>> if this guy doesn't look like an arab terrorist, nobody does. >> i said three words. should i have said something else? what is more to the point than bewear of cockpit. >> i was in my office. >> one of the most horrific days in history. >> we clearly had a hijack in progress. >> they said, be prepared to shoot down the next hijacker. there was a report ten miles, 8 miles. >> this is their story. >> if it was going to hit anything, it was going to hit us. >> the footnotes of 9/11. >> tuesday, september 11, 2001, cloudless in the eastern united states. so begins the 9/11 commission report, on a day about to be fill wide dark skies. the first event of that day happened not in washington, boston or no, but here in portland, maine. u.s. airways ticket counter before 6:00 a.m., and dewy just checked in the first commuter flight to boston. >> as i stepped over the counter, i see these two fellows standing there. they are looking around. >> in the official report of the 9/11 attack, he is the first footnote. >> these are real tickets, they were paper tickets. i am saying, good things, i can check them n in. >> the ring leader of the operation. >> i think they were 30 minutes prior to their flight. i am sure they were. >> 500 miles away, and one hour, 46 minutes later, von alex was at an american airlines counter where he worked for 20 years. >> they came in through the doors behind us. walked back and forth a bit. i had them come up to my position. >> vaughn alex, footnote number 12. >> we finished the morning check-n we had no passengers. i saw the two gentlemen come n you look back, you hate to use words, but it was comical. they came n went one way. looked at the counter, went the other way. i turned around, and to my traines, i said flight 77. watch, it will be the last two. >> the passengers, two of that flight's five hijackers. they, too, were running late. missing flight 77th official check-in deadline by mere minutes. i said to the agent, let me show you how to do it. here is a passenger running late, i think we can get them on. >> the younger fellow is standing off to the right and behind him. he is standing there. he has this grin on his face. holding his license up next to his head. i am asking the questions, has anybody given you anything to carry on the plane? >> no. >> have your bags been out of your control since you packed them? and he is smiling. atta is not looking at me, he has his head to the side. no. no. >> the impression i had was so odd, he was grinning, and smiling, he was dancing back and forth. they had one bag. totally inappropriate for a trip to los angeles. almost like a satchel that had straps across the top of it. but didn't even seal. >> for vaughn alex and dulles, and mike tomby in portland, something didn't seem right. i look at it, and i said, if this guy don't look like an arab terrorist, nobody does. >> this was pre-9/11. that isn't a nice way to think. you deal with muslims, it sent nice to think like that a couple of business guys headed out of town. he did give me a creepy feeling, you know. >> if i had someone i wasn't comfortable with, i would follow them over to security, and sometimes give a high sign to one of the security guys. >> did you consider doing that? >> i did. as they left the ticket counter, i followed them for about three step, caught myself. i said, why am i doing this? am i sure there might be something wrong? or am i doing it for other reasons, because of their foreign or non-english speaking. >> you caught yourself thinking, am i racial profiling? right? >> i caught myself thinking, am i doing it for a racial reason. no, i am not doing it for that i didn't want to be accused of that i went back to what i was doing. >> after they left the ticket counter, they came around here. i had no reason to doubt that they were who they said they were. i didn't know that they were terrorists. i didn't know anything until the next day. >> the next day would change vaughnallex forever. i looked up to the two fbi, i said, i did t didn't i? i checked them in. >> he was realize his role within hours. >> it was immediate. immediately. i mean, come on, two planes? one in a lifetime, two in a day? nerve. >> it would be only the beginning of his ten-year strug toll forget one face. >> why do i see muhammad atta driving by, looking at me in a car? >> many more ordinary americans were about to become footnotes of 9/11. >> there were trouble and i wanted to warn everybody. [ barks ] [ cat meows ] [ woman ] ♪ i just want to be okay ♪ be okay, be okay ♪ i just want to be okay today - ♪ i just want to know today - [ whistles ] ♪ know today, know today - [ cat meows ] - ♪ know that maybe i will be okay ♪ [ chimes ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about... and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need... and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage... or visit travelers.com. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lay on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lay on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to our biggest sale of the year. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. it calibrates precisely to your body and your comfort zone. now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual shape. oh yeah. it's really shaping to my body. during our biggest sale of the year, every bed is on sale. queen mattresses now start at just $599. and during the final week, save 40% on our innovative limited edition bed set. but only while supplies last and only through sunday. you can adjust it however you want so you don't have to worry about buying the wrong mattress. once they get our bed, they're like, "why didn't i do this sooner?" don't miss the biggest sale of the year on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. only at the sleep number store. at 7:59 a.m., a boeing 757 was taking off from logan airport on the way to los angeles. after mike checked them in for their flight, they had made their connection. now, seated in 8 d and 8-g, joined by three more. as the plane made the routine ascent, american airlines 11 emerged as a plip on the air traffic control system. terry biggio, footnote, 102. normal routine. working the morning push. in charge of the faa center in new york. he spent the past weekend celebrating his 45th birthday with his family in the city. >> we spent the weekend in manhattan. that was my son's first visit. to the world trade center. >> you went to the trade center, like a lot of tourists do. >> to the base of the south tower, i had him stick his toes, you look up in the sky, you get that sense of vertiggo that you can only get in a city like new york. mccormick and biggio would face the biggest challenges of their careers. eight 8:14 a.m., american airlines 11, a plimp was climbing to 26,000 feet. and would make the last transmission to air traffic control. then, 16 seconds later, it goes silent. >> bost an's air traffic center, terry biggio and his controllers know something is wrong. >> i don't think you immediately thought hijacking. >> absolutely not. i have been in the agency at the time 20 years. had never seen a hijack. we have a catastrophic failure with the aircraft. we will clear the air space and let them fly to where they are going fly. >> as the plane turns south, the 9/11 report polices that hijackers tried to talk to the passengers, didn't know how to use the intercom. instead, the messages began transmitting to air traffic control. >> we had a series of three transitions, the first one 8:25. the transition was the first portion was not intelligible to the controller. >> biggio asks a specialist named robert jones to review it it and report back. >> i made sure i had the words exact. it was important, i didn't want to misinterpret what was said. >> we had a hijack in progress. >> american 11 was now a confirmed hijacking and heading straight for new york. where mike mccormick was in charge of the faa new york center. >> had you death with a potential hijacking before? >> no. it was the first time. brand new event for me. this is the air traffic control room, mike mccormick sprinted to the floor and went directly to an already crowded screen displaying the air space where the plane was headed. area b. >> heading southbound, i knew it would be area b., so i could be with the controllers and the supervisors and look at the radar. >> you wanted to see that plane. >> absolutely. >> went back and forth between radar screens looking at the activity as it took place and take appropriate actions and make the right decisions. >> with flight 11 not responding, controllers turned to other eyes in the sky. asking other pilots if they could spot the american airlines jet. one of the crews responding >> one of those planes that you contacted was a united plane? >> yes. united was one of the aircraft that we asked to help identify american. >> united 175 had left boston bound for l.a. the crew had no idea, it, too was about to be hijacked. terry biggio and mike mccormick were focused on american airlines flight 11, full of fuel, headed south. >> you couldn't assume that it was going to go to new york, possibly go to washington. >> on theis air force base, cape cod. tim duffy is about to become the 9/11 footnote 17. >> were you prepared to take a plane down? >> active air defense scramble climbing to 290. 8:45 a.m., on theis air base, cape cod. a pilot for united, working his second job on alert in massachusetts with the air national guard. duffy is given the order to scramble his f-15, there is a confirmed hijacking. the order, take off from this dessert the air field. under orders to find and intercept american flight 11. >> these were the two hangars. >> yes, jets in all of them. depending on what jets you would need that day and armed up. hot missiles and hot gun, all armed up. >> by the end of this morning, duffy will be asked if he is prepared to use those missiles to bring down u.s. passengers jets. that meant he may be shooting down a plane carrying his united airlines colleagues. >> be prepared to shoot down the next hijack track. you have a problem with that? that kind of ticked me off. it sticks in my memory, being in that situation. if i wasn't ready to do what i was called for, i was the wrong person in that seat. >> at boston center, terry biggio asked robert jones to review a tape of the terrorist radio transmissions, on that tape, a startling find. 9/11 may be bigger than just one plane. >> we could hear the hijacker reference planes, meaning multiple, what i was doing was relaying to terry up in the operations area that there is potentially more aircraft involved. >> even today, the hair on the back of my neck stands up when we talk about the hijacking. >> you are following it to new york. >> thinking that, we watched the speed. very high rate of speed. i believe it was 600 southbound. unusual for an air carrier. another indication that something was bad. someone is in a hurry here. i was watching the track of american 11 slowed down, we thought it was landing at kennedy or newark, setting themselves up for an arrival. >> it it isn't landing. what biggio doesn't see on his radar screen is this. >> i was on the phone with the new york center, operations matter. he said, no t hit the building. >> we knew. we knew it was american 11. watched it flies watched it disappear. there was no doubt. >> breaking the sound barrier, tim duffy is barrelling toward manhattan. still under orders to intercept the plane, but which plane it. shows how fast events were moving that chaotic morning. >> you are looking for aircraft 11. >> i got information that aircraft has been crashed into the world trade center. i am not quite sure what your intentions are, if you want to talk to your operations. >> 17 minute presidency after at nine:03, united 175 hits the south tower. >> probably, about 80 miles or so from manhattan. that is when they told me the second aircraft hit the world trade center. confusion in my cokepit. i was i was chasing 11. the second i didn't know about. i saw the smoke. i saw the towers burning, we are obviously under attack. >> new york air traffic control center, mike mccormick, too, realizes that united states is under assault from the air. >> we have to do something to remove their weapons. the weapons, being the aircraft. i couldn't allow any more aircraft to be in and around new york. i didn't know what else could happen. made the decision to clear the skies. brought all the supervisors from all the areas up here, and provided a briefing to them. this is what happened. this is what we are doing, this is how we are going to do it. >> the unprecedented no-fly order would spread from new york to nationwide. >> all the aircraft on the ground for a national emergency. >> thousands were told to land. any airplane that refused the order would be considered hostile. >> only battle station aircraft is to be up right now. >> all but military aircraft. >> as the military was called to protect the air. a united airlines employee was on the ground, desperately trying to save his flight from disaster. >> lock the so and so door. hijacking alert. possible hijacking. e in and they're like yeah i want to try this shrimp and i want to try this kind and this kind. they wait for this all year long. 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[ trapp ] creating an experience instead of just a meal that's endless shrimp. my name is angela trapp. i'm a server at red lobster and i sea food differently. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lay on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lay on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to our biggest sale of the year. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. it calibrates precisely to your body and your comfort zone. now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual shape. oh yeah. it's really shaping to my body. during our biggest sale of the year, every bed is on sale. queen mattresses now start at just $599. and during the final week, save 40% on our innovative limited edition bed set. but only while supplies last and only through sunday. you can adjust it however you want so you don't have to worry about buying the wrong mattress. once they get our bed, they're like, "why didn't i do this sooner?" don't miss the biggest sale of the year on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. only at the sleep number store. >> for six years, ed has been sailing away from his memories. . that is good. his refunlg, this boat named "the great old broad" he has been afloat with his wife, trying to escape the memory of a few brief words "bewear, cockpit inelectrocution." >> hijacking alert. so, they said, a possible hijacking. >> he is footnote 69. ten years ago, he was a dispatcher for united airlines in chicago. handling 16 flights leaving the east coast and heading west. including unit's flights 175 out of boston, and 93, from newark. first indication with 175, the stewardess called in that they were hijacked. >> in united airlines san francisco maintenance office, supervisor richbleny was working one last day before leaving for a new job. >> looking around the room. realizing it is my last day. bittersweet. i heard a commotion, someone talking about something hit a building in new york. that is odd. >> at that moment, one of his workers catches his attention. he is about to be footnote. >> i can tell something is wrong. white as a goal. he said, i just got a call from 175. the crew has been killed, the plane has been hijacked. >>bleny was overseeing the star 349. flight attendants about coffee pots that didn't work or thing that is needed fixing. the call he answered was chilling it was from flight 93. >> a female voice comes on the line saying, a flight tand antihas been killed. one guy is in first class behind the curtachblt calm. i was trying to ask calm. we want to be calm and in control. she had me beempt like talking to a friend. >> united flight tandant sandy bradshaw was calmly telling them the plane was not controlled by the crew. ed, trying to send out warnings, messages, anything he could to try to save his planes. >> all i know, there was trouble, i wanted to warn everybody. >> one of those flights, balinger tried to warn, by the airline version of an e-mail, flight 93. >> i sent out messages one after the other. i think i sent 120 messages, in a short time. screaming on the key board. i don't want to get the captain excited. i sent a message, can i help you? can i be of assistance. the huge tvs came on with cnn. >> are you looking at a disturbing live shot that is the world trade center. >> i saw the second airplane hit the second tower. >> that looks to be a passenger jet. >> the most succinct method, bewear, cockpit intrusion, i sent it to all 16 flights, before i got that one off, 93 called up and said that they had -- >> at that moment, 93 was routine. >> yes. >> you send out your note. you know that they got that. >> it came back, ed, confirm. >> two airplanes hit the world trade center, chi sent to all the other flights. >> the confirmation came too late. investigators say two minutes after flight 93's pilot, jason dmpt dall requested verification, they stormed the cockpit. >> can i say it faster? quicker? i wanted to quickly get the message out. >> ten years later, you are still thinking that. >> yes. i sent them the quickest, fastest they could. how would you do it faster? i keep asking myself that question. >> isn't that the real reason you are out on this boat? >> it could be. >> rich bellamy recounting his call from a flight 93 flight attend ant wonders what more he could have done. >> i think about it all the time. what should i have said to her? should i have said something encouraging? i knew what was going on. should i have said a prayer? i don't know. she is an employee. doing her job. there is something wrong with the airplane. call work. do our thing. and what they decided to do, which is amazing and shows a huge amount of courage, when they know their end is nee, they said, we are not going to give up. i think we should never forget that. >> >> when his shift ended so did his 44-year long career. he basically so overall cautious, he started making up reasons to keep planes on the ground. he retreated to this warehouse, put on 100% disability and retired. he has been sailing ever since. >> ed, do you still have a problem? >> i don't know. maybe that is why i play a lot of music. ♪ i do that. try not to enter confrontations at all. don't want to relive it. >> up next, another hijacked jet. american airlines flight 77 from washington. makes an unauthorized turn south. heading right toward foot note 208. secret service agent at the white house. >> the one nearest us got closer and closer, six minutes out, five minutes out. it kept coming. at one point, we got under a minute, i said it is 30 seconds out. ♪ okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? 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