Mohamed Atta | Flight 11 on 9/11

A voice believed to be that of al Qaeda hijack leader Mohamed Atta urged passengers to "stay quiet and you'll be OK" as the hijackers steered American Airlines Flight 11 toward New York.

"Nobody move. Everything will be OK," the voice said in a recording first played publicly in the commission's final hearing.

"If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet," the voice said.

The announcement, which commission staff believe was from Atta, was the first transmission from the aircraft picked up by air traffic controllers in Boston, where the flight originated.

Ten minutes later, the voice again warned, "Nobody move please. We are going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves."

The Egyptian-born Atta apparently was not aware that his announcements to passengers were being broadcast.

The recording was played as the commission examined a report by its staff that said the U.S. military and the Federal Aviation Administration were unprepared "in every respect" to stop the hijackings, in which Atta and other al Qaeda operatives crashed passenger jets into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks.

The first word of the hijacking reached the FAA about a half-hour into the flight. And the Northeast Air Defense Sector base in Rome, New York, received its first notification at 8:37 a.m. -- just nine minutes before Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center's north tower.

"The nine minutes' notice was the most the military would receive that morning of any of the four hijackings," the report said.

Two Air Force F-15s were dispatched from an Air Force base in Massachusetts, but they were not airborne until 8:53 a.m.

On three of the four planes, the hijackers turned off transponders that best enable air traffic controllers to follow a plane's path.

'It's escalating big, big time'
The same air traffic controller handling Flight 11 was also responsible for United Airlines Flight 175, the second hijacked plane. The Boston-to-Los Angeles flight crashed into the Trade Center's south tower at 9:03 a.m.

At 8:51 a.m., the controller noticed a change in Flight 175's transponder reading, indicating a second hijacking. But it wasn't until 9:01 a.m., two minutes before impact, that the air traffic control center in Herndon, Virginia, got the word.

"It's escalating big, big time. We need to get the military involved with us," the manager of the New York air traffic center said. NORAD didn't get a call until 9:03 a.m. -- the same time the second plane hit the World Trade Center.

[kiara]

I can't believe they thought God would want them to do this.

[MB-fosk]

The actor nailed the cold, deapdan look Mohammed Atta had on the pictures of him that were made public.

[GG_Booboo]

Bless Amy and Betty for doing all they could, staying calm and relaying vital information to the ground, as their colleagues must have been gravely injured! What a horrific scene no one ever wants to be part of. The caller who spoke to Betty said the plane was quiet, no one was screaming, they must have all known the end was near and were praying! So sad!

[Kyle_Lurz]

The fact that this actually happened is still to this day absolutely insane

[matisyahup]

I am 37, I was 14 years old on 9/11. It was my third day of high school. I remember sitting in the cafeteria, and some girl came running down the hallway screaming. We all turned the tvs on and saw the news. Next class I had art, and the teacher was very wise. I remember he said to us, no matter what happens the rest of your lives, you will never forget this moment. He was right, that moment will forever be saved in my memory. It was the moment the world changed, the innocence of the 90s ended, and a dark era began. Today i write this in 2024, and one can see how the world has slowly decayed since 2001, and I believe this entire period is biblical. Its a moment in history that is the dark before the greatest light, a time when an old system must fall before a new one emerges. During this era the most significant change in my life was becoming a religious person, as I was born jewish, non-observant, but have become religious. It has been a long journey, but looking back, the moment I changed was when those planes hit those buildings.

[Lederius]

The advantage that the hijackers had was that the passengers didn't really know what was going on until it was far too late. On Flight 93, the passengers all were informed by loved ones and the news of what had happened with the other 3 planes, and they took action resulting in the hijackers crashing the plane in the ground instead of hitting a target.

[garishanth]

I remember seeing this a few years back and thinking the actor playing Mohamed Atta played the role well, but also thinking how the real Mohamed Atta’ eyes and this actors’ eyes were similar and scary af!

[aras]

Those flight attendants are the real heroes

[Ayanites]

Can you imagine being in that flight, with a group of 6 people getting up screaming and yelling running up to the cockpit and throwing mace and then hearing the pilot’s screaming in fear passing out and then realizing your in a plane getting hijacked..

[antman]

"Yell 'Allahu Akbar' because it strikes fear into the hearts of non-believers"
He must've confused being annoyed with being afraid cause nobody is intimidated by that phrase
People are just annoyed because you've already yelled it 100 times in the past 2 minutes

[iliqudaka]

The Only Reward They Get Is The Flames Of Hell

[josephmendoza]

The flight attendants Betty Ong and Amy Sweeney are the real heroes 🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️❤️. Even though they were scared when they made the calls. They weren't just calling about them being hijacked. They were calling to report a war is just about to start. They died being heroes. That's what I think about Amy and Betty. I don't see them as 9/11 victims I see them as heroes who did everything possible to try to save everyone.. R.I.P to Amy, Betty, the passengers of flights 11, 175, 77 and 93 as well those who died on the WTC towers, the Pentagon God bless the victims families

[giancarlothereviewer]

The actress who plays as Betty Ong is beautiful. She did a perfect job doing the role as Betty.

[Canuckchick]

Those flight attendants were heroine's. Rest in Peace victims of 9/11 🙏🇺🇸💙🗽

[jayasuryanj]

In this video, the actor who played role of Mohammad Atta looks identical to him

[patrickanderson]

I have always wondered how the hijackers gained access to the cockpit and how they managed to take control of the aircrafts. Reports from all four planes that were involved suggests that the hijackers took over the planes with relative ease, and that it happened in a smooth and rather undramatic way.

Anyway, it’s crazy how they managed to pull it off.

[akmatbkw]

Just hearing their voices scares me what they were thinking last seconds it’s horrific

[henryalugoro]

i can’t imagine being the flight attendances and passengers last moment of their lives

[mdsimps]

The sad thing about aviation rules is it takes an incident to implement new rules. After 9/11 the cockpit doors were changed, after the shoe bomb attempt shoes were scanned etc. Its such a hard vehicle to protect

[simbagillespie]

when they said just stay quiet and you’ll be ok they lied the the people onboard