{"id":6486,"date":"2014-11-07T16:05:05","date_gmt":"2014-11-07T21:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/?p=6486"},"modified":"2014-11-07T21:16:28","modified_gmt":"2014-11-08T02:16:28","slug":"9-11-maine-85-a-snippet-of-information-a-snapshot-of-commission-staff-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/?p=6486","title":{"rendered":"9-11: Maine 85; a snippet of information, a snapshot of Commission Staff work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

In past articles I have periodically taken the position that it is not possible to take snippets of information about 9\/11 or snapshots of Commission Staff work and extrapolate either to a larger whole, with meaning.\u00a0 Recently, a correspondent presented me with a question which combines a snippet and a snapshot into an interesting story.\u00a0 The purpose of this article is to tell that story.<\/p>\n

The Setting<\/strong><\/p>\n

The correspondent, a dedicated 9\/11 researcher, found an exchange in the audio file of a Commission interview that suggested an additional dimension to exercise activity the morning of September 11, 2001. Specifically, he understood that there was a “delta track” operating offshore in a designated military training area, Whiskey 105. The time was shortly before 9:00 EST, eight minutes after the Otis fighters became airborne.<\/p>\n

Ongoing off shore activity included the progress of the Otis Air Force Base active air defense fighters, Panta 45 and 46, to a holding pattern in Whiskey 105; the vectoring into a supporting holding pattern of the tanker, Maine 85; and the training flights of six additional fighters from Otis, operating as one flight of two and a second flight of four fighters. Here is screen shot of military radar tracks\u00a0 in the area of interest during the period 8:30 to 9:30 EDT.<\/p>\n

\"Otis<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a complex situation, difficult to unravel, retrospectively. The situation was further complicated by an explanation by a NEADS officer who was trying to help the Commission staff understand what was happening that morning.<\/p>\n

The Snapshot<\/strong><\/p>\n

We begin with the correspondent’s research. The information he uncovered supported the presence of an exercise aircraft, a delta track, juxtaposed with the Otis active air defense scramble. The presence of such a flight, however, was not supported by either radar or air traffic control communications.<\/p>\n

The researcher was listening to the audio file of the Commission’s taped October 29, 2003, interview of Major James Fox, the Senior Director on duty on 9\/11 at NEADS, the controlling organization for the air defense response that morning.\u00a0 Commission Staff was using the tape of the Mission Crew Commander (MCC) position to guide the interview.<\/p>\n

The Staff had the NEADS tape and a partial transcript of the tape previously provided as a result of a document request. Concurrently, the Staff and Major Fox were listening to the tape, starting and stopping as necessary for Major Fox to identify who was talking and what was transpiring.<\/p>\n

The Snippet<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Staff was discussing the progress of the Otis scramble with Major Fox. The conversation reached a point where the recording revealed that controllers were tagging the tanker, Maine 85, so it could be separately identified on the scopes used at NEADS.\u00a0 In the midst of that conversation a voice asked about “that delta out there.”\u00a0 Major Fox broke in to inform the Staff what he thought the reference was.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fox Interview Clip Maine 85<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here is a transcript of what was recorded during the referenced portion of the Major Fox interview,<\/p>\n

Nasypany: (In part, to Battle Cab summarizing the Otis fighter \u00a0situation)\u00a0 Hold them south of JFK about 10 miles at altitude. We also have Maine 85 in Whiskey 105 that can be used for this\u2026<\/p>\n

Staff: Can you hold that?<\/p>\n

Fox: That\u2019s all Nasypany.<\/p>\n

Kara: That\u2019s all Nasypany<\/p>\n

Nasypany: Tag \u2018em up, tag em up<\/p>\n

Staff: Can you stop that. Do you know what tag \u2018em up means<\/p>\n

Fox: Alright. Put a track on him. Right now, without a track he is just a dot flying around. And they want him hit up with a track so we can know the information on that aircraft.<\/p>\n

Staff: On which aircraft?<\/p>\n

Fox:\u00a0 Probably talking about Maine 85<\/p>\n

Staff: And that\u2019s a tanker<\/p>\n

Fox: yes<\/p>\n

Staff: And why does that come into play here?<\/p>\n

Fox: Because as soon as we\u2019ve had the Spiders (Otis flight Panta 45 and 46) airborne for 10, or 15, 20 minutes going south, coming south of Long Island we gonna have to think about getting them gas or doing something with them. So, thinking that way may have them up for a while we\u2019re starting to look for tankers that are in the air that we can take.<\/p>\n

Staff: To refuel them<\/p>\n

Fox: Yes<\/p>\n

Kara: Off the FAA transcript, at this point in time Boston Center is now controlling Jeep One, Jeep One, a second set of fighters off of Otis<\/p>\n

Fox, Yeah, they would have been part of the flight that was going out to Whiskey 105 for their training<\/p>\n

Kara: This is a training mission coming into play here, and Jeep is the call sign that the fighters are using<\/p>\n

Fox: yes<\/p>\n

Kara: Okay<\/p>\n

Staff: Pick up please [name] at 8:59 on the [indistinct]<\/p>\n

Nasypany: Discusses where he was when alerted. Fox interjects and now we know where Nasypany was.<\/p>\n

Nasypany: Hey, [indistinct] that delta out there\u2026 the delta up there, five three<\/p>\n

Fox: That delta that they are referring to there is also a different type of track like a Z track. Only a delta track is what we usually put on an aircraft that is going to be ah, it is usually, ah it\u2019s often military, not always. But it\u2019s usually going to be flying off the coast and just staying in that area and then coming back in. It\u2019s a track that we know who it is, it\u2019s going to be playing around off the coast and then coming back.<\/p>\n

Staff: So you\u2019re putting that delta track on the other Spider (Panta 46)?<\/p>\n

Fox: Ah no, the delta track was ah, unfortunately it\u2019s not in here, ah, it was probably near where that tanker was. Ah, he was just pointing out, I just wanted you to know that when they said delta they weren\u2019t talking about Delta Airlines, they were talking about a type of track. He was probably just using it as a point of reference to show someone where Maine 85 was or something.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Based on Fox’s explanation the researcher wanted to know about the delta track. When he first posed the question to me I had no recollection of the delta event. After listening to the audio file of our interview I accepted Fox’s explanation at face value and worked to sort out the situation.<\/p>\n

My Initial Estimate<\/strong><\/p>\n

I confirmed there was no supporting radar information and no additional primary source audio information, either in air traffic control tapes or the NEADS tapes. My initial estimate was that the delta reference was to the westernmost track of one of\u00a0 the additional Otis fighters, one that was in close proximity to the track of the tanker, Maine 85. The correspondent did not accept that estimate.\u00a0 Since my assessment was based on a static screen shot of the tracks of all aircraft, I concurred.<\/p>\n

Back to Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n

At that point, I realized that Fox may have been off in his explanation and I listened to a tape which isolated the MCC position.\u00a0 Here is a transcript of what was actually said concerning the “delta.”<\/p>\n

MCC Delta Up There<\/a><\/p>\n

MCC: Hey, is that the delta, that delta out there ?<\/p>\n

Voice: Five three, delta, right here<\/p>\n

MCC: The delta up there? Five Three<\/p>\n

Voice: Five Three<\/p>\n

MCC:\u00a0 OK<\/p>\n

Voice: Ah, that\u2019s not what they told me, so, sorry<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My Second Estimate<\/strong><\/p>\n

In context, I inferred that the MCC was asking about a status slide on one of the three overhead screens on the NEADS operations floor. The North Truro Radar, J53, was off line for maintenance and getting it back on line was an item of concern to NEADS.\u00a0 The correspondent did not agree with that estimate, either. I was on the right track concerning the “five three” reference, but still did not have a satisfactory answer concerning the identity of the delta track.<\/p>\n

Back to Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anyone who has spent any time at all with the NEADS tapes knows that they are a babble of sound, a conflation of disparate conversations overlapping and interfering with one another, as recorded on tape. It is not possible to sort out any conversation thread on the NEADS floor without listening to all channels to figure out what is happening.<\/p>\n

The two voices in the MCC conversation, one male and one female, were most likely associated with the two activity centers close by the MCC position. The surveillance section leader was to his left, and the identification section was to his right. The surveillance section establishes tracks for unknown aircraft. The identification section, once an unknown track is established, has a finite, short number of minutes to identify the track.<\/p>\n

And sure enough, one of the identification technicians acted on the MCC’s question and sorted things out. Here is the transcript of what transpired.<\/p>\n

0859 Delta is Maine 85<\/a><\/p>\n

Dialing sounds<\/p>\n

ID Technician: Maine 85, this is HUNTRESS ID, go.<\/p>\n

Maine 85: [indistinct]<\/p>\n

ID Technician: Maine 85, you are coming in broken, please say Mode 3<\/p>\n

Maine 85: It is Five Three Six Two<\/p>\n

ID Technician: Maine 85, copy Five Three Six Two, please stand by<\/p>\n

[eight seconds pass]<\/p>\n

ID Technician: (to a colleague) Ah[indistinct] try that one<\/p>\n

[28 seconds pass, sounds of keyboard strokes]<\/p>\n

ID Technician: I got it. Mo (Master Sergeant Maureen Dooley, head of the ID Section), you want to scream up at Weapons to tell them that Maine 85 is the delta north of J Five Three, they’re wondering about it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It took the ID Technician about a minute to complete the task from the MCC and to provide actionable information to the military controllers. At the time, Maine 85 was North of Boston just crossing the Massachusetts shoreline, over 50 nautical miles north northeast of North Truro at the Northern end of Cape Cod.<\/p>\n

Maine 85<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maine 85\u00a0 took off from Bangor Air Force Base at about 8:34 EDT, and proceeded southerly towards off shore military training areas south of Long Island.<\/p>\n

Approximately 9:23 EDT, it established a ten minute north-south race track holding pattern. As it concluded the second orbit at about 9:44 EDT, it was vectored toward New York City to support the Panta active air defense fighters.<\/p>\n

At about 10:00 EDT, it entered a refueling holding orbit due South of New York City near the Southwestern tip of Long Island.<\/p>\n

Here is a screen shot of the Maine 85 track from takeoff to 10:00 EDT.<\/p>\n

\"Maine-85\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Final Comment<\/strong><\/p>\n

This vignette is an important reminder to serious 9\/11 researchers, historians and academicians. It takes both a dynamic radar picture and air traffic control communications and\/or NEADS tape analysis to figure out what is actually going on at any given point in time.\u00a0 Moreover, concerning the NEADS tapes, it is necessary to listen to all channels for details about the time in question.<\/p>\n

How the Otis active air defense fighters ended up over New York City is a story for another day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction In past articles I have periodically taken the position that it is not possible to take snippets of information about 9\/11 or snapshots of Commission Staff work and extrapolate either to a larger whole, with meaning.\u00a0 Recently, a correspondent presented me with a question which combines a snippet and a snapshot into an interesting … Continue reading 9-11: Maine 85; a snippet of information, a snapshot of Commission Staff work<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-11"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6486"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6586,"href":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6486\/revisions\/6586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oredigger61.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}