September 11, 2001 Research & Archives

Craig Marquis, the manager on duty at the American Airlines System Operations Control (SOC) center in Fort Worth, Texas, is told details of the crisis with Flight 11 that have just been received from the FAA's Boston Center, and this information leads American Airlines to suspect that Flight 11 has been hijacked. [9/11 Commission, 8/26/2004, pp. 12]

Minutes earlier, Marquis instructed Bill Halleck, an air traffic control specialist at the SOC, to contact the Boston Center to find out what was happening with Flight 11, and Halleck has just done so (see 8:29 a.m. September 11, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 1/8/2004 pdf file; 9/11 Commission, 4/26/2004 pdf file]

Halleck now calls Marquis and tells him what he learned about Flight 11 from his call with the Boston Center. He says the aircraft is at "29,000 feet. They've lost comm [communications] with 'em. Turned off his transponder. Tracking his primary [radar track] only. Was westbound. Turned southbound. Said the controller heard on the [radio] frequency, the pilot apparently adjust his mike... lot of loud voices... that sounded threatening." Halleck then tells Marquis the details of this possible threat in the cockpit of Flight 11 that the Boston Center heard over radio. He says, "Something about 'return or I'll kill ya,' or something to that effect... or threatening dialogue." Halleck adds that he asked the Boston Center to pass on to the SOC "any information or updates" it subsequently receives. After Marquis hears this information from Halleck, he asks Halleck to "pull" Flight 11 up on his aircraft situation display. Following Halleck's report to Marquis, American Airlines "now suspected that Flight 11 had been hijacked," according to the 9/11 Commission. [American Airlines, 9/11/2001, pp. 7-19; 9/11 Commission, 8/26/2004, pp. 12]