9/11: Failures on 9/11
    By Matthew B. Robinson, PhD
    Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
    Appalachian State University
    robinsnmb@appstate.edu

This document summarizes the failures that occurred on 9/11, as identified by a review of the 9/11 Commission report and other sources.  As a result of these failures, no one – NOT A SINGLE PERSON – was fired from his or her job.  Many other failures led to 9/11 ... these are the ones on the day of the attacks that made the attack possible and that inhibited proper government response to the attacks.

Failure #1, Let flight 11 hijackers on with weapons
            
Failure #2, American Airlines knew of Flight 11 hijacking at 8:21 am and did not contact NORAD.  Nor did they tell their pilots or other airlines

Failure #3, FAA knew of Flight 11 hijacking at 8:24-8:32 am and did not contact NORAD.  Nor did they tell their pilots or other airlines.  FAA did NOT contact National Military Command Center in Pentagon (NMCC) to request fighter escort!

Failure #4, Fighters not sent by NORAD to intervene

Failure #5, Boston Center does not contact NORAD about Flight 11 hijacking until very late

Failure #6, NORAD thinks real hijackings are part of an exercise

Failure #7, Other airplane pilots are not told about hijacking

Failure #8, NORAD delays sending up fighters to intervene

Failure #9, American Airlines does not tell pilots about hijackings even though it knew of hijackings for 24 minutes

Failure #10, Let flight 175 hijackers let on with weapons

Failure #11, United does not notify NORAD about Flight 175

Failure #12, Flight controllers do not notify NORAD about Flight 175   

Failure #13, FAA alerted very late of second hijacking

Failure #14, FAA does not tell pilots to strengthen cockpit doors

Failure #15, Fighters travel very slowly for Manhattan

Failure #16, Let flight 77 hijackers on with weapons

Failure #17, Incompetent airport security

Failure #18, FAA failed to notify all centers of hijacked aircraft

Failure #19, No effort to contact flight centers to locate Flight 77

Failure #20, American Airlines again does not contact NORAD about additional hijacking.  This is 14 minutes after the crash of American Flight 11 and 39 minutes after American knew of the hijacking of Flight 11

Failure #21, Neither FAA not United contact NORAD about additional hijacking

Failure #22, FAA failed at its basic function on 9/11 to “provide a safe, secure, and efficient global aviation system that contributes to national security and the promotion of U.S. aviation”

Failure #23, American Airlines does not call FAA headquarters about lost contact with another plane

Failure #24, American Airlines waits too long to ground all flights

Failure #25, Washington Control does not alert anyone about finding Flight 77
                        
Failure #26, FAA waits one hour to set up teleconference

Failure #27, Scramble order to fighters occurs very late

Failure #28, NORAD is never directly informed about Flight 77

Failure #29, FAA waits too long to order ground stop

Failure #30, NORAD is very slow to launch fighter aircraft on 9/11

Failure #31, NORAD sends fighters due East over the ocean instead of toward Flight 77

Failure #32, Andrews fighters, ordered back to base at 8:53 am, arrive in Washington, DC too late

Failure #33, Let flight 93 hijackers on with weapons

Failure #34, Cleveland Control does not notify anyone about problems with Flight 93

Failure #35, Pentagon is slow to start conference call on 9/11

Failure #36, FAA insists on following protocol during an emergency which slows contact of NORAD

Failure #37, NORAD does not respond to repeated requests for fighter response

Failure #38, FAA employees are completely incompetent

Failure #39, NORAD fighters are incredibly slow into the air nationwide

Failure #40, NORAD is never told of Flight 93

Failure #41, NORAD does not give shoot down order to fighters

Failure #42, NEADS never passes on shoot down order

Failure #43.  President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice clueless on 9/11

(For more on this last failure, see: http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/main/essayaninterestingday.html)

For more on the other failures, see:
http://www.justiceblind.com/911facts.html)