BackgroundAmerican Airlines Flight 77, the third plane hijacked on 9/11, was crashed into the Pentagon. Flight 77 took off from Washington Dulles International Airport at 8:20 a.m., and was enroute to Los Angeles. Captain Charles F. Burlingame and First Officer David Charlebois were at control of the plane for a half-hour. The last routine radio communication from the flight was transmitted at 8:51 a.m. The hijackers on the flight were Hani Hanjour (pilot), along with Nawaf al-Hazmi, Salem al-Hazmi, Majed Moqed, and Khalid al-Mihdhar. At 8:54 a.m., the aircraft began to deviate from course and turn back towards Washington, D.C. Phone calls were made from the plane, using airphones, by Renee May and by Barbara Olson. The transponder on the aircraft was turned off after it was hijacked, making it difficult for air traffic controllers to locate it once it turned around. At 9:21 a.m., the Herndon Control Center (of the FAA) knew that Flight 77 was missing and asked the Dulles terminal control facility to look for primary targets on the radar. At 9:32, they found one. Several of the Dulles controllers "observed a primary radar target tracking eastbound at a high rate of speed" and notified Reagan National Airport. FAA personnel at both Reagan National and Dulles airports notified the Secret Service. At 9:34 a.m., NEADS (Northeast Air Defense Sector) contacted the FAA's Washington Center, regarding American Airlines Flight 11 (already crashed, but they thought it was still airborne). In the course of the conversation, a Washington Center manager informed NEADS: "We're looking-we also lost American 77." This was the first notice to the military that American Airlines Flight 77 was missing, giving them 3-4 minutes to respond. At 9:37:44 a.m., Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. Security Camera FootageFOIA documentsMore about the 85 videosFootage of the crash of Flight 77 into the Pentagon was captured in a few frames of security camera footage, by cameras at the Pentagon. In response to a FOIA request, this footage was released in May 2006. Though the quality of the footage was poor, with the frame-per-second (fps) rate too slow to capture a jet coming in at ~500 miles per hour. The plane is not clearly visible, but is seen in the footage as a thin white blur, followed by the explosion due to plane impact, and smoke rising. First VideoSecond VideoCitgoVideo footage was seized by the FBI from a few other locations in the vicinity of the Pentagon, including a nearby Citgo gas station, as well as a Doubletree Hotel. The Citgo footage was released in September 2006, following a FOIA request. 
Citgo video:Screenshot:
Citgo camera
The camera that captured the "flash" was pointing entirely away from the Pentagon. Instead, it was pointing towards the gas pumps and the gas station entrance from South Joyce Street. Though, at 4:43 in the video, a flash is visible in the upper right, which likely is a reflection off of a utility (traffic light) pole, from the impact of Flight 77 which resulted in a very bright explosion and fireball. DoubletreeThe Doubletree Hotel is located on the other side of Interstate 395, which is an elevated highway that comes from the south, past the Pentagon, and into Washington D.C. The hotel is at Army-Navy Drive, near South Eads, which means that it is nearest to the Metro (subway) station side of the Pentagon and the bus terminal, on the opposite side from where Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. 
Footage from a security camera at the Doubletree Hotel was released in December 2006. See extended footage - on YouTube
SheratonSome have speculated that the "hotel" that the FBI took video from was the Sheraton, which is located up Columbia Pike from the Pentagon. It did not have any video for the FBI to take. "I also conducted a search of the FBI's Electronic Case File system, Investigative Case Management system, and other evidence databases for any videotapes in the possession of the FBI from the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. I did not locate any such videotape." - declaration of Jacqueline Maguire, FBI The hotel in question is the Doubletree. Anyway, the Sheraton hotel is situated behind other buildings, which largely obstruct the line of sight between the hotel and the part of the Pentagon that was hit. As viewed from the Pentagon, the roof of the Sheraton is barely visible, peaking up from behind other buildings. 
FOIA documentsMore about the 85 videos9/11 Case Study - Flight 77Passenger manifestTerry McDermott, author of Perfect Soldiers which is about the hijackers,obtained the passenger manifests for Flight 77 and the other flights. Mike from 911myths.com obtained copies from Terry McDermott and posted them online. Here is the Flight 77 passenger manifest, which includes the five hijackers: DocumentsFrom the NTSB:
AA77 FDR Data Explained - post by Anti-sophist on JREF forums Debris
More debris picturesWitnessesWitness account - 10:17 a.m. on September 11Witness account, 10:28 a.m. on September 11Steven Gerard, 11:11 a.m. on September 11Pilot Aziz ElHallan - Interviewed at 4:39 pm on September 11He shows a piece of the plane broke off and landed in his car, and talks about seeing the plane crash into the Pentagon. Mike Walter:More witnessesFurther informationRecommended reading
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AboutFlight77.info was originally run by Scott Bingham, but he apparently lost interest in maintaining the site and the domain expired in Fall 2007. At some cost, I have obtained the domain so that the security camera videos from the Pentagon, the Citgo, Doubletree Hotel, and the related documents from the FOIA requests will continue to be here for the long-term. Photos and other information about Flight 77 are also here. Books |
