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"Flight 11" redirects here. For the Continental Airlines flight that was bombed in 1962, see Continental Airlines Flight 11.

American Airlines Flight 11 was the first flight used in the September 11, 2001 attacks. It was an American Airlines flight aboard a Boeing 767-223ER aircraft, registration number N334AA. Flight 11 regularly flew from Logan International Airport in East Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport. On September 11, 2001, the aircraft on this route was hijacked; the hijackers crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The Flight

The flight was regularly scheduled for takeoff at 7:45 a.m. However, boarding was running behind schedule. At 7:45 a.m., lead hijackers Mohammed Atta and Abdulaziz Alomari were still boarding the plane. In the rush, Atta's bags were not loaded onto the plane in time. Ultimately running 14 minutes late, the flight finally took off from Logan International Airport at 7:59 a.m. The plane is believed to have been hijacked at 8:13 a.m. Shortly thereafter the flight's transponder was turned off. At this time authorities began to suspect that the plane had been hijacked. Around 8:20 a.m. the flight stopped transmitting its Mode-c transponder signal and started to deviate from its scheduled path. Boston Air Control made multiple attempts at contacting Flight 11 but received no response. The hijackers claimed to have a bomb, although there is no evidence they actually had an explosive device. At 8:24 a.m. the plane made a 100-degree turn to the south heading toward New York City.

There are believed to have been five hijackers:

• Mohamed Atta al Sayed (Egyptian) - the ringleader and pilot, was in seat 8D.
• Waleed al-Shehri (Saudi Arabian) - sat in seat 2B
• Wail al-Shehri (Saudi Arabian) - sat next to Waleed, in seat 2A
• Abdulaziz al-Omari (Saudi Arabian) - had earlier flown with Atta to Logan Airport from Portland, Maine
• Satam al-Suqami (Saudi Arabian) - had paid in cash that day, sat in seat 10B

Flight attendants Madeline Amy Sweeney and Betty Ong supplied information by phone on what happened. According to them, three people – two attendants and a passenger – were stabbed or had their throats slashed by the hijackers. The passenger, Daniel Lewin, a notable Internet entrepreneur, had also previously served as an officer in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit of the Israeli military. A 2002 FAA memo referenced Lewin as possibly being killed by Satam al-Suqami after he attempted to stop the hijacking.

The first-class area had been sequestered by the surviving crew, and the rest of the passengers had been led to believe that a medical emergency was taking place in the first class area. The hijackers also used mace, pepper spray or some other aerosol spray-based irritant to discourage entry into the first class area and the cockpit. One passenger reported her eyes were burning and that she was having trouble breathing.

Two F-15 fighter jets are scrambled from Otis Air Force Base in Massachusetts, intended to intercept flight 11. Because Flight 11's transponder is off, United States Air Force pilots do not know which direction to travel to meet the plane. NEADS spends the next several minutes watching their radar screens in anticipation of Flight 11 returning a radar contact.

Crash into North Tower of WTC

At 8:46:40 a.m., Flight 11 was deliberately crashed into the northern facade of the North Tower (building 1) of the World Trade Center between the 93rd to the 99th floors. This was the first crash in the attacks of the day. All on board (11 crew, 76 regular passengers, and 5 hijackers) were killed.

The first news and radio organizations reported an explosion or incident at the World Trade Center. CNN broke into a commercial at 8:49 a.m. CNN headlines first read 'World Trade Center disaster.' Carol Lin, who was the first anchor to break the news of the attacks, said:

"Yeah. This just in. You're looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. CNN Center right now is just beginning to work on this story, obviously calling our sources and trying to figure out exactly what happened, but clearly something relatively devastating happening this morning there on the south end of the island of Manhattan. That is once again, a picture of one of the towers of the World Trade Center."

Later, Sean Murtagh, CNN vice-president of finance, in an on-air phone call, said from his office in the CNN New York bureau that a large passenger commercial jet hit the World Trade Center.

The impact zone destroyed any means of escape from above the impact zone. 1366 people were at or above the floors of impact in the North Tower (1 WTC): according to the Commission Report hundreds were killed instantly by the impact , the rest were trapped and died later, either from jumping from the burning building or the eventual collapse.

Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., an investment bank on the 101st-105th floors of One World Trade Center, lost 658 employees, considerably more than any other employer.

Many rescue workers (400 for the two towers together, most of them of the FDNY), died when the tower collapsed.

Plane passengers included:

• David Angell, American television producer (b. 1946)
• Berry Berenson, American actress and photographer (b. 1948)
• Charles Edward Jones, a military astronaut (b. 1952)
• Carolyn Beug, music video producer (b. 1953)

Jules Naudet, a French cameraman, and Pavel Hlava, a Czech immigrant, both filmed the crash of the plane into the building.

Although the impact itself caused extensive structural damage, it was the long-lasting fire, starting with burning jet fuel, that is blamed for the structural failure of the North Tower. Many have speculated that this is why the hijackers chose to use this fully fueled transcontinental flight. The centralized-support design (in the center core and exterior walls, instead of throughout) of the towers also contributed to the collapse. In a later recording, Osama bin Laden seems to take credit for the attack and states that he did not expect the towers would collapse.

Miscellaneous

The flight route designation (flight number) for future flights on the same route at the same takeoff time was changed to "Flight 25" to disassociate other planes from the one used in the attack and out of respect for those who had died in the attack. An American flag now flies on the jet bridge that Flight 11 departed from at Logan Airport. The renamed flight also changed the aircraft used on the route. Instead of using a Boeing 767-223ER, a Boeing 757-200 is used.

Seth MacFarlane, creator of the animated TV series Family Guy, was booked on Flight 11, but due to a mix up, missed the plane. His travel agent told him the flight departed at 8:15 instead of 7:45, and he arrived just after the plane had boarded.

John Ogonowski (Pilot) and Thomas F. McGuinness Jr. (First Officer) were in control until the plane was hijacked at 8:20 a.m., where Mohammed Atta then took control of the plane.

Initial suspects were:

• Adnan Bukhari
• Ameer Bukhari
• Amer Kamfar

References

1. "FAA Registry (N334AA)". Federal Aviation Administration.
2. "FAA Registry (N334AA)". Federal Aviation Administration.
3. 9/11 Investigation (PENTTBOM), FBI, national Press Release, September 2001
4. (7:45 a.m.): Hijack Suspects’ Bags Contain Airline Uniforms
5. Flight 11 NTSB Report

External links

• The Final 9/11 Commission Report
• AA Flight 11: Minute by Minute
• CBS Story aboard Flight 11
• 9-11 NTSB Report
• American Airlines Flight 11 manifest

• September 11, 2001 attacks
• Accidents and incidents on commercial airliners in the United States
• World Trade Center