His throat was dry, but he was in the zone now, focused on his final mission. Omar Abdul-Baasit never blinked as he bracketed his target twenty-nine miles north of New York City. Feeling a tingling sense of euphoria, the pitiless fool took in a deep breath and let out a piercing scream. Two seconds later the Bombardier Challenger slammed into the Indian Point Unit 2 Nuclear Power Plant. The incredible kinetic energy created an explosion that registered between 3 and 4 on the Richter scale of several seismographs in the area.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Christine DeSano was about to deliver an update on the condition of the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman when a flurry of activity interrupted her. Someone offscreen was loudly forwarding breaking news, so Christine tossed the telecast back to the anchor in the studio.
Less than a minute later, the grim-faced DeSano was back live. "We re receiving initial reports that a nuclear power plant, the Indian Point Unit Two, twenty-some miles north of Manhattan, exploded only minutes ago."
She was reading from notes handed to her. "There are conflicting reports on what caused the blast. We understand there are casualties and a large number of injuries."
Another note was held up in her view. "Were… just a moment… okay: A fireman, apparently at the scene, believes a bomb may have done the damage. That has not been confirmed at this time, but an official believes a bomb, possibly a terrorist-made bomb, may have gone off."
DeSanos cameraman snagged an army lieutenant colonel briskly walking down the hallway. The colonel was discussing the power plant disaster with a junior officer.
"Colonel," DeSano said, thrusting the microphone toward him, "can you tell us what happened at the Indian Point nuclear plant?"
"From what were hearing, and its preliminary, an airplane may have struck the power plant. Sorry, have to run."
Frowning, DeSano faced the camera. "Jim, I've just been told by a senior officer that an airplane, possibly another hijacked airliner, struck the nuclear facility. Were looking at another possible series of airline hijackings or worse. Back to you, Jim."
Located at Herndon, Virginia, near Dulles International Airport, in an impressive 29,ooo-square-foot building, the Air Traffic Control Command Center serves as the nerve center for the busy US. air traffic control system. Alert for any possible threat or conflict, FAA specialists constantly monitor air traffic, departure delays, and weather conditions nationwide. Networked with the NORAD complex and the joint FAA/Defense Department Air Traffic Services Cell, the Herndon controllers work with the Air Route Traffic Control Centers to help keep the complex system in harmony and flowing smoothly and safely.
After the four airline hijackings on Black Tuesday altered the course of U. S. aviation history, FAA authorities implemented new operating procedures at the command center. The time from the discovery of suspicious actions to alerting NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, was minimized.
NORAD is a unified U. S. and Canadian command charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America. Commanded by a senior four-star officer, NORAD is the front line of detection and defense against air and space threats to the United States and Canada. Buried deep inside Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs, Colorado, the complex replaced NORADS previous vulnerable aboveground facilities in a converted hospital at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado Springs.
This morning the air traffic controllers were frantically trying to confirm what kind of plane hit the Indian Point nuclear power plant. One report said a regional jet airliner crashed into the reactor. Other reports from en-route controllers indicated a Bombardier Challenger corporate jet hit the plant.
The controllers confirmed an emergency squawk from the Challenger but didnt know the nature of the problem. A controller heard a radio call about smoke in the cockpit, but there was no call sign to match against an airplane. The ATC tapes would have to be analyzed.
A quick check with the national Air Route Traffic Control Centers offered the confirmation that no airline hijacking attempts had been made. From New York Center to Los Angeles Center and Seattle Center to Miami Center, everything seemed in order. The incident at the nuclear power plant appeared to be an isolated event caused by a dire emergency on board the Challenger.
From reports issued by the Albany Control Tower, the Albany departure controller, and the en-route controller, a general consensus soon formed within the FAA community. A pressurization problem or fire and smoke probably overcame the Challenger flight crew, but only an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) could illuminate the real cause of the accident.
Once the crisis mode began to ebb and pulse rates receded, a collective sigh of relief filtered through the command center. The men and women began to relax and enjoy their morning coffee. The flow of air traffic was running smoothly and life was stable once more.
Twenty-one minutes later, another corporate jet deviated from its filed instrument flight plan. The transponder ceased operating and the pilot stopped communicating with the suspicious air traffic controller. Shortly after the break in communications, the fully fueled three-engine Dassault Falcon 50 smashed into the Waterford 3 Nuclear Power Plant in Taft, Louisiana, twenty-three miles west of the French Quarter.
Four minutes later, a Westwind II corporate jet full of fuel and explosives plowed through the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant seventy miles north of St. Petersburg, Florida. The force of the horrendous impact and explosion instantly knocked out all power to the resort city adjacent to Tampa Bay.
Total chaos erupted in the Air Traffic Control Command Center. The same twisted combination of fear and anger that permeated the ARTCC system during the September 11 airline hijackings returned with a suddenness that thoroughly stunned everyone.
The FAA controllers quickly alerted the FBI and NORAD. The senior officers at NORAD became the focal point for increased military air protection over the United States and Canada. The NORAD Battle Management Center told each air defense sector to generate sorties as fast as they could. They would direct the fighter pilots sitting alert duty and those flying combat air patrol over major cities in both countries. Some of the first fighters to assume battle stations and get airborne came from Langley AFB, Virginia; Tyndall AFB, Florida; Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts; and Ellington AFB, Texas.
The Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center (CMOC), the core of NORAD operations, was humming with activity. Canadian Forces Brigadier Ian Thackerey, the vice commander of CMOC, rapidly responded to the suicide attacks and was directing the evolving operation.
Acting on a direct order from the four-star commander, NORAD, Thackerey ordered all aircraft, including airliners, corporate jets, general aviation airplanes, and military aircraft not being scrambled for combat air patrols, to land at the nearest suitable airport. The objective was to sanitize the airspace over the United States and Canada as quickly as possible.
President Macklin ordered the military to implement a Force Protection Condition Delta wartime posture. Barricades were quickly erected at gates to many military bases, and machine guns were at the ready. On the orders of the commanding general, the massive steel doors at NORAD were closed for only the second time in its history.
Off the coast of South Carolina, the USS Enterprise battle group was at general quarters. The carrier was launching F-14 Tomcats, F/A-18 Hornets, and an E-2C Hawkeye for combat air patrols over any assigned cities or high-risk structures. More aircraft on the flight deck were being armed with heat-seeking Sidewinder missiles and slammers — AMRAAMS — Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles. The slammers have an active radar-guidance system and, at Mach 4.0, they are the fastest of the air-to-air weapons. Other ordnance personnel were loading 20mm rounds into the Hornets' and Tomcats' M61 Vulcan cannons.