The September 11th attack
Air Guard fighters kept close watch over Hawai'i jetliners

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

In the first fearful hours after hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, military officials told Gov. Ben Cayetano that Hawai'i Air National Guard pilots were authorized to shoot down commercial planes if they threatened O'ahu with similar attacks.

As military officials and local leaders watched the televised nightmare of terrorist attacks on the Mainland, they grew concerned that a plane could veer from its final approach to Honolulu International Airport and crash into Pearl Harbor or Waikiki.

Four F-15 fighter jets were launched that morning, the first at 7:07 a.m., to escort 10 planes nearing O'ahu.

At the time, military officials did not know if the pilots of those flights were under duress. All of the planes landed without incident.

But the revelation that fighters took to the air with the understanding that they might shoot down passenger jets provides a glimpse into the tense moments of that morning, as well as the brutal options that were weighed by local military and political leaders.

Calls to governor, mayor

Cayetano was called by Adm. Dennis Blair, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, according to Kim Murakawa, the governor's press secretary.

"The governor's understanding was that the federal government had ordered that if any of those commercial flights were uncooperative and headed toward downtown Honolulu that there were orders to shoot them down," she said. "He accepted that decision."

Capt. John Singley, spokes-man for Blair, confirmed that the conversation took place, but declined to offer details.

A similar call from Blair to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris was made about 5:30 a.m. Later in the day, Harris publicly addressed the City Council, saying Blair told him that the greatest risk to Hawai'i "lay in a potential hijacked plane that was coming into our island that could be diverted and used to attack Pearl Harbor or Waikiki or some other point of high visibility."

Harris declined further comment on his conversation with Blair.

The unprecedented peacetime decision to launch the F-15s over Hawai'i came as President Bush and military leaders on the East Coast authorized similar defensive flights. Bush said over the weekend that he authorized National Guard fighter pilots to defend the nation's capital after the attacks.

Across the country, National Guard pilots are still flying combat patrol missions "as a precautionary measure" and they have orders to intercept intruders and shoot them down if necessary, said Marine Maj. Mike Snyder, a spokesman for the North American Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Pacific Command spokesman Singley said he is not allowed to discuss the rules that govern when pilots can fire on targets, but said Blair would have had to request guidance from the Secretary of Defense on any action here.

The Honolulu-bound flights included planes from Japan Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Federal Express and Polar Air, said Tweet Coleman, Pacific representative for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Regional FAA officials in Los Angeles agreed with Blair that the planes presented enough of a risk to warrant the escorts.

Coleman would not comment on what measures the escorts were prepared to take.

"It was an extraordinary time and there were extraordinary measures," she said.

Transfer of control

Shortly before 7 a.m., the FAA turned over control of Hawai'i airspace to the Air Force commanders at Hickam Air Force Base, who in turn scrambled the National Guard jets.

Maj. Gen. Thomas Waskow, director of operations for Pacific Air Forces, assumed command of the airspace and the military kept the command until early Thursday morning, when it was returned to civilian control. The military had not had such control in Hawai'i since World War II, when the Islands were under martial law.

"All civilian aircraft pilots were made fully aware by FAA controllers of the presence of U.S. Air National Guard aircraft," said Maj. James Law, an Air Force spokesman. "This was the first time such an action had been taken in defense of the Hawaiian Islands, and the FAA controllers and (Air Force) officials were in constant contact coordinating air traffic to ensure the security of the Hawaiian Islands."

Hawai'i National Guard spokesman Maj. Chuck Anthony said the escort missions were finished by 10:30 that morning.

He said he could not discuss any precautions being taken, but said that the Guard's F-15 pilots normally are on alert around the clock, their planes fully armed.

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com