Sept. 11 Hijacking Happens Over Cleveland

OBERLIN, Ohio -- The hijacking of United Flight 93 took place directly over Cleveland.

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Hear Tapes Of Flight 93

Air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration's Cleveland Center desperately tried to maintain control, NewsChannel5 reported. The attack and the terrorists were caught on tape.

Chief investigator Duane Pohlman reported on the last chilling moments of Flight 93.

Two planes had already slammed in to the World Trade Center towers and another plummeted toward the Pentagon.

Air traffic controllers at Cleveland Center frantically search the skies for signs of yet another hijacking, Pohlman reported.

Then, at just after 9:30 a.m., controllers heard screaming. It wasthe first chilling sounds of a hijacking over downtown Cleveland on board Flight 93.

Controllers were stunned, Pohlman reported.

"It just sent chills through your body. After that, it became surreal. Is this really happening?" asked air traffic manager Rick Kettell.

Seconds later, that question was answered in when a pilot opened the microphone again as the attack continued.

"Get out of here!" someone in the cockpit yelled.

"United 93, verify 350," Cleveland Center said.

"People knew right away ... 'Oh my God, it happened here, too,'" Kettell said.

Flight 93, which had taken off from Newark at 8:41 a.m. now began to climb and make a U-turn directly over Cleveland Center at Oberlin.

The busiest air traffic control center in the world could only watch as Flight 93 began to fly toward the nation's capital, Pohlman said.

As controllers steered other planes out of the way, one lone controller calmly and repeatedly called out.

"United 93, Cleveland Center, do you still hear the center, United 93? Do you still hear Cleveland?" the controller asked.

There was no answer. After several minutes of silence, Pohlman said that a voice echoed in the control room. "It's one of the terrorists on Flight 93. He's talking to the passengers."

"This is the captain. We'd like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board and we are going back to the airport. They have our demands, so remain seated," a man said.

Pohlman asked if the terrorists triggered the wrong microphone. Or did one of the pilots make sure Cleveland Center could listen in?

"My thoughts are the pilot was trying to help us. They know the system. But we'll never know that for sure," Kettell said.

As Flight 93 careened toward Washington, controllers watched as it dropped to 4,000 feet. Then, Flight 93 jerked left, then right, Pohlman reported.

"That point in time is when the heroes of Flight 93 took over and there was a struggle," Kettell said.

Todd Beamer and the other passengers were attacking the attackers to regain control of the plane, Pohlman said. Then, Flight 93 fell off radar. And seconds later another pilot confirmed the crash.

"Do you see any activity on your right side, smoke or anything like that?" a controller asked the pilot.

"Yes. We do have a smoke puff now at about probably 2 o'clock," the pilot said.

Pohlman said that it's important to note that had Flight 93 not crashed, it was just 12 to 15 minutes away from Washington, D.C.