December 22, 2003

BY FACSIMILE
Thomas H. Kean
Andrew B. Steinberg
CHAIR Chief Counsel
Federal Aviation Administration
Lee H. Hamilton
VICE CHAIR 800 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Room 900 East
Richard Ben-Veniste
Washington, D.C. 20591
Max Cleland
Dear Mr. Steinberg:
Fred F. Fielding

Jamie S. Gorelick As you know, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United
States continues to discover, through staff interviews at FAA field offices,
Slade Gorton
information relevant to the events of September 11, 2001 that, for whatever
John F. Lehman reason, has not been produced to the Commission. I understand this issue was
the subject of a meeting between our respective staffs on December 12, and I
Timothy J. Roemer hope that these matters have now been resolved. I also understand that, in the
James R. Thompson interest of clarity, you have requested a document setting forth precisely the
universe of tapes the Commission is requesting from the FAA. That
document is attached. Let me address a couple of important points with
Philip D. Zelikow
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR respect to it.

First, the attachment in no way amends or alters the information called for in
the Commission's subpoena to the FAA. Specifically, the Commission's
subpoena called for "all logs, tapes and transcripts of internal FAA
communications, including phone conversations among FAA locations,
concerning aircraft presumed to be hijacked on September 11, 2001." That
requirement still stands. The attached document merely identifies specific re-
recordings the Commission is seeking.

Second, because of the Commission's need to time-stamp some of the data

received, we will not be able to take advantage of the FAA's capability with
respect to voice-activated recording. Accordingly, the FAA should produce
complete tapes of the positions and time frames requested, even if such tapes
contain blank air.

Finally, with respect to the procedures for conducting our interviews, we have
sent you a copy of the Commission's exchange of letters with the Department
of Justice on this issue. Our process has not been to negotiate separate
agreements regarding interview procedures with each of the agencies involved
in our investigation. Having said that, by this letter please be advised that the
Commission does not object to the inclusion of a representative from the
National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) in the Commission's
interviews with bargaining unit employees.
301 7th Street SW, Suite 5125 26 Federal Plaza
Washington, DC 20407 Suite 13-100
T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545 New York, NY 10278
www.9-1 lcommission.gov T 212.264.1505 F 212.264.1595
Andrew B. Steinberg
December 22, 2003
Page 2

I hope this correspondence serves to clear up any ambiguities that may have
previously existed. If your understanding of these matters differs in any way,
or if you have any questions with respect to our requests, please let me know
immediately. Otherwise, I will assume that we are in accord and that the tapes
listed in the attachment, to the extent not already produced, will be produced
forthwith.

Sincerely,

Daniel Marcus
General Counsel

Attachment (1)

cc: Daniel Levin, U.S. Department of Justice

 Attachment — Air Traffic Control Tapes
The Commission is seeking re-recording of tapes at the times, positions and locations
specified below:

(1) Air Route Traffic Control Centers -- ZNY, ZBW, ZDC, ZIB & ZOB

(a) Re-recordings of voice tapes from all phone lines (both "landline" and
"VSCS") in the Traffic Management Unit (TMU), all phone lines associated
with the Operational Manager In Charge (OMIC) position and/or Air
Manager in Charge (AMIC), and all phone lines associated with the Military
Operations Specialist (MOS) position from 8:30 am to noon on September
11,2001.

(b) Re-recordings of voice tapes from all phone lines (both "landline" and
"VSCS") that were involved in a teleconference with either the ATCSCC,
FAA Headquarters, or a Regional Center.

(2) Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC)

Re-recordings of voice tapes from all recorded phone lines (both "landline
and VSCS") within the ATCSCC from 8:30 - 10:30 am on September 11,
2001.

(3) Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) - New York and Dulles

(a) Re-recordings of voice tapes from all phone lines (both "landline" and
"VSCS") in the Traffic Management Unit (TMU), all phone lines associated
with the Operational Manager In Charge (OMIC) position and/or Air
Manager in Charge (AMIC), and all phone lines associated with the Military
Operations Specialist (MOS) position from 8:30 am to noon on September
11,2001.

A couple of important notes:

(1) The Commission is only seeking additional tapes from the facilities
specified above.
(2) The Commission is not seeking duplicates of tapes that have already
been produced. For example, it appears that the Cleveland Center
followed the Commission's original guidance and produced 4-hour
block recordings of TMU, OMIC and MOS positions. Other Centers
— such as Indianapolis ~ do not appear to have provided continual
blocks of time but rather snippets of "pertinent communications."
This request seeks re-recordings of complete and continual blocks of
time (i.e. 0800-1200) of the channels specified above; it does not
seek an exact duplicate of a tape already provided.