gate
- Reporters from the German weekly Der Spiegel inquired at Logan Airport, Boston, about the departure of flight AA11. They found out that it had departed from gate number 26 and that boarding at that gate began at 7:35 a.m. Yet, according to the 9/11 Commission, boarding for flight AA11 began at 7:15 a.m. and took place at gate 32.
- According to Elizabeth D. Williams, an American Airlines employee at Logan, as reported by the FBI, a colleague of hers, Michael Woodward, “advised her that they needed to go to Gate 32 because two flight attendants had been stabbed. Upon arrival at the gate, [they] found an empty plane. [1]
- Williams’ account appears congruent with what Wayne Kirk, a member of the cleaning crew, told FBI agents on September 12, 2001.[2] He said he found it “odd” that after the cleaning of the aircraft ended, only two crew members had arrived at the plane, whereas “usually, the entire crew is sitting around and talking when the cleaning crew finishes.” Were the other crew members and passengers perhaps boarding at the other gate on a “double” flight?
- According to a Logan airport employee, “who asked not to be identified,” flight AA11 left “on time from Gate 32 in Terminal B.”[3] To prevent anyone from entering the terminal and interviewing personnel, the steel security gates to Terminal B were shut down at 10:00 a.m.[3] This departure gate and time was endorsed by the 9/11 Commission, whereas flight attendant Madeline Sweeney, scheduled on that flight, called home and told her husband that her flight would be “delayed,”[4] suggesting thereby that her flight did not leave gate 32 but gate 26. Her husband, interviewed by the FBI on September 20, 2001, said she called him “from the airplane,” a fact he designated as “highly unusual.” He, too, told the FBI agent that Madeline’s plane left later than scheduled. Yet, according to a confidential report provided to the 9/11 Commission, flight AA11 pushed back from the gate at 7:40, five minutes earlier than scheduled.[5]
- Richard Ross, a passenger scheduled on flight AA11, called his wife before leaving, telling her that his plane “was leaving a bit late.” Michael Woodward, who on 9/11 received a call from flight attendant Madeline Sweeney on flight AA11, confirmed to the staff of the 9/11 Commission in 2004 that the flight was “late departing,” although he did not remember why.
- According to Tom Kinton, Aviation Director for Massport (Logan Airport), who was interviewed in 2003 by staff members of the 9/11 Commission, flight AA11 left not from gate 32 or 26 but from gate...31.[6]
1 — FBI 302-28828. September 13, 2001. Interview with Elizabeth D. Williams
2 — FBI 302-11476. September 12, 2001. Interview with Kirk Wayne.pdf
3 — Stephen Kurkjian and Raphael Lewis, “Two flights from Logan are hijacked,” Boston Globe, September 11, 2001
4 — Gail Sheehy, “Stewardess ID’s hijackers early, transcripts show,” New York Observer, February 16, 2004
5 — Information provided by the American Airlines Systems Operation Control (SOC) to the 9/11 Commission regarding flight AA11. 9/11 Commission’s document in Team 7 Box 20, Timelines 9-11 2 of 2 Fdr- AA SOCC Log- Redacted Version.pdf
6 — MFR 03007050. August 15, 2003. Site visit and briefing at Logan International Airport
7 — MFR 04017171. Michael Woodward, American Airlines Flight Service Manager on September 11, 2001