On September 11, 2001, humanity had witnessed the largest attack ever carried out in the interior of the United States as well as the worst terrorist attack in the history of the world. 4 passenger planes were hijacked, 3 of them hit the planned targets, the other didn't hit The Capitol because the passengers bravely fought the hijackers.
But have you ever heard the story of the 5th plane?
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| The World Trade Center twin towers during the attack |
The Wilmington News (Delaware) magazine of May 15, 2011, carried a front-page article about the first female general of the Delaware National Guard, Carol Timmons, who was promoted to that rank at a ceremony a few days before. General Timmons has had a long career as a pilot, including being a commercial pilot for Pan Am and United Airlines.
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| General Carol A. Timmons (1958-2020) |
General Timmons' files recount that on the morning of September 11, 2001, she was a co-pilot on United Airlines Flight 23 preparing to take off from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, destined for Los Angeles. The plane had left the gate and was on the runway when the airport was shut down due to an order from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the crew was ordered to tighten cockpit security.
Timmons confirmed that as the pilot grabbed the escape hatch just in case, she got out of her seat and began barricading the cockpit door. From the other side of the barricade, the pilots relayed their concerns about four young Arabs onboard first class who became agitated when the take-off was aborted and fled the plane immediately as the plane went back to the station. Melee weapons and Al Qaeda documents were later found in their left luggage.
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| John F. Kennedy Airport, New York City |
Timmons, the main pilot and the rest of the crew were repeatedly questioned by the FBI, although the results of the investigation were never made public. The pilot concluded that Flight 23 would be the next plane to be hijacked by terrorists if the order to close the airport from FAA was delayed.
However, since the results of the
investigation have never been made public, its authenticity remains uncertain.
What are your thoughts on this?