8:51 a.m.-8:53 a.m. September 11, 2001: Flight Controller Declares Flight 175 Hijacked

According to the 9/11 Commission, the flight controller handling Flight 175 (presumably Dave Bottiglia [MSNBC, 9/11/2002] ) only notices now that the flight’s transponder signal has changed. The controller asks the plane to return to its proper transponder code. There is no response. Beginning at 8:52 a.m., the controller makes repeated attempts to contact the plane, but there is still no response. [9/11 Commission, 6/17/2004] Bottiglia contacts another controller at 8:53 a.m., and says, “We may have a hijack. We have some problems over here right now.” [New York Times, 10/16/2001; Guardian, 10/17/2001; 9/11 Commission, 6/17/2004] This account conflicts with earlier accounts that NORAD was notified at 8:43 a.m. that Flight 175 had been hijacked (see 8:43 a.m. September 11, 2001). [North American Aerospace Defense Command, 9/18/2001]