Thumper
09-06-2016, 09:36 AM
I woke up at 3:00 am and couldn't go back to sleep, so I flipped on the tv to watch a bit of news. I don't even know what channel I was watching, but I believe it was the History Channel. They had one of the usual documentary type shows on that they have every year around 9/11. I guess they'll be extra heavy this year since it's the 15th anniversary of the attacks. Anyway, they had a segment about a 5th plane that (they think) was to be hijacked. The plane was in line for take-off at JFK when the order came through to ground all aircraft. When the plane started returning to the gate, four Middle-Eastern men sitting in First Class caused a major disturbance demanding the flight continue. The authorities were contacted at the airport, but once the plane docked, the mass evacuation of the airport was in progress and in the confusion, they slipped past authorities and were never seen again. Supposedly, authorities later recovered some abandoned luggage which contained Al-Qaeda documents, a Quran and some false ID's, box cutters, etc. (that doesn't make sense to me unless they meant it was carry-on baggage)
I'd never heard this before and the first thing I thought was "b/s", so I started Googling. It still looks hokey to me because all I can find is info posted on blogs and stories from "news agencies" I've never heard of. Has this been common knowledge that I've somehow managed to miss after all these years? Has it been discredited/verified? I just find it weird I have no recollection of ever hearing about it before.
Here's one of the blogs I found on the net. I normally wouldn't pay much attention to it other than the fact the story matches what I watched on the documentary last night.
Have you heard about the airliner which was ordered back to the gate on 9/11 when the terrorist attacks began, only to have four young Arab passengers jump off the plane, after which box cutters and Al Qaeda documents were found in their abandoned bags?
I've heard that story before, but since it was never reported by the U.S. government, and not mentioned by the 9/11 Commission in their official report, I thought it might be another of those urban myths. Until now.
Yesterday's Wilmington (Delaware) News-Journal featured a front-page article on the Delaware Air National Guard's first female general, Carol Timmons, who was promoted to that rank at a ceremony on Saturday. General Timmons has had a long career as a pilot, including time as a commercial pilot for Pan Am and United Airlines.
The profile of General Timmons recounts that on the morning of September 11, 2001, she was the first officer on United Airlines flight 23 preparing to take-off from New York's JFK Airport bound for Los Angeles. The plane had already pulled away from the gate and was taxiing down the runway when the airport was shut down and the crew was ordered to secure the cockpit.
Timmons confirmed that as the pilot grabbed the crash ax, she jumped from her seat and started barricading the cockpit door. From the other side of the barricade the cabin crew relayed their concern about four young Arab men in first-class who became agitated when the take-off was cancelled, and fled from the plane when it returned to the terminal. Box cutters and Al Qaeda documents were later found in their luggage.
Timmons, the pilot, and the rest of the crew were repeatedly questioned by the FBI, though the findings were never shared. The pilot concluded that Flight 23 would have been the next plane hijacked by terrorists if the airport shutdown order had been delayed.
"The FBI asks questions," General Timmons is quoted as saying, "They don't tell you things."
Why wouldn't the U.S. government want to report the incident? Why didn't the 9/11 Commission mention it in their official report? Were they concerned about panicking the public? Were they trying to apprehend the four passengers who fled? Why maintain official silence about the incident a decade later?
I'd never heard this before and the first thing I thought was "b/s", so I started Googling. It still looks hokey to me because all I can find is info posted on blogs and stories from "news agencies" I've never heard of. Has this been common knowledge that I've somehow managed to miss after all these years? Has it been discredited/verified? I just find it weird I have no recollection of ever hearing about it before.
Here's one of the blogs I found on the net. I normally wouldn't pay much attention to it other than the fact the story matches what I watched on the documentary last night.
Have you heard about the airliner which was ordered back to the gate on 9/11 when the terrorist attacks began, only to have four young Arab passengers jump off the plane, after which box cutters and Al Qaeda documents were found in their abandoned bags?
I've heard that story before, but since it was never reported by the U.S. government, and not mentioned by the 9/11 Commission in their official report, I thought it might be another of those urban myths. Until now.
Yesterday's Wilmington (Delaware) News-Journal featured a front-page article on the Delaware Air National Guard's first female general, Carol Timmons, who was promoted to that rank at a ceremony on Saturday. General Timmons has had a long career as a pilot, including time as a commercial pilot for Pan Am and United Airlines.
The profile of General Timmons recounts that on the morning of September 11, 2001, she was the first officer on United Airlines flight 23 preparing to take-off from New York's JFK Airport bound for Los Angeles. The plane had already pulled away from the gate and was taxiing down the runway when the airport was shut down and the crew was ordered to secure the cockpit.
Timmons confirmed that as the pilot grabbed the crash ax, she jumped from her seat and started barricading the cockpit door. From the other side of the barricade the cabin crew relayed their concern about four young Arab men in first-class who became agitated when the take-off was cancelled, and fled from the plane when it returned to the terminal. Box cutters and Al Qaeda documents were later found in their luggage.
Timmons, the pilot, and the rest of the crew were repeatedly questioned by the FBI, though the findings were never shared. The pilot concluded that Flight 23 would have been the next plane hijacked by terrorists if the airport shutdown order had been delayed.
"The FBI asks questions," General Timmons is quoted as saying, "They don't tell you things."
Why wouldn't the U.S. government want to report the incident? Why didn't the 9/11 Commission mention it in their official report? Were they concerned about panicking the public? Were they trying to apprehend the four passengers who fled? Why maintain official silence about the incident a decade later?