A comprehensive list of false alarms of 9/11?

[ref]

Could it be possible to put together a list of all the false alarms of 9/11? I mean the bomb scares, the supposed hijackings that were not true, etc?

Everything that was just adding to the confusion, but was later found out to be a false alarm.

I know about the Stuyvesant High School bomb scare and there were others as well, and several suspected hijackings. Could we make a list, or does Gravy already have one?

[MG1962]

Well I know just after the explosion at the Pentagon. Which was first reported as a helicopter crash then a LG Gas explosion. That CNN where reporting a truck bomb had just gone off in front of the Capitol Building

[ref]

There were also false reports of a third plane approaching the WTC.

[The Doc]

Several reports were made by the BBC that a car bomb had exploded outside the State Department.

They even confirmed it at one stage.

[gumboot]

Here's some relating to the aircraft...

0851 - It is believed a light aircraft has flown into the WTC. It will be some time before it is learned it was AA11

0854 - AA77 vanishes from Indianapolis ARTCC's radar screen. They incorrectly think the aircraft has crashed, and search and rescue operations commence.

0921 - Boston Centre informs NEADS that AA11 has turned for Washington DC. In truth AA11 has hit WTC1.

0940 - Boston Centre informs NEADS that Delta 1989 has been hijacked (it hasn't)

0954 - 1007 - NORAD Canada Region notifies NEADS of a possible hijack crossing the border south into Washington.

1007 - Baltimore ARTCC notifies NEADS of an unidentified aircraft flying over the White House. It will turn out to be the two NEADS F-16s from Langley AFB.

1015 - SEADS (South East Air Defense Sector) notifies NEADS of a potential hijack entering their airspace.

This is just the first 90 minutes. This pattern continues late into the afternoon.

-Gumboot

[ref]

There was also a credible threat against Air Force One. The threat was passed to presidential pilot Col. Mark Tillman. Tillman asked for an armed guard at his cockpit door while Secret Service agents double-checked the identity of everyone on board. The crew reviewed the emergency evacuation plan.

[gumboot]

Originally Posted by ref

There was also a credible threat against Air Force One. The threat was passed to presidential pilot Col. Mark Tillman. Tillman asked for an armed guard at his cockpit door while Secret Service agents double-checked the identity of everyone on board. The crew reviewed the emergency evacuation plan.

When was this?

I've heard of the brief concern that an airliner would target AFO. Never heard of an internal threat.

-Gumboot

[ref]

Originally Posted by gumboot

When was this?

I've heard of the brief concern that an airliner would target AFO. Never heard of an internal threat.

-Gumboot

I read it from here:

Quote:

They also feared that Air Force One itself was a target. Cheney told the president there was a credible threat against the plane. Using the code name for Air Force One, Mr. Bush told an aide, “Angel is next.” The threat was passed to presidential pilot Col. Mark Tillman.

“It was serious before that but now it is - no longer is it a time to get the president home,” says Tillman. “We actually have to consider everything we say. Everything we do could be intercepted, and we have to make sure that no one knows what our position is.”

Tillman asked for an armed guard at his cockpit door while Secret Service agents double-checked the identity of everyone on board. The crew reviewed the emergency evacuation plan. Then came a warning from air traffic control – a suspect airliner was dead ahead.

“Coming out of Sarasota there was one call that said there was an airliner off our nose that they did not have contact with,” remembers Tillman, who took evasive action, pulling his plane high above normal traffic. They were on course for Washington, but by now no one thought that was a good idea, except the president.

“I wanted to come back to Washington, but the circumstances were such that it was just impossible for the Secret Service or the national security team to clear the way for Air Force One to come back,” says Bush.

So Air Force One set course for an underground command center in Nebraska. Back in Washington, the president’s closest advisor, Karen Hughes, heard about the threat to the plane and placed a call to Mr. Bush.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/...in521718.shtml

[gumboot]

Ah right. That "airliner dead ahead" turned out to be a local farmer who had taken off from a field nearby and wasn't aware of the national ground stop.

It sounds to me like the pilot misinterpreted the "Angel's next" threat to mean it would be HIJACKED next.

Which, obviously, is a pretty unlikely notion. however the USSS wouldn't be taking any chances.

That's a good one!

-Gumboot

[Gravy]

It's probably good to stay away from words like "comprehensive" when compiling lists like this. There is no way to capture the scale or intensity of the terror and confusion of that day.

Here are some reports I've gathered.

WTC

When I was in the stairwell one of the firemen from another company had told me that the second tower was hit with another plane he said that the Pentagon was hit with another plane and he also said that the United Nations was hit with another plane –FDNY Lt. William Walsh

***
Rumors that White House, Washington Monument, Washington Mall, and Sears Tower were hit. Murphy, John Lt. PAPD Group 2 pg.73

***
Rumor of a van with an image of an aircraft exploding over the New York skyline.

“One hour after the second tower tumbled, unnerved passers-by just south of Houston Street scattered as a police bomb squad towed away a truck that had been abandoned on King Street.

After that, in first the hours and then the days ahead, every parked, abandoned truck loomed as a potential bomb. The buzz of low-flying military jets or police helicopters inevitably drew anxious glances from pedestrians. The wail of sirens was no longer the white noise backdrop to life in a lively city.” –“ Anxiety Knocks the Wind Out of a Once-Brash City” New York Times, Sept. 16, 2001

***

We just happened to be on the staircase with an FBI guy. He had an FBI jacket on. He turns around to me and goes, "We've got to get out of here." I said, "What are you talking about? We're getting out. Let's go. Everybody's walking out." He said, "No, you don't understand. There's more planes coming." I said, "What the hell are you talking about, more planes?" He said, "There's two more planes on the way for these buildings." "What do you mean, two more planes?" I didn't even know there was more than one plane at this point. We didn't know there was a second plane. –FDNY Bertram Springstead

***

9:32: PO Houston radios Police Desk, he has been informed by the Mayor's OEM Desk, that another plane is headed on our area. http://www.thememoryhole.org/911/pa-...-reports01.pdf page 6

***

FBI screaming "get out" because of possible third plane. Edwards, Michael Sgt. PAPD Group 2 p.6

***

Rumors of 8 more planes in the air. Vasquez, D. P.O. PAPD Group 2 pg.77

***

One person said it was a military-type jet that shot missiles into the building. Bartolomey, Anthony E.M.T. (E.M.S.)

***

Thought there was an explosion at the WTC, then at the South Street Seaport. Cooke, Alan E.M.T. (E.M.S.)

***
Rumors of bombs on all the buildings. Hoppey, Timothy Firefighter FDNY

***

(Numerous) Report of secondary device at Stuyvesant. Marsilla, Fred Firefighter FDNY

***

Reports of possible poison gas, not natural. Muschello, Dominick Firefighter FDNY

***

Thought she saw a plane explode over New Jersey. Thought demoliton charges went off in WTC 6. Ondrovic, Patricia EMT (E.M.S.)

***

In NT, thought ST collapse was a missile attack. Orlando, Thomas Firefighter, FDNY

***

Many thoughts of various possible threats. Reynolds, William Firefighter FDNY

***

Two PAPD detectives told him someone said a missile had been fired from the Woolworth building. Gas leak. Zika, William P.O. PAPD Group 1 p.48

***

Three men ran up to him and said a missile had been fired from the Woolworth bldg. A security guard who was on the roof of the Woolworth said no. Mandenhall, R.P. Detective, PAPD Group 2 pg.19

***

Woolworth missile rumor DiLena, Raymond Det. Sgt. PAPD Group 1 p.51

***

Missile fired from American Express Bldg? Stafford, Dennis PAPD Group 1 p.76

***

(Numerous) Bomb scare World Financial Center. Greff, Robert Sgt PAPD Group 1 p.94

***

Reports of white van with explosives in Jersey City/Hoboken Noble, John P.O. PAPD Group 2 pg. 52

***
FDNY Accounts here: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/package...s_full_01.html

PAPD Accounts here: http://www.thememoryhole.org/911/pa-transcripts/


Pentagon

I remember as we were taking care of these patients, starting IVs, calming them down, giving them dressings and all of this stuff, somebody said a second plane was coming in. That’s what I won’t forget. Once again, I give a lot of credit to the people out there with me, because nobody dropped and ran from the patients. It would be really easy in that situation to say, ‘oh, my god, I’m going to save myself’. Honest to God, the more I think about it, we thought we were gone. We all thought a second plane was coming.

So they said a second plane is coming. You’re looking above your head, you can’t see nothing. Then somebody on the radio said, “Oh, my god, it’s ten minutes out,” or “It’s ten miles out.” “It’s five minutes out.” “It’s five miles out.” So, we were thinking, ‘oh, God, we’ve got to get these people out of here.’ – Technical Sergeant Vernon Jones, USAF http://history.amedd.army.mil/memoir...responding.pdf

***

Even at this point, I don’t believe the Secretary was confident that, in fact, a civilian airliner had hit the building. I think they still speculated about a bomb, a cruise missile, a small aircraft, but I was glad I was able to give useful information. I told them the plane came in full throttle, level, flaps up, wheels up, wasn’t crashed into the building, was flown into the building.

The Secretary was essentially incredulous, but, then again, maybe that was just his manner. He asked me if I was sure. And as I said, I was close enough to look into the windows of the airplane as it flew past. There was no doubt in my mind what I had seen. – Major Lincoln Liebner http://history.amedd.army.mil/memoir...responding.pdf

***

"After a little bit, they called for an evacuation," Dodge said. "There was a report of an inbound aircraft. So, we had to evacuate. We had to shut down everything. And we moved to the other side of Washington Boulevard.

***

"Once they confirmed that the threat was no longer a threat — about the time the plane crashed in Pennsylvania — then we went back to work." –http://www.mdw.army.mil/content/anmviewer.asp?a=511

***

Fox News reporter: "In the last 10 minutes or so they started a second evacuation of the Pentagon area. We're told that there's another aircraft that's been hijacked, and it's 20 minutes outside Washington D.C." (Aired at 10:28 a.m.) http://video.google.nl/videoplay?doc...75115423&hl=nl

[ref]

Thanks again Gravy for your reports. You are right about the word use. Comprehensive is asking a bit too much here. However, my limited language skills couldn't find any other word to describe what I was meaning to say I could correct it by saying, as good a list as we can compile or something similar.

[ref]

There was a telephoned threat on Sept. 11 that a plane would crash into the FAA air traffic center in Nashua, N.H.

The center evacuated about 11 a.m. Someone had spotted an unidentified aircraft heading toward the facility and managers ordered it cleared.

After an hour in a nearby Holiday Inn, Tom Roberts, Boston Center Controller, was told to find volunteers to return to work. "I said to myself, 'I'm not going to go ask someone to do something I'm not going to do.'" So, Roberts also went back.

Phony bomb threats also confused air traffic controllers on Sept. 11. Sources said reports of multiple threats were apparently the result of confusion during the early hours of the investigation and miscommunication in the Federal Aviation Administration.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/sept11/...1-voices_x.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...2194-2001Sep26

[ryanebelhar]

I talked to an EMT that was at the Pentagon all day on 9/11 helping people. She said they were constantly ducking for cover because it was believed another plane was coming.

[njslim]

Gravy:"

It's probably good to stay away from words like "comprehensive" when compiling lists like this. There is no way to capture the scale or intensity of the terror and confusion of that day.

Here are some reports I've gathered....



I remember listening to radio traffic from the scene at the WTC -
mid afternoon, about 3pm heard firefighters from Paterson NJ being informed
about possible biologic agents at the site. The fireground commander (who
I know) passed the word down to the crews.

[negativ]

I remember hearing during live news coverage that day that there was a truck bomb outside the state dept., that THREE planes had hit the WTC, and that there was "an explosion" on the helipad at the pentagon.

I also seem to remember hearing, after the ground stop, that there were something like 5 or 6 more inbound transatlantic flights that were not responding to ATC and were suspected hijackings. Of course this was completely false. I really wish I could remember which network reported that. Does anyone remember something along that line?

[boooeee]

On the evening of 9/11, I remember a bomb scare at the Empire State Building. There was a suspicious package in the lobby. One of the major networks had a live feed of the building while the package was being inspected.

[ref]

Here is a little timeline of the false alarms gathered here and a little extra:


08:45 am - afternoon: Phony bomb threats confused air traffic controllers. Reports of multiple threats were apparently the result of confusion during the early hours of the investigation and miscommunication in the Federal Aviation Administration.

08:50-10:30 am: Rumours of United Nations building hit with another plane.

08:54 am: AA77 vanishes from Indianapolis ARTCC's radar screen. They incorrectly think the aircraft has crashed, and search and rescue operations commence.

09:21 am: Boston Centre informs NEADS that AA11 has turned for Washington DC. In truth AA11 has hit WTC 1.

09:30 am: Reports of a third plane approaching New York. The Command Center of New York’s Office of Emergency Management based in WTC Building 7 evacuated.

09:30-10:00 am: A panel truck is stopped near the NY temporary command post, with a painting of a plane flying into the World Trade Center on it. Fearing that it might be a truck bomb, the New York Police Department immediately evacuates the surrounding area and calls out the bomb squad. The vehicle was found to be an innocent delivery truck.

09:30-09:40 am: Flight 1989 is mistakenly thought to be hijacked and to have a bomb aboard. Cleveland Center receives a total of 4 bomb threats called in concerning planes.

09:37-10:00 am: Reports of a helicopter or a small aircraft hitting the Pentagon, also LG Gas explosion mentioned.

09:43 am: A credible threat against Air Force One. The threat was passed to presidential pilot Col. Mark Tillman. Tillman asked for an armed guard at his cockpit door while Secret Service agents double-checked the identity of everyone on board. The crew reviewed the emergency evacuation plan.

09:54-10:07 am: NORAD Canada Region notifies NEADS of a possible hijack crossing the border south into Washington.

10:00 am: Reports of a suspect aircraft heading towards Johnstown, Pennsylvania airport, possibly with a bomb onboard. The control tower at the Johnstown, Pennsylvania airport evacuated. Emergency crews and firefighters being sent to the airport. Police dispatched to shut down roads.

10:00-11:00 am: Reports of a fire at Capitol Mall, explosion at USA Today headquarters.

10:00 am: Reports of fire at the State Department.

10:07 am: Baltimore ARTCC notifies NEADS of an unidentified aircraft flying over the White House. It will turn out to be the two NEADS F-16s from Langley AFB.

10:12 am: CNN reports an explosion on Capitol Hill.

10:15 am: SEADS (South East Air Defense Sector) notifies NEADS of a potential hijack entering their airspace.

10:18 am: Reports of a second plane approaching The Pentagon. Evacuation started.

10:20 am: Reports that the fire at the State Department was caused by a car bomb.

10:55 am: A warning from air traffic control to Air Force One – a suspect airliner dead ahead. Turns out to be a local farmer who had taken off from a field nearby and wasn't aware of the national ground stop.

11:00 am: A bomb is reported aboard a United Airlines jet that just landed in Rockford, Ill. Another jet disappears from radar and is thought to have crashed in Kentucky. The White House is notified that there has been another crash.

11:00 am: Nashua, N.H. center evacuated. Someone had spotted an unidentified aircraft heading toward the facility and managers ordered it cleared.



Sometime that day:

• 11 aircraft suspected hijacked.

• Rumor of a fire at the White House.

• Rumors that White House, Washington Monument, Washington Mall, and Sears Tower were hit.

• Thoughts of an explosion at the WTC, then at the South Street Seaport.

• Rumors of bombs on all the WTC buildings.

• FDNY reports of possible poison gas, not natural.

• Multiple rumors of a missile fired at WTC.

• Bomb scare at World Financial Center.

• Reports of secondary device at Stuyvesant High School.

• Bomb scare at the Empire State Building.

[gumboot]

I've got some info on the other threat to Air Force One...

It appears to have occured in the early afternoon.

Quote:

In the afternoon, Sasseville and Lucky were flying their second mission of the day--armed with AIM-9 missiles now--when they were told to contact an AWACS aircraft in the area and "expect special tasking." They were directed to fly a 280-deg. heading for 140 naut. mi.--almost due west of Washington. Unable to communicate by secure or encrypted means, the AWACS controller lowered his voice and told Sasseville via radio they were going to "escort Air Force One," President Bush's aircraft.

Two Langley F-15s offered to go along, and Sasseville concurred. Soon, an AWACS controller reported a fast-moving, unidentified aircraft southwest of Air Force One, approximately 60 naut. mi. away, but on a "cutoff vector" to the President's Boeing 747. It was above 40,000 ft. and the 747 was "in the 20,000-ft. range," but Sasseville sent the F-15s to intercept the unknown aircraft. It was a Learjet that hadn't yet landed after aircraft nationwide had been ordered out of the air.

Source

-Gumboot

[MikeW]

Originally Posted by gumboot

Ah right. That "airliner dead ahead" turned out to be a local farmer who had taken off from a field nearby and wasn't aware of the national ground stop.

It sounds to me like the pilot misinterpreted the "Angel's next" threat to mean it would be HIJACKED next.

That's right. The quote is an abbreviated version of a 60 Minutes special, the original text of which looked like this:

Quote:

PELLEY: (Voiceover) They also feared that Air Force One itself was a target. Vice President Cheney told the president there was a credible threat against the plane. Using the code name for Air Force One, Mr. Bush told an aide, 'Angel is next.' The threat was passed to presidential pilot Colonel Mark Tillman.

Colonel MARK TILLMAN (Pilot, Air Force One): It was serious before that, but now it is--no longer is it a time to get the president home. We actually have to consider everything we say, everything we do could be intercepted, and we have to make sure that no one knows what our position is.

(Footage of Air Force one cockpit)

PELLEY: (Voiceover) Tillman asked for an armed guard at his cockpit door while the Secret Service double-checked the identity of everyone on board. The crew reviewed the emergency evacuation plan. And then came a warning from air traffic control: A suspect airliner was dead ahead.

Col. TILLMAN: Coming out of Sarasota there was one call that said there was an airliner off our nose that they did not have contact with.

(Footage of Air Force one)

PELLEY: (Voiceover) Tillman took evasive action, pulling his plane high above normal traffic. They were on course for Washington, but by now, no one thought that was a good idea except the president.

[ellindsey]

Here at work on 9/11 I heard rumors that at least 8 airplanes total were confirmed hijacked, that multiple unspecified cities on the west coast had been hit, and that the hijackers had switched tactics and were simply crashing the planes now that everyone knew what they were up to. These rumors came to me from co-workers who had heard them on the radio, TV, internet, or from friends on the phone. As being just unconfirmed hearsay this probably doesn't count for the official list of false alarms.

[TruthSeeker1234]

Do not change the words of other members, within quotes, to make it appear that they said something other than what they did.

Posted By:chillzero

[Quad4_72]

Just to add this in, the twoofers interpret these false reports as reality.

[Mr. Skinny]

Here in Dayton, Ohio, on 9/11/01 we had a report from the local TV media that the Veterans Administration Hospital had perhaps been bombed.

In reality, an F-16 from the Springfield ANG base had broken the sound barrier over Dayton after being sent up on a CAP. The rumor was quickly corrected.

I heard the sonic boom and knew immediately what it was since I've lived in Dayton since the days when sonic booms were nearly daily occurrences.

[Quad4_72]

Originally Posted by Mr. Skinny

Here in Dayton, Ohio, on 9/11/01 we had a report from the local TV media that the Veterans Administration Hospital had perhaps been bombed.

In reality, an F-16 from the Springfield ANG base had broken the sound barrier over Dayton after being sent up on a CAP. The rumor was quickly corrected.

I heard the sonic boom and knew immediately what it was since I've lived in Dayton since the days when sonic booms were nearly daily occurrences.

Sonic booms sound nothing like bombs being dropped. Whoever reported that was VERY mistaken.

[Mr. Skinny]

Originally Posted by Quad4_72

Sonic booms sound nothing like bombs being dropped. Whoever reported that was VERY mistaken.

I agree. But for those who have never heard a sonic boom....

I was at home when the sonic boom occured. I walked outside and found that most of my neighbors had come outside as well.

I walked up to my 80 year old neighbor and we looked at each other and said "sounded like a sonic boom". I then walked over to a few neighbors and told them what they had heard. They were relieved because they thought they had heard an "explosion".

[The Silver Shadow]

I live about 10 minutes away from the airport, and if anyone remembers Air France flight 358 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_358), the sound it made when it crashed sounded like a tree branch breaking, but much louder. Clearly, this wasn't a tree branch!

ETA: This is in response to the sonic boom post right above (I really should use the quote function more)...

[gumboot]

Originally Posted by TruthSeeker1234

Corrections by

http://www.acebaker.com/9-11/SignatureNewWhiteAnim.gif

Reported.

-Gumboot

[gumboot]

Originally Posted by Mr. Skinny

I agree. But for those who have never heard a sonic boom....

Perhaps more importantly, for those who have never heard a bomb...

-Gumboot

ETA. A supersonic explosion actually is a sonic boom...