Friday, 21 September, 2001, 12:24 GMT 13:24 UK
A flight attendant's desperate telephone call has
provided new details of the last moments of Flight 11 before it hit
the World Trade Center.
According to the FBI transcript, part of which was published in the
Los Angeles Times, Madeline Amy Sweeney described how hijackers
stabbed passengers and then diverted the plane.
Flight attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney
A US official praised Ms Sweeney's ability to keep calm and
describe the crisis as it unfolded but the mother-of-two's words
ended in horror and disbelief.
When Ms Sweeney came on the phone to ground staff in Boston it was
to report that a hijack was in progress.
Four attackers had cut the throat of a passenger in business class
and stabbed two others, she said.
Three of the hijackers had been sitting in business class
themselves and one spoke very good English.
Composure
As Ms Sweeney was giving their seat numbers, they
reached the cockpit and it was then, as the plane suddenly changed
course, that she spoke her last reported words: "I see
water and buildings. Oh my God! Oh my God!"
Officials at American Airlines have been asked not to discuss the
telephone call with the press, but one unnamed member of staff
praised the dead flight attendant.
"She was very, very composed, very detailed," he said. "It
was impressive that she could do that."
Ms Sweeney's account of the hijacking provides unique evidence of
what took place but it also appears to conflict with previous
information.
The FBI has named five hijackers on board Flight 11, whereas Ms
Sweeney spotted only four.
Also, the seat numbers she gave were different from those
registered in the hijackers' names.
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