Allison Knick and Madison Kimble Case Study: Allison Knick and Madison Kimble

Summary At 9:37 a.m September 11th, 2001 a plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Outline: The plane: Boeing 757 (American Airlines Flight 77) 64 people (including passengers and crew) were on the plane. The plane took off from the Dulles International Airport at 8:20 a.m. At 9:21 a.m. ( 64 minutes after departing from the airport) it was suspected that flight 77 was hijacked. At 9:37 a.m. the Boeing 757 is crashed into the Pentagon, the western front. Fatalities: 64 people were killed that had been located on the plane (all those who had been aboard) and 125 individuals located inside the Pentagon were killed (military and civil).

Behind the Crash: There were five people on the plane that made up a part of the total amount of passengers, these five were the ones who hijacked Flight 77. One acted as a pilot and the other four had the duty of controlling the crew and the passengers. The hijacker acting as the pilot strayed from the original destination of Los Angeles, California, turning east where West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky meet. Transmitters that record such things as speed of the plane had been turned off and no outside contact could be made to the people located on the flight. At 9:33 a.m. the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport tower urgently communicated with the Secret Service Operations Center in Washington, D.C. about a plane that was not in contact with them but was still on its unidentifiable path. No contact was made with the plane and despite the passengers who were able to communicate with their loved ones about the presence of hijackers on the flight, nothing could be done to stop the plane from arriving at its eventual destination.

The Explosion: The plane (a Boeing 757) was used as a means to create an explosion that would damage a key military building. The American Airlines flight contained around 10,000 gallons of fuel when it hit the pentagon going at a speed of 345 mph. The plane split into pieces upon collision with the building. The collision resulted in a 18-foot wide hole and a 96 foot gash in the western front of the Pentagon. A fire resulted from the impact after the initial explosion and traveled to all of the floors (five) and devastated the building. There were no survivors due to the intense heat Floor tiles were coming off, water was forming into steam, parts of the building had collapsed and smoke filled a lot of the hallways. 125 people in the Pentagon alone, died. Those aboard the plane perished instantly. A total of 189 individuals lost their lives.

Research Questions: How were the passengers on FLight 77 able to come in contact with their loved ones? Cell service is attainable below 8,000 feet, but cell reception is still spotty. Most of the calls from this airplane were made between 9:12 a.m to 9:29 a.m. when the plane had descended from 35,000 feet down to an altitude around 7,000 feet. Was the plane crash immediately realized to all located in or near the Pentagon? The Pentagon is a very large building, those relatively located to the western front of the building where the plane crashed could smell the plane fuel and eyewitnesses saw the plane crash into the building, but the crash was not evident immediately to everyone. The firefighters response was very immediate though and volunteers were called for within an hour of the crash.

Research Questions Continued… How did the Pentagon crash not result in more casualties? Before September 11th, 2001 there had been building improvements made to better secure the facility. Improvements such as fortifying the buildings concrete, installing blast proof windows and walls, as well as other fortifications had been made. These refurbishments helped to secure the building and without uncertainty saved more individuals that might have otherwise perished because of this attack.

Timeline: (All events occur on September 11th, 2001) 8:20 a.m- Flight 77 of American Airlines departed from the Dulles International Airport, its destination was Los Angeles, California. 8:50 a.m- Final contact is made with Flight 77. 8:54 a.m- Deviations from the original flight plan begin to occur. 8:56 a.m- Transponder is turned off, there is no communication with the flight after this point. 9:00 to 9:20 a.m- Worries of the plane crashing begin to circulate and people are crews are dispatched to look for a crashed airplane. 9:21 a.m- The crash suspicion is now being replaced with a fear that the plane has been hijacked. 9:30 a.m- Langeley AFB Fighters are recruited with the task of intercepting Flight 77, to no avail.

Timeline Continued… 9:37 a.m- Reports of Flight 77 crashing into the west front of the Pentagon are made by the National Guard. 9:42 a.m- Flights above or to the U.S are canceled (by the FAA) in hopes of preventing further terrorist attacks. 10:07 a.m- Passengers of another hijacked plane (Flight 93) try to overtake the hijackers. All perish upon the crashing into a Pennsylvanian field. 1:00 a.m- Announcements are made. The United States’ military is alert and waiting for signs of further threats. 8:30 p.m- The President at the time, President Bush, delivers a speech to the country about the events occurring on this day.

Sources: “American Flight 77 Victims at a Glance.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 25 Sept. 2001, usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/09/12/victim-capsule-flight77.htm. Accessed 16 Apr. 2017. “9/11 At the Pentagon.” National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, pentagonmemorial.org/learn/911-pentagon. Accessed 16 Apr. 2017. “9-11 Pentagon Exterior 09.” INFOWARS. Accessed 16 Apr. 2017. “9-11 Pentagon Exterior 7.” INFOWARS. Accessed 16 Apr. 2017. “9-11 Pentagon Exterior 1.” INFOWARS. Accessed 16 Apr. 2017. “9-11 Pentagon Emergency Response 3.” INFOWARS. Accessed 16 Apr. 2017. “The September 11th Attack on the Pentagon.” The September 11th Attack on the Pentagon, pentagon.spacelist.org/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2017. “Western Side of Pentagon .” Publicintelligence, 11 Sept. 2010, publicintelligence.net/911-pentagon-damage-high-resolution-aerial-photos/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2017.