Fighter Scramble Order (Otis Air National Guard Base, Falmouth, Mass. Two F-15s)

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Fighter Scramble Order (Otis Air National Guard Base, Falmouth, Mass. Two F-15s) for the the two F-15s that were at battle stations. Without having a specific target located, military commanders were uncertain as to where to send the fighters. Boston Center controllers were still tracking American Airlines Flight 11 as a primary target but were unable to communicate its location to NEADS by phone.

After news of an aircraft hitting the World Trade Center began spreading, no decision was made to alter the course of the F-15s of the 102nd Fighter Wing. A decision was made to send the Otis fighters south of Long Island rather than straight to New York City, as originally ordered by Maj.

One of the two pilots, Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Duffy, would later state he had already heard about the suspected hijacking (attributed to a phone call from the FAA's Boston Center) as he was supervising training exercises at Otis ANG base. Claiming to have a "bad feeling about the suspected hijacking", he and his wingman, Major Daniel Nash, decided to use their F-15s' afterburners.

Flying supersonically, the F-15s were just south of Long Island when United Airlines Flight 175 smashed into the World Trade Center's south tower. NEADS wanted to direct the fighters over Manhattan, but FAA air controllers, fearing collisions with civilian aircraft, told NEADS to hold off. According to the FAA, there is an average of 200 flights per 24 hours over the Hudson River in the vicinity of NYC. The fighters were then ordered in a holding pattern off the coast of Long Island (in military-controlled airspace), where they remained from 09:09 to 09:13. After the airspace was cleared, the Otis fighters were directed towards Manhattan, where they arrived at 09:25 and established a combat air patrol (CAP).