The Long Fuse, S01E08: "The Morning"

Runtime: 33:41 · Season One · A Will Sigmon Media production Season / Episode: 1 / 8 · episodeType: full

Cold open

Tuesday, September eleventh, two thousand one. The Commission begins its report with the weather. Temperate and nearly cloudless, it says, across the eastern United States. For anyone heading to an airport, it writes, "weather conditions could not have been better for a safe and pleasant journey." Millions of people were going to work. In Portland, Maine, two men arrived at the airport for a six a.m. flight to Boston. One of them was Mohamed Atta.

About this episode

Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Told almost entirely in the Commission's words and times: four flights, the notices the military received, and what the record shows about that morning. No victim is voiced. Where people on the planes speak in the record, The Record says that they spoke, and what the Commission learned.

Content note

This episode covers the morning of September 11, 2001, using the Commission's chronology and times. No victim is voiced, quoted as a performance, or depicted. Where people on the planes speak in the record, The Record states that they spoke and what the record reports — it does not perform their voices.

Beat outline / chapters

These are narrative beats from the production script, not timed audio chapters.

PORTLAND, MAINE. Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Before six
Opening titles
BOARDING. Boston, Washington Dulles, Newark. 6:45 to 7:48 a.m
AMERICAN 11. 7:59 to 8:46 a.m
UNITED 175. 8:14 to 9:03 a.m
AMERICAN 77. 8:20 to 9:37 a.m
UNITED 93. 8:42 to 10:03 a.m
THE TOWERS. 8:46 to 10:28 a.m
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA. 9:37 to 10:15 a.m
THE SKY EMPTIES. 9:25 to 10:30 a.m
SARASOTA AND WASHINGTON. 9:05 to 10:31 a.m
THAT NIGHT. September 11 to 20, 2001
CAMP DAVID. September 12 to 17, 2001
THE QUESTION OF IRAQ. September 11 to 20, 2001
ENDURING FREEDOM. September 20, 2001, to March 2002
THE STUDENT IN MINNESOTA. What the record showed later
IMAGINED. What the record showed later
FEWER THAN FIFTY. What the record showed later
TEN OPPORTUNITIES
THE RECORD

Key people

The Record (narrator) — Commission chronology; no victims voiced

Key places

PORTLAND, MAINE. Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Before six
BOARDING. Boston, Washington Dulles, Newark. 6:45 to 7:48 a.m
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA. 9:37 to 10:15 a.m
SARASOTA AND WASHINGTON. 9:05 to 10:31 a.m
THAT NIGHT. September 11 to 20, 2001
CAMP DAVID. September 12 to 17, 2001
THE QUESTION OF IRAQ. September 11 to 20, 2001
ENDURING FREEDOM. September 20, 2001, to March 2002
THE STUDENT IN MINNESOTA. What the record showed later

Sources

CR1–CR12 = *The 9/11 Commission Report* (2004), chapters 1–12, verified against the official text against the archived chapter HTML (govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/, text). CRN = the Report's endnotes. FADL1/2 = *US v. bin Laden*, S(7) 98 Cr. 1023 (S.D.N.Y.), al-Fadl testimony Feb 6/7, 2001 (CNS transcript PDFs). RAHMAN2D = *United States v. Rahman*, 189 F.3d 88 (2d Cir. 1999). YOUSEF2D = *United States v. Yousef*, 327 F.3d 56 (2d Cir. 2003). ODEH2D = *In re Terrorist Bombings of U.S. Embassies in East Africa* (*US v. Odeh*), 552 F.3d 93 (2d Cir. 2008). FRUS = *Foreign Relations of the United States*, 1977–80 (history.state.gov). Others are named in each Basis.

Scene-by-scene source notes (from production script Basis)

1. PORTLAND, MAINE. Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Before six. CR1 §1.1 opening: "Tuesday, September 11, 2001, dawned temperate and nearly cloudless in the eastern United States. Millions of men and women readied themselves for work." (paraphrased); "weather conditions could not have been better for a safe and pleasant journey"; Atta and Omari at Portland; the 6:00 A.M. flight; CAPPS selection and its only consequence; "This did not hinder Atta's plans.". Dignity rules for EP8 (proposed; Will and a dignity reviewer to confirm): no recreated calls or cockpit audio, no victims' words quoted, no attack sound effects, no names of the dead except as the Commission uses them for crew roles (not used), countdow

3. BOARDING. Boston, Washington Dulles, Newark. 6:45 to 7:48 a.m. CR1 §1.1 "Boarding the Flights": Atta and Omari arrived in Boston at 6:45; AA 11 and UA 175 to Los Angeles; Suqami and the Shehri brothers selected in Boston, "affected only the handling of their checked bags"; Dulles: Mihdhar, Moqed, Hanjour, Nawaf and Salem al Hazmi checked in for AA 77 to Los Angeles from 7:15; Hanjour, Mihdhar, Moqed flagged by CAPPS; the Hazmi brothers selected by the customer service representative (photo ID, English, "suspicious"); bags held only; CCTV at the Dulles west checkpoint; Mihdhar and Moqed set off the first detector, Mihdhar cleared the second, Moqed wanded and passed; Newark: Ghamdi, Nami, Haznawi, Jarrah for UA 93 (Newark to San Francisco per §1.1 "The Ba

4. AMERICAN 11. 7:59 to 8:46 a.m. CR1 §1.1 "The Hijacking of American 11": takeoff 7:59; Boeing 767; Captain and First Officer (named in the Report; not named here); nine flight attendants; 81 passengers including the five terrorists; hijacking began "at 8:14 or shortly thereafter"; Betty Ong and Madeline "Amy" Sweeney (named in the Report; not named here) "tell us most of what we know about how the hijacking happened"; Ong's call "lasted approximately 25 minutes, as Ong calmly and professionally relayed information" (paraphrased); content summarized (stabbings, no answer from the cockpit, erratic flight, flying low); no words from the calls are quoted (dignity rule). §1.2: 8:24:38 transmission, "We have some planes." (strin

5. UNITED 175. 8:14 to 9:03 a.m. CR1 §1.1 "The Hijacking of United 175": scheduled 8:00; Boeing 767; seven flight attendants; 56 passengers; departed 8:14 "just as American 11 was being hijacked"; 8:42 report on a "suspicious transmission" (paraphrased) from Flight 11, "This was United 175's last communication with the ground."; attack between 8:42 and 8:46; knives, Mace, threat of a bomb, stabbings of crew members, as reported by passengers and a flight attendant; "At 9:03:11 ... struck the South Tower ... All on board, along with an unknown number of people in the tower, were killed instantly." (paraphrased). "Millions ... on live television": the second impact was broadcast live (CR1 notes Lee Hanson and Louise Sweeney t

6. AMERICAN 77. 8:20 to 9:37 a.m. CR1 §1.1 "The Hijacking of American 77": takeoff 8:20; Boeing 757; four flight attendants; 58 passengers; hijacking between 8:51 and 8:54; turn south; transponder off (8:56); two callers (Renee May, Barbara Olson; named in the Report; not named here); passengers moved to the rear; 9:32 Dulles primary target "tracking eastbound at a high rate of speed" (paraphrased); 330-degree turn; throttles to maximum power; 9:37:46 at approximately 530 mph. CR9 §9.3: "All 64 people aboard the airliner were killed, as were 125 people inside the Pentagon (70 civilians and 55 military service members)." (paraphrased). Hanjour as the pilot: CR7 (hijacker-pilot of AA 77); the Arizona flight school's report to

7. UNITED 93. 8:42 to 10:03 a.m. CR1 §1.1 "The Battle for United 93": takeoff 8:42 from Newark, bound for San Francisco, "more than 25 minutes late" (paraphrased; the Report says "running more than 25 minutes late" for the planned schedule); crew of two pilots and five flight attendants; 37 passengers including the hijackers; crew unaware of AA 11; 9:24 Ballinger's warning; attack at 9:28 over eastern Ohio; calls (13 people, 37 calls per the Report; numbers omitted); callers learned of the WTC crashes; "According to one call, they voted on whether to rush the terrorists"; "They decided, and acted."; 9:57 assault; Jarrah's rolling and pitching; "The hijackers remained at the controls but must have judged tha

8. THE TOWERS. 8:46 to 10:28 a.m. CR9 §9.1: post-1993 Port Authority improvements, fire drills "at least twice a year"; §9.4: glow strips on handrails and stairs; "The general evacuation time for the towers dropped from more than four hours in 1993 to under one hour on September 11 for most civilians who were not trapped or physically incapable of enduring a long descent." (paraphrased). CR9 §9.2: NIST estimate "between 16,400 and 18,800 civilians were in the WTC complex as of 8:46 A.M." (paraphrased); "the vast majority of civilians below the impact zone were able to evacuate", credited to first responders, "assistance from each other, and their own good instincts and goodwill" (paraphrased); FDNY radios failed in buildings

8b. ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA. 9:37 to 10:15 a.m. CR9 §9.3 "The Pentagon": 9:37 impact on the west wall; "All 64 people aboard the airliner were killed, as were 125 people inside the Pentagon (70 civilians and 55 military service members). One hundred six people were seriously injured" (paraphrased); Arlington County Fire Department as incident commander; command established at 9:41; mutual aid requests; prior regional training; 9:55 evacuation of the impact area, collapse at 9:57, "no first responder was injured"; 10:15 command post evacuation on an FBI warning, "the first of three evacuations caused by reports of incoming aircraft"; "mainly a success"; self-dispatching problem (paraphrased from the Arlington County After-

9. THE SKY EMPTIES. 9:25 to 10:30 a.m. CR1 §1.2: ground stop ordered at 9:25 by the Herndon Command Center; 9:42, Ben Sliney (named in the Report; title only here) ordered all aircraft to land at the nearest airport; "This was an unprecedented order."; "about 4,500 commercial and general aviation aircraft soon landed without incident" (paraphrased); "Clarifying the Record": the two quoted sentences; NEADS learned of UA 93's hijacking at 10:07, after the 10:03 crash (timeline; "The flight had already crashed by the time they learned it was hijacked").

10. SARASOTA AND WASHINGTON. 9:05 to 10:31 a.m. CR1 §1.3 "The President and the Vice President": Emma E. Booker Elementary, reading to a class and talking about education; Card's whisper at 9:05; "his instinct was to project calm"; press behind the children, phones and pagers; "remained in the classroom for another five to seven minutes, while the children continued reading" (paraphrased); Air Force One "departed at about 9:54 without any fixed destination. The objective was to get up in the air-as fast and as high as possible-and then decide where to go." (paraphrased); the Vice President's move to the shelter conference room (Secret Service, ~9:37; CR1); 10:10–10:15 "80 miles out", authorization, his statement that it r

10b. THAT NIGHT. September 11 to 20, 2001. CR10 (opening): advice against returning; course change about 10:10; Barksdale landing about 11:45, taped statement; Offutt chosen for command-and-control facilities; arrival 2:50 P.M.; ~3:15 secure video teleconference; Rice's recollection, "We're at war,"; Tenet "still assessing who was responsible, but the early signs all pointed to al Qaeda" (paraphrased); Defense Condition 3 ("an increased state of military readiness"); "For the first time in history, all nonemergency civilian aircraft in the United States were grounded" (paraphrased); the President overruled aides, helicopter "passing over the still-smoldering Pentagon"; the 8:30 P.M. ad

10c. CAMP DAVID. September 12 to 17, 2001. CR10 §10.2 "Planning for War": Sept. 12 NSC meetings, "at war with a new and different kind of enemy" (paraphrased); Sept. 13 Principals Committee: anyone supporting al Qaeda would risk harm; Pakistan "too would be at risk"; Armitage (title only on air) with Ambassador Lodhi and ISI chief Mahmud Ahmed, the seven steps (four summarized aloud); Powell's report that afternoon that Musharraf had agreed to every request, confirmed the next day by the embassy; the State "Game Plan" and the 24-to-48-hour ultimatum (paraphrased); "The State Department did not expect the Taliban to comply"; Franks: no "off-the-shelf plan to eliminate the al Qaeda threat in Afghanistan" (paraphrased); Camp David, Sept

10f. THE QUESTION OF IRAQ. September 11 to 20, 2001. CR10 §10.3 "'Phase Two' and the Question of Iraq" (fn 59–78): the President's immediate wondering, Iraq an enemy for 11 years, struck by sophistication as a former pilot (paraphrased); Clarke's written account of Sept. 12, "See if he's linked in any way."; the President's response (paraphrased); Sept. 18 memo, "compelling case", anecdotal evidence, Bin Ladin resenting Saddam's secularism; Wolfowitz at Camp David ("this round"); Powell's quote and "much weight."; Bush to Woodward: decision not to invade Iraq

10e. ENDURING FREEDOM. September 20, 2001, to March 2002. CR10 §10.3 ("Planning for War" and "Phase One" through "Phase Four"; fn 80–86): Sept 20 address, "Tonight," and "we are a country awakened to danger."; "responsible for bombing the USS Cole."; "The Taliban must act, and act immediately," and "They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate."; "The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends; it is not our many Arab friends."; Infinite Justice renamed Enduring Freedom (paraphrased); Phase Two from October 7; CIA and special operations with Afghan factions; Mazar-e-Sharif Nov 9; "Four days later the Taliban had f

10d. THE STUDENT IN MINNESOTA. What the record showed later. CR8 "Zacarias Moussaoui", fn 105 (London's renewed appeal on Sept 11; the Sept 13 British intelligence of camp attendance, passed the same day; "would almost certainly have received intense, high-level attention", not quoted), fn 106 (Ressam's recognition; "Either the British information or the Ressam identification would have broken the logjam." verified against the official text); "Moussaoui can be seen as an al Qaeda mistake and a missed opportunity." ("an al Qaeda mistake and a missed opportunity" verified against the official text). CR7 fn 54 (Malaysia, fall 2000; four tons of ammonium nitrate for cargo-plane bombs; recalled to Pakistan; sent to the US for flight training), fn 155 (KSM "may have instructed Binalshibh to send

10g. IMAGINED. What the record showed later. CR11 §11.1 "Imagination" (fn 13–24): the 1994 Algerian hijacking (Paris / "possibly to crash it into the Eiffel Tower"); the September 1998 walk-in report, uncorroborated; Clarke's 1998 Learjet exercise and the Pentagon answer, "would need to go to the President for rules of engagement, and there was no mechanism to do so" (paraphrased); the FAA's August 1999 paper: "suicide hijacking operation." / the dialogue sentence / "A suicide hijacking is assessed to be an option of last resort." (all verified against the official text); NORAD exercise idea set aside as a distraction and "too unrealistic"; "The CIA did not write any analytical assessments of possible hijacking scenarios." (paraphrased); Clarke attributin

10h. FEWER THAN FIFTY. What the record showed later. CR11 §11.1 "Historical Perspective" and "Understanding the Danger" (fn 2–7): "fewer than 50 Americans"; "enemy of the first, second, or even third rank" (paraphrased); Serbia effort "orders of magnitude larger"; no polling question in 2000–Aug 2001; July 1995 NIE, "transient groupings of individuals" and "strong organization but rather are loose affiliations."; "an excellent summary" (paraphrased); 1997 update: one key-points sentence plus "only two other sentences" = three; al Qaeda not mentioned; last estimate before 9/11; Tenet's late-2000 recognition; the July 2001 branch; "The new chief of this branch reported for duty on September 10, 2001." (paraphrased); "not enough

11. TEN OPPORTUNITIES. CR11 "Foresight—and Hindsight": the hindsight passage; "We believe the 9/11 attacks revealed four kinds of failures: in imagination, policy, capabilities, and management."; §11.1: "Imagination is not a gift usually associated with bureaucracies."; Clarke's note "posits a strike that kills 'hundreds' of Americans. He did not write 'thousands.'"; §11.3 "Operational Opportunities", items 1–10 (paraphrased in order). Each item's earlier episode: 1–3 EP5 §5 (and EP2/EP3 cold opens); 4 EP5 §10; 5 EP2 §1 ("Mary") and EP7 §5a ("John"); 6 EP7 §5b; 7 EP4 §1, EP7 §13; 8 EP1/EP7 (Moussaoui); 9 EP7

12. THE RECORD. EPILOGUE LINE (FLAG: needs Will's sign-off; outside the Commission's timeframe): White House, "Remarks by the President on Osama Bin Laden," East Room, delivered late May 1, 2011 (release dated May 2): "a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation ... After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body." (paraphrased; text saved to ). "Interviewed more than twelve hundred people" and "millions of pages": the Report's Preface ("We reviewed more than 2.5 million pages of documents and interviewed more than 1,200 individuals in ten countries") (not in cite the Preface; gap). KSM and other detainee

The 9/11 Commission Report: https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/index.htm

Credits

Written and produced by Will Sigmon for Will Sigmon Media. Narrated by The Record (AI voice).

Listen next

Season One ends here. Full sources: /sources.html

Episode page: https://shows.willsigmon.media/long-fuse/episodes/s01e08

Disclaimer: a dramatization based on public records, including The 9/11 Commission Report, court filings and trial testimony. Some scenes and dialogue are reconstructed or composited. Voices are AI-generated and are not intended to resemble any real person. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any person or agency depicted. Allegations in court filings are unproven claims. No private victim is named beyond the public record, and people the Commission identified only by pseudonym keep those pseudonyms. The Long Fuse is produced by Will Sigmon Media. The narrator, The Record, and the few unnamed composite characters in the dramatized scenes are synthetic voices; no victim, hijacker or real official is voiced, and documented words are read by The Record as attributed quotations. Quotations from The 9/11 Commission Report keep its spelling, "Bin Ladin".

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