ters of the situation.
FAA radar equipment tracked the flight from the moment its transponder was
turned off at 8:56. But for 8 minutes and 13 seconds, between 8:56 and 9:05,
this primary radar information on American 77 was not displayed to controllers
at Indianapolis Center.
erage where American 77 was flying.
tion.The target remained in Indianapolis Center's airspace for another six min-
utes, then crossed into the western portion of Washington Center's airspace at
9:10.As Indianapolis Center continued searching for the aircraft, two managers
and the controller responsible for American 77 looked to the west and south-
west along the flight's projected path, not east--where the aircraft was now
heading. Managers did not instruct other controllers at Indianapolis Center to
turn on their primary radar coverage to join in the search for American 77.
ing for the aircraft because they thought it had crashed or were looking toward
the west. Although the Command Center learned Flight 77 was missing, nei-
ther it nor FAA headquarters issued an all points bulletin to surrounding cen-
ters to search for primary radar targets. American 77 traveled undetected for
36 minutes on a course heading due east for Washington, D.C.
was lost. At least some FAA officials in Boston Center and the New England
Region knew that a hijacker on board American 11 had said "we have some
planes." Concerns over the safety of other aircraft began to mount.A manager at
the Herndon Command Center asked FAA headquarters if they wanted to order
a "nationwide ground stop." While this was being discussed by executives at FAA
headquarters, the Command Center ordered one at 9:25.
mary targets. 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. The aircraft's identity or type was
unknown.