t7 b7 john raidt work files- shooting story fdr- email from team 7 to zelikow re facts vs fiction...

8/14/2019 T7 B7 John Raidt Work Files- Shooting Story Fdr- Email From Team 7 to Zelikow Re Facts vs Fiction 9-12-01 Case Study- Shooting AA 11

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TO: Philip ZelikowFM: Team 7RE: Facts vs. FictionDATE: 9/12/2001

CASE STUDY

The Question:Do the facts support allegations that a shooting occurred aboard American Airlines Flight11 on September 11, 2001?

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from aa-internal

Published accounts of the FAA memo hi include the following:av. 9/11 Group Troubled By Gun Reporti FAAError. Families Seeking Probe. February 28,2002.

Washington Post, Airports Screened Nine of September 11Hijackers. Officials Say. March 2,2002, pg A l 1.United Press International, Insider Notes from United PressInternational fo r March 6 2002

\s that unfolded or

to have occurred.Background:

'evidence/derived from eyewitness-sccoffiffs of the,#11, does not support a conclusion that a shooting is likely

FAA "Executive Summary" prepared at 5:13 pm on September 11,2001 by FAApersonnel contain^ the following passage:V


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The FAA "Executive Summary" was produced by SHIRLEY MILLERISIDENTIFYING THE AUTHOROF THE EXEC UTIVE SUM MARY ) from informationcollectedif tineFederal Aviation Administrationx!ommand Center during ito-activati$AWin response to the crisis on September 11,2001.Commission staff interviewed'Inspector cited in the "Executive Summary." [M

ro is the FAA Principal Securitydepicts the information she received from Ms. Clark. t the summary accurately

Ms. SuBSmje* Clark of AiuuillUI Airiiaes testified to the General Accounting Office thatshe made no such statement tol land that the information in the memorandum iserroneous. (CONFIRMING THIS WITH GAO) , \: \eattendants aboard AAL #11 to American Airlines personnel on the ground.At least onephejjg'tSIl was placed by flight attendant BETTY ONG to ihe AmericanAirline>-rgservations centerjo'cated in Raleigh, North Carolina.At leasttwojîpjjeâlls were placed by flight attendantAMY SWEENEY to AmericanAirlines Flight Services personnel located at Bostgja!&ogan International Airport. Thefirst call from Ms. SWEENEY to Boston waûtôfpMs. SWEENET calle^ backestablishing the second phone contact. (SeeEJbcOment item : and FBI 30^2).In the course of thlr phone calls, Ms. ONG and Ms. SWEENEY reportedp4&onboard^ unt i l the grounding of the aircraft. (SeeFBI ;A four-minute portion of the estimated 20 to 25 minute phone call placed by Ms.to the American Airlines Reservation Center was recorded on tape. Ms. ONG reported , ,that.(INSERT TRANSCRIPT INFO. I HA V E ON FILE AT FBI). The transcriptprovides no account of either the presence of a gun abeasdor the incidence of a shooting.

The Commission staff has identifiedat least seven individualswho heard all,OTportionsof , the phone calls from f l i u tn 'mi j j iL i i i t / l s . ONG and Ms.SyWEENEY/ . . . . ^= s s s = = B a"The witnees include: MICHAEL WQJQPW^REU IV^ dNE.

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Working-levelEmployee


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The witnesses report that Ms. ONG and Ms. SWEENEY reported that two flightattendants had been "stabbed" and that a passenger in business class who had been

1 slashed'was mortally wounded. The witnesses report no mention of any crewmember orpassenger having been shot. ..

/Accounts of the calls from Ms. ONG and Ms. SWEENEY were provided to the AmericanAirlines System Operations Center (SOC) in Dallas, Texas,e^hii^the calls were in

_prpgress>>The Commission can find no evidence thatseparate calif wace placed to theTEyany flightattendant from AAL #11. J

Discussion:Differing StoriesA troubling aspect of the question about a shooting aboard AAL #HjwtrIe opposingstatements by Ms. CLARK andl Imaintairisttiat Ms. CLARKreported the account of a shooting aboard AAL#11 exactb/lis described in the FAAmemorandum. Ms. CLARK says she made no such:

.e* discrepant accounts focusron the questiorfof what Ms. CLARK toldl IThe more important question/ft whether the tacts suggest that such a shootin^indeedtook place. Clearly, the WR evidence of what occurred aboard AAL #11 is the eyewitness reports pov33*4by Flight Attendant BETTY ONG and Flight Attendant AMY

^SWEENEY, and by the first hand witnessesEyewitnessesMs. ONG and Ms. SWEENEY placed phone calls from aboard the aircraft to AmericanAirlines authorities on the ground in accordance with the air carrier's hijacking protocol.The protocol directs flight crews to contact ground personnel as soon as possible toprovide a situation report of the emergency, including key details such as the precise seat

signment of the perpetrators. < < p \ J > J L L-ff 6. thx UAxxJA'C^ &W rv \* i^_ yJJ u **The Gommiwion note^nat the flight attendants did their duty with remarkable courage

and composure, afl&femained in phone contact with authorities up to the grounding ofthe aircraft.

79/11/ Working-levelEmployee

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Neither the tape recorded portion of Ms. ONG's call, nor the accounts by six separate


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/A third flight attendant U>

it perhaps a third flight attendants! tuated in a different part of thecabin than Ms. ONG and Ms. SWEENEYjinightJaave witnessed a shooting fi&vhich M s.O N G a n d M s . SWEENEY wcro unaware, m i l f f t i < l i j j j 1 f l i q l i l i l l i ji** i i n l i j n m i l n l l jcontacted the airline's System Operations Center to report the incident.e*c,-B$Qff can find n /*A **

irearm experts indicate that the sound of awould be unmistakable an d clearly evident to aand Ms. SW EENE Y would have neglected to report aoccurred, but it is equally implausible that a shooting occthem knowing it. D

can find no evidence of any phone con tact by any of the other flight crew w ith \

in the cabin of an aircis imp lausible that Ms. ONGg if they knew one hadaboard the aircraft without

v M < > V*

t heSOC. Indeed, tlio reeo chows that the SOC was apprised of both the ON G andSWEENEY calls while they were in progress, an d thetBfete aware of the "stabbing"The fa* that the account of a shooting that no witness xeaaJls. was relay'ic account of a stabbing that is widely reported by the witnessei

M

notes that the alleged victim of the shooting was seated in 9(D). ThisV seat is located in the business section of the aircraft. The stabbing account provided by/ the eye witnesses indicatesHhe victim of the stabbing was in business class. It is highly

possible that the form of attack on the business class passengerthe only individualattack upon a passenger reported by eyewitnessesbecame garbled as the account of theassault was relayed amon g Airline and FA A authorities in the fog and confusion of the, unfolding events of the day.Hijacker purchasesOther relevant evidence bears men tioning. W hile investigators have uncovered evidenceof numerous knife purchases by the 19 hijackers, no firearm purchases h ave been

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/teams of employing knives, bo/ cutters and mace is well established by the evidence, fcrseems unlikely that one of the teams would depart from the tactical discipline ofcommonstrategy.Shooting account related to UAL #175

fThe evidence indicates that authorities did receive a report of a "shooting" aboard one ofthe other flights hijacked on September 11, 2001.A passenger aboard UAL Flight &T75, Mr. PHILIP BURTON HANSON placed twophone calls to his father LEE HANSON to report the hijacking of the aircraft. Accordingto the FBI interview ofJiTfeg^-HANSON, his son reported that a flight attendant hadbeen stabbed, and that the hijackers appeared to have knives and mace, and claimed tohave a bomb.

1 emergency.PHUP HANSON requested that his father alert the airlines to the

After hanging up with Ids Son* LEEHANSON immediately contacted hia local polkedepartment to report the hijacking.

foVihird party, BRUCE DUCORT (apparently a family friendwe need^omd out),calling on behalf of the passenger's father, contacted United Airlines/ Mr. DUCORTtold representatives of United Airlines that a passenger calling from aboard UAL #175had told his father someone had been shot , J6 QjA*Jk{ wk

D "5 phone call from LEE HANSON to CAPTAIN JAMES CANDEE of the Easton,

V Clonnecticut Police Department was tape-recorded. The tape recording indicates non of a shooting aboard UAL 175r Staff contacted CAPTAIN CANDEE of theEaslpn, Connecticut police. Mr. CANDEE confirms that LEE HANSON .mentioned hisson's report of a stabbing, but no shooting aboard the hijacked aircraft. ^LxjQjtAj)

y>| U A L o U


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1) See the FA A working room's butcher paper on which the shooting notation wasmade so we can see exactly how specific it was.2) Talk to someone who was in the working room who can attest to the confusion.3) Review a transcript of the call from the UAL #175 passenger's father to thesheriff to confirm that no message was made about a shooting.4) Perhaps talk to the passenger's father to confirm that the son said nothing about ashooting.5) Perhaps talk to the family friend to confirm it was an instance of "telephone."

6) Talk to the AAL FA A Principal Security Inspector7) Talk to Suzanne Clarke of AAL to see where she got the shooting story.

/i ~ ^ " A(__METHODOLOGY

Reviewed FBIof a phone callFindings:F AO n gFA SweeneyFA Arestegui:FA Collman:FA Low:FA Martin:FA Nicosia:FA Roger:FA Snyder:

reports naming each of the Flight A ttendants to determine any indicationor of gun reports: y|JV( 0Named in 13 FBI 302's; two calls in evidenceNamed in FBI 302's; ^Wcalls in evidenceNamed in two FBI 302's: no calls reported or in evideNamed in two FBI 302's; no calls reported or in eviiNamed in two FBI302's; no calls reported or inNamed in five FBI 302's; no calls reported or in evicubnceNamed in four Fpl 302's; no calls reported o r in evidenceNamed in two FB I 302 ;s; no calls reported or in evidenceNamedin one FBI 302; no calls reported or in evi


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Shooting AND hijack* ~ Zero documents*Means the search engine will search every permutation of the word.Documen


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t7 b7 john raidt work files- shooting story fdr- email from team 7 to zelikow re facts vs fiction...

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