On September 11, 2001, the United States made an unprecedented decision. Every civilian aircraft in American airspace had to land immediately.
This video follows the events minute by minute as air traffic controllers, pilots, military commanders, and government officials struggled to understand what was happening. Hijacked planes had already struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, while thousands of other aircraft remained in the sky. FAA National Operations Manager Ben Sliney, on his very first day in the job, ordered a nationwide ground stop and then made the extraordinary call to clear the entire sky. More than 4,500 aircraft had to be brought safely to the ground while international flights were diverted to Canada and fighter jets scrambled to intercept possible threats. Confusion made everything more dangerous. False hijacking reports, missing aircraft, misunderstood radio messages, and delayed military orders meant innocent passenger planes were sometimes moments away from being treated as hostile targets.
By 12:16 p.m., American civilian airspace was finally empty. It was one of the largest and most extraordinary emergency operations in aviation history.
00:30 - Ben Sliney Starts His First Day
01:26 - Flight 11 Goes Silent
05:08 - Fighter Jets Are Scrambled
08:10 - Flight 175 Hits the South Tower
12:19 - Nationwide Ground Stop
16:26 - Clear the Skies
21:20 - Flight 93 Passengers Fight Back
30:37 - U.S. Airspace Is Cleared
Narrated by: Josh Risser
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