Snopes Fodder - "Flight 93 (movie) Musings from a Delta pilot"

[KurtNYC]

Coming soon to an email in-box near you!

Got this chain email this morning. Anyone see any red flags or reasons why I shouldn't believe this ? ;-)

It isn't on Snopes yet - I checked. Probably too recent.

If you don't read anything else - PLEASE READ THIS !!!!!

Subject: Movie "Flight 93" Musings from A Delta Pilot

This was passed to my from a father of a Delta pilot. Z

>This came from a Delta commercial pilot.


Guys,

Susie and I just got back from seeing "UAL Flight 93", it was absolutely gripping, and as a former airline pilot who was flying a trip that morning on a Boeing 767 from Cincinnati to Orlando it was almost too horrific to watch...it was very disturbing! For you pilot types, the attention to detail, the cockpit, the preflight, the crew, pilots and flight attendants boarding the aircraft and making small talk was or so real and routine...just another day in the office! Likewise the views from central flow control, NY and Boston ARTCC and the NORAD command center were very realistic. Should anyone have any doubts about our response, or lack of that morning you need to view this movie. Watching all the various controllers and their supervisors trying to get their arms around the problem and to come to grips and connect the dots is so very real. The movie appears to almost happen in real time and you can really sense the problem that the commanders had in thinking outside the box and realizing that we were really at war. Fighters are scrambled, late, and in the wrong direction, as threats are suppose to come from over the water to the east not from over land to the west; the planes are not armed, can they ram, and who has the authority to give that command... the command is given but not relayed to the pilots. The lack of communications, or rather the disbelief and lack of coordination is stunning but easy to understand. Even the pilots of UAL Flt 93 are given a data link message that the Towers have been hit and to beware of cockpit intruders...they brush it off in disbelief... as I'm sure any pilot would have prior to that date. The time line given at the end of the movie and the confusion over what planes were involved, and which flights were being hijacked is very revealing... we just couldn't get it together quickly enough. As pilots and crew members we had never been trained to deal with suicidal hijackers who were prepared to die, it was simply inconceivable at the time. A key point, though not belabored, was when the supervisor of the FAA Central Flow Control ordered that all aircraft in US airspace land immediately, (there were over 4200 in the air), that no planes from overseas would be allowed into the country and would be turned back, and that there were to be no over flights... he realized that we were at war but didn't know with whom... it was a very bold and brave move and he was thinking way outside the box... I believe that it was also his first day on the job as the boss!

All Americans should see this movie as it may help them get a grip on the terrorist threat that we are up against vs. the radical Muslim world. I don't know if we belong in Iraq or how we should deal with Iran or North Korea or the Sudan, but I know that there is a real threat to our way of life from the radical Islamic fundamentalists. I continually hear that this is not a true reflection of the Koran or true Islamic beliefs. Well that may be true, and it might not be, but there would appear to be plenty of Muslims in the world that have an entirely different and radical interpretation of the Koran which we cannot ignore.

What was probably as disturbing as watching an airline crew, that could have been me or any of my friends, seeing their world and their life taken away, was the hijackers preparing to die, washing themselves and praying to their god as if they were doing his will. They looked like ordinary young men, and to think that they could sit next to all these people on that plane that they were going to kill, who had nothing against them or done nothing to them, was beyond words. I guess if nothing else it gives you insight into the minds of suicide bombers, which to our Western way of thought is beyond comprehension. This movie will make you angry, very angry.

My experience on 9/11. We were just ready to close the door for our Delta 767 flight from CVG to MCO when the gate agent came on board and asked if we had heard anything about a small plane hitting the World Trade Center, we had not, so she said goodbye and closed the door. Shortly thereafter we were airborne climbing out on a beautifully clear crisp fall morning heading to Florida with not a cloud in the sky or a care in the world. I heard a bizjet ask for a reroute since he could not get to New York and I thought that was strange. Then another bizjet said "well I guess we won't be going there either" and asked for a clearance to an alternate.. At that point I asked center what was going on. There was a pause and then the controller came back in a very excited voice and said "they have hit both of the Trade Center Towers, they have hit the Pentagon, they have hit the Capitol and the White House"... well you can imagine it got really lively on the frequency. I turned to my Co-Pilot and said "I don't know what has happened, but I do know that things will never be the same", and I think I got that right! Within seconds the controller had composed himself and said all flights on this frequency standby, and it was dead quiet. He then said all flights are to land immediately and went down the list of the planes under his control..."American 235 turn right heading 230 you're landing at Pittsburgh, Continental 456 turn left heading 180 for Cincinnati, Delta 235 (that's me) turn right to 250 and descend to 8000, you're landing at Knoxville, airport your 2 o'clock 40 miles....etc" It was the best, fastest and most efficient handling I have ever had from ATC... they had everyone on the ground all over the country in minimum time. After all the initial confusion, their professionalism, and that of all the flight crews was exemplary! We spent two days in Knoxville and then ferried an empty 757 back to Atlanta and I believe were one of the first flights to land back at our main hub. Our arrival at ATL was one of the most moving experiences of my flying career. The airspace was totally empty, there was no talk on the radio, and we were the only plane in the sky over ATL, the busiest airport in the U.S., but we did have, unknown to us until informed by the controller, an F-16 right on our tail, but we never saw him. When we taxied in the normally frantic ramp area was dead quiet, all the ground equipment, tugs, baggage carts, tugs, fuelers etc. were lined up in military precision and the ground crew were standing at attention and saluted... wow, I'll never forget that. They needed a sign that things were getting back to normal... that we were moving and flying again.

Reflections. As you may know I was on a United Flight several weeks ago from Chicago to Sacramento that had a passenger who tried to open the front cabin door, allegedly claimed to have a bomb, and took a swing at the flight attendant. We'll yours truly was sound asleep in the last row of coach and missed all the action, but suffice it to say that before he got very far he was rapidly subdued by the first class section and we diverted to Denver. Unlike Flight 93 he couldn't have gotten into the cockpit as the cockpit door is now armored and no passenger is going to sit still and let anyone interfere with the flight. I always felt that with the improved cockpit door that I would be totally safe, and that all my passengers in the cabin would act as Sky Marshals... I was and they did... they remembered 9/11, lets hope that we never forget!

I would also like to mention that all the crew members on my United flight as well as all the ground rescue folks in Denver and the United station personnel did an absolutely marvelous job in handling this incident. It made me proud to have once been a part of this profession.

John

So he thanks the crew members, etc but he doesn't mention that there were 3 secret service agents on board. I have found some other problems with the story but am curious to see what jumps out at others here.

[underpants]

1. "3 secret service agents on board"???

on board what flight? Flight 93??? is this part of some conspiracy theory or something?

[KurtNYC]

7. no - the writer (Forrest Gump apparently) claims to have been

on board the recent April 21 flight from Chicago to Sacramento that was diverted to Denver. THAT flight had 3 secret service agents on it.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2006-04-24-united-diverted-flight_x.htm

[Vinnie From Indy]

2. Did you know that one common feature of an Urban Myth is

that the story is always relayed through someone else. The incident never happens to the writer. It is always my brother's girlfriend's cousin or something like that.

[XemaSab]

5. The FOAF:

Friend of a Friend.

[bryant69]

6. That's really Ironic

My Brother's Girlfriend's Cousin was just telling me that.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[democrat_patriot]

3. Too bad cell phones DONT WORK at those altitudes.

[SlipperySlope]

15. Huh?

What are you talking about? There is nothing about cell phones in that message.

[patcox2]

22. And besides, they do work, ask Demotex.

nt

[ellenfl]

4. looks like we're 'catapulting over the propaganda' again . . .

or whatever the 'h' he said. goebbels must have written that one.

ellen fl

[MrModerate]

8. One of the regular Salon columnists is a former airline pilot . . .

And he praised the accuracy -- and drama -- of the movie as well, noting that there were a few small procedural/equipment errors, but they didn't matter to him as a viewer, because the film was so gripping.

[BrklynLiberal]

11. Maybe someone took a legitimate view on the movie, and just added in the

irrational rantings.

[high density]

9. Somebody posted a similar thing to Airliners.net forums

I thought it was mostly BS as well.

[BrklynLiberal]

10. As soon as I get to the ranting part, I stop reading. These bullshit

emails always have a rant somewhere in them.

ALso, as was said, these "third party" accounts are always to be doubted.
I NEVER forward anything like this. I usually send a "REPLY ALL" to the person who sent it to me, telling them (and everyone else who received it)what crapola I think it is.
If I can get the adddress of a site to refute it, I include that.

[KurtNYC]

23. I hear ya - I couldn't resist responding to this one

Here is my response to the senders:

- - - - - - -
No matter what else you read -- YOU MUST READ THIS!!

Musings on "Star Wars"

I saw the movie Star Wars on DVD the other day and as a mercenary fighter pilot, it got me thinking about how difficult it is to shoot womp rats with a T-43. I was in that bar on Tatoonine when Obi Wan and the kid came in looking for a flight to the Death Star. I would have taken them too if it hadn't been for Han Solo. He made the Kessel run in under 12 par secs I hear.

Han Solo, Luke and Ben were only too happy to get off of that planet. It was full of radical muslim islamic extremeists and I don't why we're in Iraq and Afghanistan and Somalia and Cuba and the Korean DMZ. I don't know why the Berlin Wall was built or when it came down. Don't know when WWII ended or who won. But I do know that there were hijackers on 9/11 so think outside the box and never forget 911.

Reflections. I was recently on a TWA flight from Peoria to Fresno. We had to wait for a Pan Am jet to land before we could take off and then a Concorde took off in front of us so we had to SDFFM (that's pilot talk for "stand down for five minutes") while the jet curly Q's settled down. Now it was a beautiful crisp day with no clouds in the sky and not a worry in the world. The corn was as high as an elephant's eye. It looked like it was reaching right up to the sky. We flew like a sky rocket in flight; it was an afternoon delight. From the mountains to the praries, there was lots of purple mountains majesty and Amber waves of grain.

So never forget that Darth Vader is Luke's father. And thank your lucky stars that the Ewoks are on OUR side!

-Bob

Not sure they will understand that brand of sarcasm though.

[Mandate My Ass]

25. LOL

Now it was a beautiful crisp day with no clouds in the sky and not a worry in the world. The corn was as high as an elephant's eye. It looked like it was reaching right up to the sky. We flew like a sky rocket in flight; it was an afternoon delight. From the mountains to the praries, there was lots of purple mountains majesty and Amber waves of grain.

So never forget that Darth Vader is Luke's father. And thank your lucky stars that the Ewoks are on OUR side!


:rofl:

[uppityperson]

30. Excellent piece of writing!

thank you

[BrklynLiberal]

36. Excellent. I am going to save this for future use...

[Blue_Tires]

43. brilliant n/t

[Oreo]

12. Here's the Denver POst article about the diverted flight

I cant stand these types of chain emails. I wouldn't be surprised if it was fabricated by the movie's marketing staff.

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3737408

Unruly man forces jet to land at DIA
Military jets escorted the flight after he allegedly tried to open a door and claimed an "explosive device." None was found.
By Manny Gonzales
Denver Post Staff Writer

Military jets were scrambled Friday to escort a United Airlines flight diverted to Denver International Airport when a passenger became unruly and claimed to have "some kind of explosive device," authorities said.

Passengers subdued the man as he tried to open a door during the flight, some aboard the plane said after landing.

Jose Manuel Pelayo-Ortega was arrested after the plane landed at about 4:30 p.m., FBI spokeswoman Monique Kelso said.

F-16s from Buckley Air Force Base were sent to intercept the A320 Airbus, which was traveling from Chicago to Sacramento, Calif., DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon said.

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. Whew! I can smell the bullshit coming through the monitor.

The rightwing really need to get better writers, because all their shit reeks so badly of overdone-bullshit.

They need writers who can write something that fits within the bounds of reality.

This is sooooo over the top, and so typical of the rightwing/fundy Christian bullshit stories...

[TexasLawyer]

18. Yes, those Muslims sure are evil!

They sure do want to rob us of our way of life! Who but a Muslim would try to pull something like that? Good thing we're trying to kill them all over the globe. We're a peaceful people you know, except when Muslims step in and try to wreck our way of life. Oh, and did I mention that Muslims are evil?

:sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm:

[patcox2]

24. Oh, I see, they didn't kill 3,000 people then?

Those particular muslims were evil, and they did die screaming Allah Abhar. Too bad thats politically incorrect to notice.

[mikelewis]

37. No,not politically incorrect, it's just unsubstantiated...

Your faith in these Terrorists is not supported by facts. You assume that there were Muslim Hijackers aboard the planes because you watched it on TV. In reality, you have no idea who or what was on those planes because you have taken the Official Story on faith. This administration has not earned that sort of faith. I suggest before you continue drowning in this spiral of silence they've created, take a good hard look at what millions and millions of people are saying about the events of 9/11.

And it's Allah Akbar which means "God is the Greatest". In truth, he is and anyone who knows anything about God knows, you do not do murder in his name. The Muslims worship the God of Abraham who is also my God. They are my brothers even if we disagree on how to pay homage to our Father. I come to the Father through the Son. They come to the Father down their own road. But in the end, the destination is the same. A true Muslim is not evil, he is, in fact, the antithesis of evil. So if there were Arab men on those planes, they were not Muslims no matter what they allegedly shouted before died.

[TexasLawyer]

45. Adolph hitler was a devout Christian vegetarian

and he also was responsible for the deaths of 9 million Jews, gypsies, handicapped people, and others who he scapegoated or who otherwise got in his way.

But I am not going to write screeds against Christians or vegetarians.

Also, if you read the book Welcome to Terrorland, which I am in the middle of reading right now, Mohamed Atta was a pork chop eatin', coke snortin', rum and coke swillin' "player" who didn't pray and who slept with a Florida lingerie model with pink hair.

He's not the Koran-thumping jihadist that he's made out to be. Other than al Shehi, who lived the high life along with Atta, I don't know that much about the other highjackers, but there is WAY more to the story than just confabulating Muslim extremists driven mad by Islam.

[SlipperySlope]

14. What's not to believe?

I don't understand what part of the story you are questioning? It just looks like a letter from a pilot to me.

[DemoTex]

16. The details of the Delta pilot's 9/11 flight seem accurate to me.

However, the writer mentions flying a Boeing 767 trip from Cincinnati to Orlando (CVG-MCO) on 9/11 (with an ATC diversion into Knoxville) and ferrying a Boeing 757 from Knoxville to Atlanta on 9/13 or 9/14. Although the B-757/767 share a common type rating (if my memory serves me correctly), many airlines separate the flying. At many airlines (including mine) a B-767 pilot cannot fly a B-757 under any conditions (or vice-versa). At my airline a Boeing 737-300/400 pilot couldn't fly a Boeing 737-200, but they do at Southwest.
Delta might have different work rules with respect to mixed flying, or this could be a typo. Otherwise, I find this Delta pilot's account consistent with what I would expect from an airline pilot point of view.

[KurtNYC]

17. A few problems

There is no Delta flight 767 and if they meant the plane was a 767 then that is wrong also because Delta uses an MD-88 on the route between "CVG and MCO." Later the writer says his flight is Delta 235 -- there is no Delta flight numbered 235. And still later he says he flew back a 757.

He claims to be a Delta pilot. Delta code shares with US Airways. They don't have any deals with United yet he flies United to Sacramento? And he slept through the whole shouting, trying to open the exit door, tackle and hold the bastard until you land thing? Implausible.

The flight was not met by "ground rescue" but rather by the FBI. The plane didn't go to the gate for "United station personnel" -- it went to a secure holding area.

[DemoTex]

29. A few points, KurtNYC ..

1. Delta has often scheduled B-767s on CVG-MCO. What might be scheduled now and what might have been used in 2001 (or high-season 2006) could vary the entire range of Delta's domestic fleet.

2. Just because Delta is not using "235" now doesn't mean they were not using it last month or last year. If I speak of US Air Flight "5050" and you look that up and don't find it, would you impeach my statement? In fact, US Air 5050 was involved in a fatal accident at LGA in 1989, so that flight number is no longer used .. ever.

3. Delta has never had a code sharing agreement with US Airways (to my knowledge, and I was a US Airways captain). US Airways' major code-sharing agreements have been with United and American.

4. See my other post on the B-767/757 bit.

5. You wouldn't believe some of the things I slept through commuting to work, dead-heading, and non-reving.

The guy might be a total fake, but I want to set the record straight were I see faults. Like I said in the other post, he sounds like an airline pilot. And he writes like most airline pilots I know .. poorly.

[KurtNYC]

34. Re #3 - I mixed that up

meant to say that Delta doesn't code share with United. And that United DOES code share with US Airways.

Your other points about changing the planes used on certain routes and changing the flight numbers are things I was curious about. Thanks for those.

[Ezlivin]

19. It sounds like another psych-op to me

"Should anyone have any doubts about our response, or lack of that morning you need to view this movie."

So we need to see this movie to convince ourselves that our defenses weren't completely useless?

"Watching all the various controllers and their supervisors trying to get their arms around the problem and to come to grips and connect the dots is so very real. The movie appears to almost happen in real time and you can really sense the problem that the commanders had in thinking outside the box and realizing that we were really at war.

Yeah it would be hard to "get your arms" (?) around the problem when you are already running a live hijacking exercise and your screens are cluttered with generated images.

"Fighters are scrambled, late, and in the wrong direction, as threats are suppose to come from over the water to the east not from over land to the west; the planes are not armed, can they ram, and who has the authority to give that command... the command is given but not relayed to the pilots."

Oh what a Chinese fire drill it must have been! Our trillion dollar defense system is defeated by the simple tactic of attacking inside the country. Who would have ever thought of it (other than the Pentagon who held just such a drill in 2000).

"Even the pilots of UAL Flt 93 are given a data link message that the Towers have been hit and to beware of cockpit intruders...they brush it off in disbelief... as I'm sure any pilot would have prior to that date."

A professional pilot would not "brush off in disbelief" an official data link message. They are trained to deal with hijackers, not ignore them or a warning of hijacking.

The letter makes repeated statements that "we were at war". No we weren't. We were being attacked, but that is not being at war.

Psych-op for sure.

[ContraBass Black]

20. OMG, I'm SERIES!!!!1111111

I have a hard time believing any story written entirely in fragments and run-on sentences.

[Old and In the Way]

21. Sounds like a reinforcing of the official theory of 9/11.

[uppityperson]

26. this line jumps out at me, calling it BS...

"Even the pilots of UAL Flt 93 are given a data link message that the Towers have been hit and to beware of cockpit intruders...they brush it off in disbelief... as I'm sure any pilot would have prior to that date. "


So, pilots ignore cockpit intruder warnings? Right.

[ContraBass Black]

27. Would you edit to plain text please?

The bold and the breathless sentence structure together are headache-inducing.

[uppityperson]

32. here it is without the bold, still breathless though!!!!!

If you don't read anything else - PLEASE READ THIS !!!!!

Subject: Movie "Flight 93" Musings from A Delta Pilot

This was passed to my from a father of a Delta pilot. Z

>This came from a Delta commercial pilot.


Guys,

Susie and I just got back from seeing "UAL Flight 93", it was absolutely gripping, and as a former airline pilot who was flying a trip that morning on a Boeing 767 from Cincinnati to Orlando it was almost too horrific to watch...it was very disturbing! For you pilot types, the attention to detail, the cockpit, the preflight, the crew, pilots and flight attendants boarding the aircraft and making small talk was or so real and routine...just another day in the office! Likewise the views from central flow control, NY and Boston ARTCC and the NORAD command center were very realistic. Should anyone have any doubts about our response, or lack of that morning you need to view this movie. Watching all the various controllers and their supervisors trying to get their arms around the problem and to come to grips and connect the dots is so very real. The movie appears to almost happen in real time and you can really sense the problem that the commanders had in thinking outside the box and realizing that we were really at war. Fighters are scrambled, late, and in the wrong direction, as threats are suppose to come from over the water to the east not from over land to the west; the planes are not armed, can they ram, and who has the authority to give that command... the command is given but not relayed to the pilots. The lack of communications, or rather the disbelief and lack of coordination is stunning but easy to understand. Even the pilots of UAL Flt 93 are given a data link message that the Towers have been hit and to beware of cockpit intruders...they brush it off in disbelief... as I'm sure any pilot would have prior to that date. The time line given at the end of the movie and the confusion over what planes were involved, and which flights were being hijacked is very revealing... we just couldn't get it together quickly enough. As pilots and crew members we had never been trained to deal with suicidal hijackers who were prepared to die, it was simply inconceivable at the time. A key point, though not belabored, was when the supervisor of the FAA Central Flow Control ordered that all aircraft in US airspace land immediately, (there were over 4200 in the air), that no planes from overseas would be allowed into the country and would be turned back, and that there were to be no over flights... he realized that we were at war but didn't know with whom... it was a very bold and brave move and he was thinking way outside the box... I believe that it was also his first day on the job as the boss!

All Americans should see this movie as it may help them get a grip on the terrorist threat that we are up against vs. the radical Muslim world. I don't know if we belong in Iraq or how we should deal with Iran or North Korea or the Sudan, but I know that there is a real threat to our way of life from the radical Islamic fundamentalists. I continually hear that this is not a true reflection of the Koran or true Islamic beliefs. Well that may be true, and it might not be, but there would appear to be plenty of Muslims in the world that have an entirely different and radical interpretation of the Koran which we cannot ignore.

What was probably as disturbing as watching an airline crew, that could have been me or any of my friends, seeing their world and their life taken away, was the hijackers preparing to die, washing themselves and praying to their god as if they were doing his will. They looked like ordinary young men, and to think that they could sit next to all these people on that plane that they were going to kill, who had nothing against them or done nothing to them, was beyond words. I guess if nothing else it gives you insight into the minds of suicide bombers, which to our Western way of thought is beyond comprehension. This movie will make you angry, very angry.

My experience on 9/11. We were just ready to close the door for our Delta 767 flight from CVG to MCO when the gate agent came on board and asked if we had heard anything about a small plane hitting the World Trade Center, we had not, so she said goodbye and closed the door. Shortly thereafter we were airborne climbing out on a beautifully clear crisp fall morning heading to Florida with not a cloud in the sky or a care in the world. I heard a bizjet ask for a reroute since he could not get to New York and I thought that was strange. Then another bizjet said "well I guess we won't be going there either" and asked for a clearance to an alternate.. At that point I asked center what was going on. There was a pause and then the controller came back in a very excited voice and said "they have hit both of the Trade Center Towers, they have hit the Pentagon, they have hit the Capitol and the White House"... well you can imagine it got really lively on the frequency. I turned to my Co-Pilot and said "I don't know what has happened, but I do know that things will never be the same", and I think I got that right! Within seconds the controller had composed himself and said all flights on this frequency standby, and it was dead quiet. He then said all flights are to land immediately and went down the list of the planes under his control..."American 235 turn right heading 230 you're landing at Pittsburgh, Continental 456 turn left heading 180 for Cincinnati, Delta 235 (that's me) turn right to 250 and descend to 8000, you're landing at Knoxville, airport your 2 o'clock 40 miles....etc" It was the best, fastest and most efficient handling I have ever had from ATC... they had everyone on the ground all over the country in minimum time. After all the initial confusion, their professionalism, and that of all the flight crews was exemplary! We spent two days in Knoxville and then ferried an empty 757 back to Atlanta and I believe were one of the first flights to land back at our main hub. Our arrival at ATL was one of the most moving experiences of my flying career. The airspace was totally empty, there was no talk on the radio, and we were the only plane in the sky over ATL, the busiest airport in the U.S., but we did have, unknown to us until informed by the controller, an F-16 right on our tail, but we never saw him. When we taxied in the normally frantic ramp area was dead quiet, all the ground equipment, tugs, baggage carts, tugs, fuelers etc. were lined up in military precision and the ground crew were standing at attention and saluted... wow, I'll never forget that. They needed a sign that things were getting back to normal... that we were moving and flying again.

Reflections. As you may know I was on a United Flight several weeks ago from Chicago to Sacramento that had a passenger who tried to open the front cabin door, allegedly claimed to have a bomb, and took a swing at the flight attendant. We'll yours truly was sound asleep in the last row of coach and missed all the action, but suffice it to say that before he got very far he was rapidly subdued by the first class section and we diverted to Denver. Unlike Flight 93 he couldn't have gotten into the cockpit as the cockpit door is now armored and no passenger is going to sit still and let anyone interfere with the flight. I always felt that with the improved cockpit door that I would be totally safe, and that all my passengers in the cabin would act as Sky Marshals... I was and they did... they remembered 9/11, lets hope that we never forget!

I would also like to mention that all the crew members on my United flight as well as all the ground rescue folks in Denver and the United station personnel did an absolutely marvelous job in handling this incident. It made me proud to have once been a part of this profession.

John

[catnhatnh]

40. I call BS....

Still climbing out,he hears a plane diverted from NY...Then another...."at that point I asked....They have hit the towers,the Pentagon,the Capitol,and the White House".....Really-an atc was reporting non-existent hits just moments after the second tower strike....the entire post is beneath contempt.

[Lexingtonian]

28. ugh

Must the idiots always mix their experience of fear with a cluelessness about Other People. "Insight into the minds of suicide bombers" and "real threat to our way of life"...oh, please, that's travesty. "Which to our Western way of thought is beyond comprehension"... no, it's just outside your particular provincialism.

[Richard D]

31. The timeline doesn't sound right.

[jrw14125]

33. "If you don't read anything else - PLEASE READ THIS !!!!!"

Dead give-away. Remember, they're marketing this tripe to many people that don't normally read... that's their target audience. Why? Because many ofthem don't have their Carl Sagan Baloney-Detection Kits yet.

Every one of these b.s. emails always has something in all caps at the beginning desperately crying to be read, and another request in all caps at the end screaming that it simply MUSt be forwarded to everyone the reader knows. They often have U.S. flag emblems on them, or Christian symbols, and just overkill on the emoticons.

It's always an anecdotal story by an anonymous story-teller, usuaally someone in a position of authority or respect (i.e., teacher, member of the armed forces, pilot, etc.)

It's always anti-Muslim, anti-Democrats, Anti-liberals, etc.

And, most likely, always false.

[NYCGirl]

35. Here's Salon's "Ask the Pilot" column's take on the film:

http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/2006/05/12/askthepilot185/

EXCERPT (much more at link above):

It would only be fitting, therefore, that "United 93," as Hollywood's first true Sept. 11 movie (Michael Moore's documentary doesn't count), come in one of two forms: either a jingoistic, over-the-top spectacle, or yet another maudlin stoke of our seemingly endless collective suffering.

Except it is neither.

"Tasteful" is the word being spun by critics and pundits. Of course, there are different ways of being tasteful, not all of which are acceptable to everyone. If you ask me, Paul Greengrass' re-creation of the events aboard the skyjacked United Airlines 757, shot with a low-budget cast of nobody actors, including real-life pilots, flight attendants, military officers and air traffic controllers, is nothing if not triumphantly unpretentious. The skeletonized dialogue and jittery, claustrophobic camerawork create an atmosphere that is realistic almost to a fault. As a viewer, you feel as if you're peering into the cabin of the actual doomed airplane -- as though you've been sucked into the black box recorders and forced to bear witness to the horror as it unfolds, the theater itself wallowing aloft in the same unthinkable predicament. It's so raw that you come away battling pangs of voyeuristic guilt.

Thus, "United 93" winds up feeling like a cross between a motion picture and 90 minutes of therapy -- the kind of movie we should see, in that civic obligation sort of way, rather than the kind we might actually enjoy. There's not a lot to learn from this story; every last person in the audience knows exactly what is going to happen. The movie meanders back and forth across the line separating documentary reenactment from full-blown drama, never quite committing either way. But there's a grit -- a vicious, real-time tension -- that serves to heighten rather than undermine the crescendo. Virtually every scene is hewed to a sharp and frightening simplicity, blissfully free of the usual cinematic bloviations. (One exception being the soundtrack. I wish Greengrass had done as director Sidney Lumet did in 1975 with "Dog Day Afternoon," allowing the tension to build, and ultimately release, without any use of music whatsoever.)

[benddem]

38. I received this yesterday from

a retired AF pilot. I wonder if he knew the person who wrote it. I deleted it cause anytime they start on the evil Muslims...I get po'd.

[mmonk]

39. The whole theme or meaning for this:

"All Americans should see this movie as it may help them get a grip on the terrorist threat that we are up against vs. the radical Muslim world."

Carry on.

It's to continue the fear and bloodshed and emotion necessary to keep going with the neocon plan. Remember, Muslims woke up one day and decided they had to attack us for our freedoms. It's a good thing Canada isn't free. There's somewhere to go.

[progressivebydesign]

41. "things will never be the same" also a dead giveaway.

No one talks like that... it's a line straight from the Rove playbook. ANd.. even if it DID come from a pilot, really.. who cares? Lots of my neighbors are professional pilots, and I couldn't care less what their take on world affairs or national security would be. They are just the guys mowing their lawns, punching a clock, and flying planes.

[DemoTex]

42. R/W airline pilots talk like that. There are beau-coup R/W airline pilots!

I hope his F/O rolled his eyes when he heard that. You would not believe what four stripes does to your normal looking neighbor when he (the she's are usually OK) straps in that left seat. I knew one particularly assholic R/W captain who wore his BIG BLING DIAMOND RING on his right hand so that the F/O and S/O could see it when his hand was on the thrust levers.

[Ferry Fey]

44. Supervisor of the FAA Central Flow Control questions?

A key point, though not belabored, was when the supervisor of the FAA Central Flow Control ordered that all aircraft in US airspace land immediately, (there were over 4200 in the air), that no planes from overseas would be allowed into the country and would be turned back, and that there were to be no over flights... he realized that we were at war but didn't know with whom... it was a very bold and brave move and he was thinking way outside the box... I believe that it was also his first day on the job as the boss!

Is this a known, confirmable fact?

Who was this supervisor?
Was it indeed his first day on the job?
Had he supervised on this level before?
If so, was his newbie status convenient timing for anyone?
Might someone who might have had more experience in this job have done things differently?