Communications problems and successes played an important role in the September 11, 2001 attacks and their aftermath. A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... September 11, 2001 attacks timeline Background History 1972: One World Trade Center completed. ... At the beginning of the 21st century, the United States strongest allies in west Asia are Turkey (a member of NATO), Israel and Egypt. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The September 11, 2001 attacks, in addition to being a unique act of aggression, constituted a media event on a scale not seen since the advent of civilian global satellite links, round-the-clock television news organizations and the instant worldwide reaction and debate made possible by the Internet. ... All times, except where otherwise noted, in New York Time (EDT). ... All times, except where otherwise noted, in New York Time (EDT). ... // 2001 November Thursday, November 1, 2001 Afternoon: Deputy Mayor Anthony P. Coles meets with the two firefighter union leaders, Fire Capt. ... // According to the 9/11 Commisson, approximately 16,400 to 18,800 civilians were in the World Trade Center complex at the time of the attacks. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... AA 11 flight path from Boston to New York City Betty Ong was a Flight Attendant on Flight 11 who, during a 23 minute phone conversation with American Airlines flight operations, gave details of the seats the hijackers had occupied and the ongoing situation in the airplane before it crashed. ... A portion of the fuselage from United Airlines Flight 175 on the roof of 5 WTC. United Airlines Flight 175 was a morning flight that regularly flew from Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California (Boston–Los Angeles route). ... Security camera image showing American Airlines Flight 77 (far right, just above far right stone block) just before impact. ... United Airlines Flight 93 was a regular flight from Newark International Airport (now known as Newark Liberty International Airport) in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport continuing on to Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, on a different aircraft. ... 1 World Trade Center redirects here. ... The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located at 48 N. Rotary Road, Arlington, Virginia 22211 (Map). ... Photo of George W. Bush and Laura Bush visiting Shanksville on September 11, 2002 Shanksville is a borough located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. ... This article talks about the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. ... The following worldwide effects arose from the September 11, 2001 attacks: All Canadian military bases increased their level of security awareness. ... It is usually claimed that the September 11, 2001 attacks had immediate and far-ranging economic effects. ... Soon after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. government began detaining people who fit the profile of the suspected hijackers: mostly male, Arabic or Muslim noncitizens. ... Box-cutter knives were apparently used in the September 11, 2001 attacks, though such knives are not usually considered weapons. ... Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, several institutions responded with closures, cancellations, and postponements. ... The September 11, 2001 attacks had an important impact on the audiovisual entertainment business, not just in terms of television coverage. ... September 11 from space: Manhattan spreads a large smoke plume Into 2006 there has been growing concern over the health effects of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the Financial District of lower Manhattan. ... Global Guardian is an annual training exercise sponsored by the United States Strategic Command in conjunction with Space Command and NORAD. Its main purpose is to test the militarys command and control procedures in the event of nuclear warfare. ... // Military response The United States government has announced its intentions to engage in a protracted war against terrorists and states which aid terrorists in response to the attacks. ... The area surrounding the World Trade Center became the site of the greatest number of casualties and missing, and physical destruction. ... Charities and relief agencies raised over $657 million in the three weeks following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the vast bulk going to immediate survivors and victims families. ... Aerial view of Gander International Airport during Operation Yellow Ribbon. ... The first memorials to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks began to take shape online, as hundreds of webmasters posted their own thoughts, links to the Red Cross, and other rescue agencies, photos and eyewitness accounts. ... This article is about those responsible for the attacks on continental USA targets on September 11, 2001. ... The September 11, 2001 attacks were carried out by 19 hijackers, with planning and organization of the attacks involving numerous additional members of al-Qaeda. ... On September 11, 2001, the two main towers of the World Trade Center complex were each hit by hijacked commercial aircraft as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks. ... Various terms and catchphrases Nine-eleven (or 9/11 in the US date notation for September 11th) Lets roll—the last known words of Todd Beamer. ... Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, a variety of conspiracy theories have emerged about the attacks which contradict the mainstream account of events that day. ... There were isolated cases of commercial opportunism following the September 11, 2001 attacks and subsequent 2001 anthrax attacks. ... Former television news anchorman, Jeff Rense, who lives in Santa Barbara, California, is a popular conspiracy theorist and is the host of the Jeff Rense program which is broadcast on terrestrial radio and on the Internet. ... The Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001 is the official name of the inquiry conducted by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence into the activities of the U.S. Intelligence Community in... The cover of the final 9/11 report, which can be purchased in bookstores across the United States and around the world The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly...

Attackers

The organizers of the September 11, 2001 attacks apparently planned and coordinated their mission in face to face meetings and used little or no electronic communication. This "radio silence" made their conspiracy more difficult to detect. The September 11, 2001 attacks were carried out by 19 hijackers, with planning and organization of the attacks involving numerous additional members of al-Qaeda. ... In telecommunications, radio silence is a status maintained where all fixed or mobile radio stations in an area stop transmitting. ...

Federal government

According to 9/11 Commission staff statement No. 17 [1] there were several communications failures at the federal government level during and after the 9/11 attacks. Perhaps the most serious occurred in an "Air Threat Conference Call" initiated by the National Military Command Center (NMCC) after two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center, but shortly before The Pentagon was hit. The participants were unable to include the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control command center, which had the most information about the hijackings, in the call. The Commissions seal The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up in late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response... Located in the Pentagon, the National Military Command Center houses the logistical and communications center for the National Command Authority of the USA. This center is not directly necessary to initiate nuclear attack, but it serves as essentially a communications/operations center nearby Washington, D.C. It is commonly referred... 1 World Trade Center redirects here. ... The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located at 48 N. Rotary Road, Arlington, Virginia 22211 (Map). ...   FAA redirects here. ... Air Traffic Control Towers (ATCTs) at Amsterdams Schiphol Airport (Netherlands) Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. ...

According to the staff report:

Operators worked feverishly to include the FAA in this teleconference, but they had equipment problems and difficulty finding secure phone numbers. NORAD asked three times before 10:03 to confirm the presence of FAA on the conference, to provide an update on hijackings. The FAA did not join the call until 10:17. The FAA representative who joined the call had no familiarity with or responsibility for a hijack situation, had no access to decision makers, and had none of the information available to senior FAA officials by that time. We found no evidence that, at this critical time, during the morning of September 11, NORAD’s top commanders, in Florida or Cheyenne Mountain, ever coordinated with their counterparts at FAA headquarters to improve situational awareness and organize a common response. Lower-level officials improvised—the FAA’s Boston Center bypassing the chain of command to contact NEADS. But the highest level Defense Department officials relied on the NMCC’s Air Threat Conference, in which FAA did not meaningfully participate. Image File history File links Cquote1. ... A Secure Terminal Equipment desk set. ... NORAD is short for: North American Aerospace Defense Command Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Cheyenne Mountain, a mountain located on the southwest side of Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, is the location of a major United States military command base: Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center (CMOC), formerly called Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station (CMAFS). ...

Image File history File links Cquote2. ...

First responders

Main article: 9/11 (radio communications)

After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, radio repeaters for New York City Fire Department communication were installed in the tower complex. Because they were unaware that several controls needed to be operated to fully activate the repeater system, fire chiefs at their command post in the lobby of the North Tower thought the repeater was not functioning and did not use it, though it did work and was used by some firefighters. [2] When police officials concluded the twin towers were in danger of collapsing and ordered police to leave the complex, fire officials were not notified. Fire officials on the scene were not monitoring broadcast news reports and did not immediately understand what had happened when the first (South) tower did collapse. This article reviews some of the technical nuts and bolts of radio communications at the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center incident. ... In the World Trade Center bombing (February 26, 1993) a car bomb was detonated by Arab Islamist terrorists in the underground parking garage below Tower One of the World Trade Center in New York City. ... An Icom Radio Repeater. ... The New York City Fire Department or the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York Citys five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, as well as providing first response to biological, chemical and radioactive hazards. ...

There was little communication between New York City Police Department and fire department commands even though an Office of Emergency Management (OEM) had been created in 1996 in part to provide such coordination. A primary reason for OEM's inability to coordinate communications and information-sharing in the early hours of the WTC response was the loss of its emergency operations center, located on the twenty third floor of 7 World Trade Center which had been evacuated after debris from tower's collapse struck the building, igniting several fires. NYPD emblem NYPD redirects here. ... Originally formed in 1996 as part of the Mayors Office under Rudy Giuliani, the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) became an independent agency, headed by a Commissioner who reports to the Mayor, by a vote of City residents in 2001. ... The new 7 World Trade Center (view from southeast) There have been two buildings in New York City named 7 World Trade Center. ...

Emergency relief efforts in both Lower Manhattan and at the Pentagon were augmented by volunteer amateur radio operators in the weeks after the attacks. Ham radio station with separate transmitter, receiver and power supply. ...

Victims

Cell phones and in-plane credit card phones played a major role during and after the attack, starting with hijacked passengers who called family or notified the authorities about what was happening. Passengers and crew who made calls include CeeCee Lyles, Sandra Bradshaw, Todd Beamer, Tom Burnett, Mark Bingham, Peter Hanson, Jeremy Glick, Barbara K. Olson, Renee May, Madeline Amy Sweeney, Betty Ong, Robert Fangman and Brian D. Sweeney. Passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 were able to assess their situation based on these conversations and plan a counter attack that resulted in the aircraft crashing before it reached its intended target. According to the commission staff: "Their actions saved the lives of countless others, and may have saved either the U.S. Capitol or the White House from destruction" Sandra Sandy W. Bradshaw (???? - September 11, 2001), flight attendant. ... Todd Beamer Cover to Lets Roll, by Lisa Beamer Todd Morgan Beamer (November 24, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks. ... Plaque beneath flag dedicated to Tom Burnett Tom Burnett memorial flag in Bloomington, MN Thomas Edward Burnett (May 29, 1963 – September 11, 2001), was the vice president and COO of a Pleasanton, California, medical devices company, Thoratec Corporation. ... Mark Bingham Bingham played for the San Francisco Fog, a gay rugby team. ... Jeremy Logan Glick was a Strategic Account Manager for Vividence, Inc who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks, on board United Airlines Flight 93. ... Barbara Kay Olson (December 27, 1955 _ September 11, 2001) was a conservative television commentator who worked for FOX News, CNN and several other outlets. ... Madeline Amy Sweeney Madeline Amy Sweeney, known as Amy Sweeney, was a flight attendant on board American Airlines flight 11 when it was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack. ... Betty Ong Betty Ann Ong (February 5, 1956 – September 11, 2001), born in San Francisco of Harry Ong, senior and Yee-gum Oy, was a Chinese-American flight attendant on board American Airlines Flight 11 when it was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part... United Airlines Flight 93 was a regular flight from Newark International Airport (now known as Newark Liberty International Airport) in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport continuing on to Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, on a different aircraft. ...

After each of the hijacked aircraft struck the World Trade Center, people inside the towers made calls to family and loved ones; in many cases, this was the last time they were ever heard from. Other callers directed their pleas for help to 9-1-1. Over nine hours of the 9-1-1 calls were eventually released after petitioning by The New York Times and families of the WTC victims. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

General public

Screencap of the frozen WPIX image.

After the attack, the cell phone network of New York City was rapidly overloaded as traffic doubled over normal levels. Cell phone traffic also overloaded across the East Coast leading to crashes of the cell phone network. Since three of the major broadcast networks had their transmission tower atop the North Tower (One World Trade Center), coverage was limited after the collapse of the tower. The satellite feed of one station, WPIX, froze on the last image received from the WTC mast; the image (a remote-camera shot of the burning towers), viewable across North America (as WPIX is available on cable TV in many areas), remained on the screen for much of the day until WPIX was able to set up alternate transmission facilities. It shows the WTC at the moment that power was cut off to the WPIX transmitter, prior to the towers' collapse. Image File history File links Wpix-911. ... Image File history File links Wpix-911. ... WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City. ...

The Emergency Alert System was never activated in the terrorist attacks. The Emergency Alert System (EAS), is a national system in the U.S. put into place in 1994, superseding the Emergency Broadcast System and is jointly administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), FEMA, and the National Weather Service. ...

AT&T eliminated any costs for domestic calls originating from the New York City area (phones using area codes 212/718/917/646/347) in days following 9/11.

External links

• An Unimaginable Emergency Put Communications to the Test, The New York Times 20 September 2001.
• The Simple BlackBerry Allowed Contact When Phones Failed, The New York Times 20 September 2001].
• Using a Cellphone Signal to Hunt for a Victim in Desperate Need, The New York Times 20 September 2001.
• Fire Department of New York - September 11, 2001 Recorded Communications
• Recordings of WTC Callers to 9-1-1