FROM :HQ USRF XOH FflX NO. :703 588-0636 Mar.

18 2004 li:20fiM P2

For Official Use Only

9-11 Commission Questions, Otis ANGB F-15 Tapes

4 December 2003

Question #1; The Commission received VSD (Vertical Situation Display) and HUD
(Heads-Up Display) tapes for Lt Col Duffy's flight of 9/11/01, but only a VSD tape
from Maj Nash's flight. Does Maj Nash also have a HUD tape?
Answer: No, Maj Nash does not have a HUD tape. When the tapes were originally
submitted, a note accompanied them that indicated Maj Nash's HUD tape did not run.
This is not uncommon to have one (or both) of the recorders not to run.

Question #2t Lt Col Duffy's VSD tape starts at 1305Z. At 1358, it jumps to 1458
and then to 1658. Please explain. The Commission is particularly interested in the
portions from 1415 to 1445. The tape ends at 1702.
Answer The time-stamp on the tape is not accurate (as indicated in the note
accompanying original tapes). The F-15 requires the pilot to manually enter the local
time at start-up (no GPS onboard). Because of the scramble taxi Lt Col Duffy did not
manually set the local time before takeoff. Upon reviewing the tapes, Col Duffy's audio
indicates the first tower probably collapsed about 13:54:55 per his aircraft time; we know
that the first tower collapsed at 09:58 Eastern lime. From radio calls on both tapes,
13:06:00 on Panta 45's tape = 09:26:11 on Panta 46's tape. Therefore:
• Panta 45 time minus 3 hrs:8 min = Eastern Time (local) 13:06 on Panta 45's
tape = 09:58 local (WTC South Tower collapse)
• Panta 46 time plus 0 hrs:32 min = Eastern Time (local) 09:26:11 on Panta
46's tape = 13:06:00 on Panta 45's tape (time at which a call from Huntress was
recorded on both tapes)
The jumps in the tapes occur because it is standard operating procedure (SOP) to
conserve tape by turning the recorders on and off. This conservation is required because
the tape will only run for 2 hrs (total) and flights of longer length would not have a record
of important events beyond that 2-hr block. Additionally, post flight debriefs are
expedited by pilots only recording salient portions of the flight, preventing the need to
fast-forward through minutes/hours of non-critical maneuvering.

Question #3: Lt Col Duffy's HUD tape starts at 1306. It jumps to 1349, then 1352,
and then to 1456. At 1458, it jumps to 1659 (this time roughly correlates to the VSD
tape). It also ends at 1702. Again, please explain the jumps in the tape.
Answer: The tapes are turned on simultaneously with a switch on the right hand side of
the HUD. As mentioned before, it is not uncommon for tape machines to fail to start with
switch activation or have some trouble which delays the start of independent machines.
This will result in a small difference between times on the tapes. As mentioned above, in
order to conserve the tape for salient parts of a mission longer than 2 hrs, pilots manually
turn on and off tapes. The reviewer will hear the "check standby" call before several
tape-off times. This is the standard call to turn tapes to "standby" until needed. This call
also doesn't always happen and pilots may independently turn tapes off prior to or after
"tape calls" depending on what's happening in an individual aircraft.

For Official Use Only

FROM :HQ USflF XOH FflX NO. :703 588-0636 Mar. 18 2004 ll:20flM P3

For Official Use Only

Question #4: Maj Nash's VSD tape starts at 0926. At 1024, it jumps to 1042,
missing a critical time period.
Answer: The tape was turned off at 1024 and turned on again at 1042. Notice that a
small portion of the previous mission being recorded over appears at the point the tape
was turned off, as often occurs. This shows the tape was turned off, rather than edited.
Since the two aircraft flew independently at different altitudes during portions of the
flight and separately engaged helicopters and other aircraft flying in the area, recorders
were operated independently as well (manually turned on and off).

Bottom Line; Full and complete copies of all tapes were forwarded to the
Commission. The copies were not edited. It is not uncommon to elect not to tape
significant portions of a long flight when no engagement is occurring. The only portions
deleted were those from previous, unrelated flights that were deleted from the end of the
tapes.

For Official Use Only