Part 7/11:
September 11 dawned with several military and emergency management drills in progress. In New York, Operation Tripod—a bioterrorism drill—was set to prepare for a mocked biological attack, while various military personnel across the country drilled for aircraft collision scenarios.
The Real-time Catastrophe: Confusion and Delays
As the hijackings began, air traffic controllers and military personnel struggled to differentiate real events from their ongoing war games. A persistent confusion led to crucial delays as they sought clarification, funneling fighter jets into operations that distracted them from the actual aerial threats that developed.