks, uh, about 20, yeah, about 29, 28,000 [feet]." Controllers tell 175 to make a right turn to avoid Flight 11. |
| 0837 | NORAD | FAA Boston Air Traffic Center calls NORAD's Northeast Air Defense Sector in Rome, N.Y. that Flight 11 has been hijacked. Other reports say 0838 or 0840. |
| 0841 | Flight 175 | Flight 175 enters New York air traffic control and transmits "We heard a suspicious transmission on our departure from B-O-S. "Sounds like someone keyed the mike and said, `Everyone, stay in your seats.'" |
| 0842 | Flight 175 | Around this time Flight 175 is hijacked. It veers from it's course over New Jersey briefly continuing south. |
| 0842 | Flight 93 | Flight 93 finally takes off from Newark International Airport for San Francisco after sitting on the groud for 41 minutes. |
| 0843 | NORAD | FAA notifies NORAD that Flight 175 has been hijacked. |
| 0845 | Flight 11 | Flight 11 strikes the World Trade Center's north tower at about the 80th floor. Other reports say 0846 or 0848. |
| 0846 | NORAD | NORAD orders two F-15 fighters scrambled from Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, 153 miles from New York. Other reports say 0844. |
| 0846 | Flight 175 | Flight 175 stops transmitting IFF beacon signal. |
| 0847 | NORAD | NORAD informed of Flight 11 striking the World Trade Center. |
| 0850 | Flight 175 | United Systems Operations Control center receives word that a flight attendant from Flight 175 had called and said "Oh my God. The crew has been killed, a flight attendant has been stabbed. We've been hijacked." Then the line went dead. |
| 0850 | Flight 175 | Flight 175 deviates from its assigned flight path, turning South toward New York City. |
| 0850 | WTC | The first New York Fire Department trucks arrive at the World Trade Center and broadcast a "fifth alarm", their highest alarm for a fire. |
| 0852 | Military | Two F-15 fighter jets take off from Otis in effort to intercept hijacked planes. |
| 0853 | Flight 175 | Flight 175 screams South over the Hudson Valley at about 500 miles per hour -- more than double the legal speed. |
| 0856 | Flight 77 | Flight 77's transponder is shut off which reduces the ground's ability to track the aircraft's position. Air traffic control in Indianapolis calls "American 77, Indy." The controller continues, over and over. "American 77, Indy, radio check. How do you read?" |
| 0900 | Flight 93 | Around this time, United Airlines systems operations transmits a systemwide message, warning its pilots of a potential "cockpit intrusion". Flight 93, flying over western PA and into northern OH, replies "Confirmed". |
| 0900 | Bush | President Bush, scheduled to speak at an elementary school in Florida, is informed that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. |
| 0900 | Flight 175 | Last radar reading on Flight 175 is observed at an altitude of 18,000 feet, descending, with a ground speed of 480 knots. |
| 0900 | Flight 77 | Flight 77 is seen making a 180 turn and heading back to Washington. |
| 0902 | Flight 175 | Flight 175 strikes the World Trade Center's south tower at about the 60th floor. F-15s from Otis are still 71 miles away and 8 minutes away. Other reports say 0903. |
| 0903 | NORAD | FAA New York Air Traffic Control calls NORAD to report that Flight 175 has been hyjacked. |
| 0904 | FAA | FAA's Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center stops all departures from airports in New England and eastern New York state. Other reports say that this decision came from managers in New York at 0903. |
| 0905 | WTC | The New York Fire Department issues a second "fifth alarm" for the south tower fire. |
| 0907 | Bush | President Bush, standing infront of the elementary school children gets whispered into his ear "a second plane has hit the second tower." Bush's face tightens. |
| 0909 | Flight 77 | American Airlines dispatcher tells the FAA he cannot reach Flight 77 by radio. He seems to suggest that Flight 77 might be the 2nd plane which hit the World Trade Towers, but in fact American 77 was racing back over Pittsburgh, toward Washington. |
| 0910 | Flight 93 | Around this time, experts believe Flight 93 was hijacked. |
| 0915 | American | American Airlines Systems Operations Control center orders a group stop on all of its aircraft, stopping more planes from taking off. |
| 0916 | NORAD | FAA informs NORAD that Flight 93 may have been hijacked. |
| 0917 | FAA | FAA shuts down all New York City area airports. |
| 0920 | United | United Airlines Systems Operations Control center orders a group stop on all of its aircraft, stopping more planes from taking off. |
| 0921 | New York | New York City Port Authority orders all bridges and tunnels in the New York City area closed. Other reports say 0917. |
| 0921 | NORAD | FAA Boston Air Traffic Center calls NORAD to inform them, mistakenly, that Flight 11 was headed for Washington. Other reports say that they correctly informed NORAD about Flight 77 may have been hijacked, 28 minutes after its transponder was turned off. Other reports say 0924 and 0925. |
| 0924 | NORAD | NORAD orders three (maybe two) F-16 fighters scrambled from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. |
| 0925 | Flight 77 | Barbara Olson calls her husband at the Justice Department from Flight 77 to tell him of the hijacking. |
| 0925 | People | Peter Alderman had been attending a conference at Windows on the World atop the North Tower. His last communication to his family from his BlackBerry: "We're stuck. The room is filling with smoke. I'm scared." |
| 0926 | FAA | FAA orders a national groundstop, halting takeoffs of all civilian aircraft regardless of destination. Other reports say 0925. |
| 0929 | Flight 93 | Air traffic controllers hear from Flight 93, "Get out of there!", then what sounds like a scuffle. Minutes later, a new voice, this one with a heavy accent: "Ladies and gentlemen, here it's the captain. Please sit down. Keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb aboard." They incorrectly think that it is Delta Flight 1989, also a 767 loaded for fuel which took off from Boston heading to LA. |
| 0929 | Flight 93 | Jeremy Glick, a passenger on Flight 93, calls his wife and describes the hijackers and is informed about the attacks in New York. |
| 0930 | Military | Three (maybe two) F-16s take off from Langley. They initially are directed toward New York and accelerate to speads of 600 mph. Then they are vectored toward National Airport in Washington. |
| 0930 | Flight 77 | Barbara Olson calls her husband from Flight 77 to tell him that the passengers and pilots were held in the back of the plane. |
| 0930 | Bush | President Bush makes a brief statement saying that the country has suffered an "apparent terrorist attack" and asks for a moment of silence. |
| 0930 | United | United Airlines Systems Operations Control center issues the order to reroute all of its domestic flights to the closest airport. |
| 0933 | Flight 77 | The same air traffic controller at Dulles who handled the departure of Flight 77, spots an unidentified blip on the radar screen. Controllers call their counterparts at National Airport to report that a "fast moving primary target," meaning an airplane with no transponder, was moving East, headed toward the forbidden airspace over the White House, the Capitol and the Washington Monument. |
| 0933 | Flight 77 | A Dulles air traffic control supervisor picks up a hot line to tell the Secret Service at the White House. Vice President Dick Cheney is hustled into the underground bunker there. |
| 0935 | Flight 93 | Flight 93, near Cleveland Ohio, climbs unexpectedly and then makes a 180 turn toward Washington. |
| 0935 | Flight 93 | Controllers order Delta Flight 1989 to change course to avoid Flight 93 and they comply quickly, indicating that Flight 1989 seems to be fine. |
| 0936 | Flight 77 | National Airport instructs a military C130 cargo aircraft that had just departed Andrews Air Force base, in Maryland, to intercept and identify Flight 77. The C130 reports it is a B757, moving low and very fast. |
| 0938 | Flight 77 | Flight 77 is lost from radar screens and crashes into the Pentagon. It was heading for the heart of Washington on autopilot, but as it crossed over the Pentagon at perhaps 7,000 feet, it began a 360 degree turn to the right and down that brought nearly to ground level. The F16s were still 105 miles and 12 minutes away. Other reports have it striking at 0937. |
| 0940 | Flight 93 | Transponder signal from Flight 93 ceases and radar contact is lost. |
| 0940 | WTC | The New York Fire Department issues a third "fifth alarm". More than 50 companies eventually arrive to fight the fires at both towers. |
| 0941 | Flight 1989 | FAA Boston Air Traffic Control calls NORAD and erroneously reports Flight 1989 as a possible hyjacking. |
| 0942 | Flight 93 | Mark Bingham, a passenger on Flight 93, calls his mother. "Mom, this is Mark Bingham," he said, nervously. "I want to let you know that I love you. I'm calling from the plane. We've been taken over. There are three men that say they have a bomb." |
| 0945 | Flight 93 | Todd Beamer, a passenger on Flight 93, trying to call his family gets patched through to a telephone operator. He said that the pilot and copilot were injured, 2 hijackers were in the cockpit, 1 was guarding 10 people in 1st class and another was guarding 27 passengers at the rear of the plane. He says that they have voted to storm the hijackers and the supervisor hears before he hangs up "Are you guys ready? Let's roll." |
| 0945 | American | American Airlines loses contact with a Boston to Seattle flight and the assumption is immediately made that it too has been hijacked. 10 minutes later communication is restored and it turns out to be a radio glitch. |
| 0948 | Washington | The Capitol and west wing of the White House are evacuated. Other reports have this at 0945. |
| 0949 | Military | F-16s arrive over Washington, D.C. to perform Combat Air Patrol over city. The fighters broke the sound barrier and traveled supersonic at 720 knots to Washington, making the approximately 130 miles in 14 minutes. |
| 0949 | FAA | The FAA halts all flight operations at U.S. airports -- the first time in U.S. history. This requires the over 4000 flights in the air at the time to land as soon as reasonable, no matter what is their destination. Other reports say 0945. |
| 0949 | FAA | Pittsburgh International Airport flight tower is evacuated. |
| 0950 | WTC | South tower of the World Trade Center collapses. Other reports say 0959. |
| 0955 | Bush | President Bush departs Florida on Air Force One and puts the US military worldwide on high alert. |
| 0958 | Flight 93 | Confrontation with the hijackers and the passengers begins aboard Flight 93. Emergency dispatcher in Pennsylvania receives a call from a passenger on Flight 93. The passenger says: "We are being hijacked!" |
| 1000 | Flight 1989 | Soon after this time Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) launches fighters from Ohio and Michigan to intercept this flight and escort it to Cleveland. |
| 1003 | Washington | Unconfirmed report of State Department fire in Washington. Later confirmed not true. |
| 1006 | Flight 93 | Flight 93 crashes into a field near Shanksville, PA, still 100 miles from Washington. It had, experts believe, flipped over on its back and speared into the ground at about 575 mph. NORAD states that the aircraft protecting Washington did not leave position and would have intercepted as it got closer. Other reports say 1003 or 1010. |
| 1008 | Washington | Secret Service agents armed with automatic rifles are deployed into and clear Lafayette Park across from the White House. |
| 1010 | FAA | FAA orders all planes to land at nearest airports. |
| 1010 | Washington | "E Section" of Pentagon collapses. |
| 1010 | Washington | FBI headquarters, the State and Justice departments, and the World Bank are evacuated. |
| 1010 | Flight 1989 | Around this time, 1989 makes an emergency landing in Cleveland. Authorities determine that reports of bombs and hijackers onbourd are unfounded. More here. |
| 1013 | New York | The United Nations building evacuates. |
| 1024 | FAA | The FAA reports that all inbound transatlantic aircraft flying into the United States are being diverted to Canada. Other reports say 1021. |
| 1029 | WTC | North tower of the World Trade Center collapses. Other reports say 1028. |
| 1031 | FAA | The FAA allows all military and law enforcement flights to resume. |
| 1045 | Washington | All federal office buildings in Washington are evacuated. |
| 1108 | FAA | Canada shuts down all airports. |
| 1108 | Flight 85 | Korean Air Flight 85, a 747 with 215 people aboard traveling from Seoul to Anchorage to refuel and then onto New York, sends a text message to its base including the letters "HJK", a code for hijacked. At some point NORAD scrambles two F-15s to tail the plane. |
| 1204 | FAA | Los Angeles International Airport, the destination of Flights 11 and 175, is evacuated. |
| 1214 | Washington | Congressional leaders issues a statement pledging full support for President Bush. Senior Congressional leaders in Congress have been flown by helicopter to a secure location outside of Washington. |
| 1215 | FAA | San Francisco International Airport, the destination of Flight 93 is evacuated and shut down. |
| 1216 | FAA | The FAA command center reports that US airspace has been cleared of all commercial and general aviation aircraft. Only military and lifeguard flights are airborne. |
| 1300 | Flight 85 | Around this time Flight 85 arrives in Anchorage's airspace and controllers radio coded messages asking the pilots if they are hijacked. |
| 1307 | Washington | State of emergency is declared in Washington. |
| 1324 | Flight 85 | Pilots on Flight 85 mistakenly issued a hijack alert by setting their transponder to 7500, the four-digit universal code for hijacked. Within minutes, Alaska's governor launches an evacuation of large hotels and federal buildings in Anchorage. The U.S. Coast Guard orders tankers loading oil from the Trans Alaska pipeline at nearby Valdez, Alaska out to sea. According to the USA Today, the military tells Anchorage air traffic control that it would shoot the plane down if it does not divert from Anchorage. |
| 1344 | Military | The Pentagon says five warships and two aircraft carriers (USS George Washington and USS John F. Kennedy) will leave Norfolk, Virginia to protect the East Coast from further attack and to reduce the number of ships in port. |
| 1348 | Bush | President Bush departs from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana for Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, the headquarters of the US Strategic Command, which controls the US nuclear arsenal and was built to survive a nuclear attack. |
| 1407 | FAA | The FAA announces that all domestic flights have been accounted for. |
| 1430 | FAA | The FAA announces that there will be no US commercial air traffic until noon the following day at the earliest. |
| 1454 | Flight 85 | Flight 85 lands safely in Whitehorse, the capitol of Canada's Yukon Territory after it's approach had set off another wave of evacuations. Only after the co-pilot stepped off the jet at gunpoint and was interrogated did officials confirm that the jet had not been hijacked. |
| 1625 | New York | The American and Nasdaq stock exchanges announce they will remain closed Wednesday. |
| 1636 | Bush | President Bush departs from Offutt Air Force Base for Washington. |
| 1725 | WTC | The 47-story Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapses after burning for a number of hours. Other nearby buildings in the area remain ablaze. Other reports say 1720. |
| 1834 | Bush | President Bush arrives in Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland with a 3 fighter jet escort. |
| 1854 | Bush | President Bush arrives on the South Lawn of the White House. |
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