Air Force One on 9/11

[juliet]

Hi all,

Just read an article in (apologies!) the Daily Mail about the timeline immediately after the attacks. The article talks repeatedly about having to land to refuel, and to be fair I've read this elsewhere as well.

Does anyone know why they didn't just tank mid air? I would have thought a tanker woud be roughly nearby that could offer some sort of offload, let alone launching a fresh tanker. Surely they run a standby tanker to cover the East Coast?

Aside from that I was quite shocked at the lack of comms in the jet at that time.

Cheers,

j

[RAFEngO74to09]

A more reliable source of info is this documentary first shown 5 years ago and repeated last night on TV in the USA. It is President Bush's own account of events.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke_OgE_V6tQ

Air Force One did not have to land for fuel. President Bush wanted to return to Washington DC ASAP but the Secret Service advised against it for obvious reasons until the situation was more clear regarding any further threats.

After getting airborne from Sarasota and circling for a while over the Gulf of Mexico, it then proceeded to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. President Bush wanted to pre-record a video address to the Nation for later release. Coincidentally, Barksdale AFB was on exercise at the time.

It then proceeded to Offutt AFB, Nebraska for a variety of reasons - the availability of a secure bunker and secure video conferencing facilities at Strategic Command.

Finally, it got airborne from Offutt AFB for Andrews AFB from where the President was transported to the White House aboard Marine One.

[ninja-lewis]

There were other reasons for landing at Barksdale and Offut:

1. Offload non-essential personnel
2. Address the nation
3. Use the Strategic Command bunker and communication facilities etc

?We?re the Only Plane in the Sky? - POLITICO Magazine (http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/were-the-only-plane-in-the-sky-214230)

[Arfur Dent]

Weren't there a few Saudi jets allowed to get airborne and scurry home with several so called VVIPs?

[TEEEJ]

Weren't there a few Saudi jets allowed to get airborne and scurry home with several so called VVIPs?
First, we found no evidence that any flights of Saudi nationals, domestic or international, took place before the reopening of national airspace on the morning of September 13, 2001. To the contrary, every flight we have identified occurred after national airspace reopened.

Flights of Fancy : snopes.com (http://www.snopes.com/rumors/flights.asp)

[AnglianAV8R]

Pilots For 9/11 Truth (http://pilotsfor911truth.org/) Some fascinating discussion here.

[RAFEngO74to09]

These will be of interest to anyone who has ever had anything to do with QRA(I):

NEADS / FAA tapes - documentary - some interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Tj4XN6U_w

NEADS / FAA tapes - longer - voice with transcript - Major Nasypany was the NEADS Mission Crew Commander: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYBhgEm3j7A