{{Infobox Airliner accident
|Name = American Airlines Flight 77
|Crash image = 757 pentagon.gif
|Image caption = Security camera image showing American Airlines Flight 77 (highlighted) just before and after impact.<ref name="jw">{{cite web |url=http://www.judicialwatch.org/flight77.shtml |title=Flight 77, Video 2 |publisher=Judicial Watch}}</ref>
|Date = [[11 September]] [[2001]]
|Type = Hijacking
|Site = [[The Pentagon]]
|Fatalities = 184 &nbsp;(59 in aircraft, 125 on ground)
|Injuries =
|Aircraft Type = [[Boeing 757|Boeing 757-223]]
|Origin = [[Washington Dulles International Airport|Washington Dulles Int'l Airport]]
|Destination = [[Los Angeles International Airport]]
|Operator = [[American Airlines]]
|Tail Number = {{airreg|N|644AA}}
|Passengers = 53 (including 5 hijackers)
|Crew = 2 pilots, 4 flight attendants
|Survivors = 0
|}}
'''American Airlines Flight 77''' was a morning flight that routinely flew from [[Washington Dulles International Airport]] (IAD), near [[Washington, D.C.]], to [[Los Angeles International Airport]] (LAX). On [[September 11]], [[2001]], Flight 77 was [[aircraft hijacking|hijacked]] between 08:51 [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]] and 08:54 [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]], as part of the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]].<ref name="911-ch1">{{cite book |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch1.htm |author=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |chapter=Chapter 1 |title=9-11 Commission Report |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=2004}}</ref>
On that day, the [[American Airlines]] [[Boeing 757|Boeing 757-223]], registered N644AA,<ref name="fps">{{cite web |url=http://www.ntsb.gov/info/Flight_%20Path_%20Study_AA77.pdf |title=Flight Path Study - American Airlines Flight 77 |publisher=NTSB}}</ref> was piloted by [[Captain#Civil aviation|Captain]] [[Charles Burlingame]] and [[First Officer]] Dave Charlebois. Just over an hour and fifteen minutes into the flight, it was deliberately crashed into the [[the Pentagon|Pentagon]], killing 64 on the plane and 125 in the buildings. It was the third airliner to crash that morning, 50 minutes after the first, and 30 minutes after the second.

== Hijackers ==



The hijackers were reported to have been:<ref name="911 ch7">National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (2004). [http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch7.htm "Chapter 7"], 9-11 Commission Report. Government Printing Office.</ref>
* [[Hani Hanjour]] - pilot
* [[Majed Moqed]]
* [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]]
* [[Salem al-Hazmi]]
* [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]]

The hijackers, all of [[Saudi Arabian]] descent, on American Airlines Flight 77 were [[Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System|CAPPS]] selectees, which required extra screening of their checked bags. [[Hani Hanjour]], [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]], and [[Majed Moqed]] were chosen by the CAPPS criteria, while [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]] and [[Salem al-Hazmi]] were selected because they did not provide adequate identification. They had their checked bags held until they boarded the aircraft.<ref name="staff3">{{cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/staff_statement_3.pdf |title=The Aviation Security System and the 9/11 Attacks - Staff Statement No. 3 |publisher=9/11 Commission}}</ref> Hani Hanjour, who earned a Commercial Pilot certificate in April 1999, is believed to have piloted the hijacked airplane.<ref>{{cite news |title=FBI Names 19 Men as Hijackers; Some Lived in U.S. For Several Years |publisher=The Washington Post |date=September 15, 2001 |author=Eggen, Dan, Amy Goldstein}}</ref> The passenger security checkpoint at Dulles International Airport was operated by [[Argenbright Security]], under contract with [[United Airlines]].

==The flight==
[[Image:911 commission AA77 path.png|thumb|right|AA 77 flight path from Dulles to Pentagon (to east of Dulles).]]
At 7:18 a.m., the five men, carrying [[knives]] and [[box cutters]], made it through the airport security checkpoint and boarded Flight 77 to Los Angeles. The flight was scheduled to depart at 08:10 [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]], but actually departed at 08:20 [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]] from Gate D26 at Dulles.<ref>[http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/penttbom/aa77/77.htm 9/11 Investigation (PENTTBOM)], FBI, national Press Release, September 2001</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A38407-2001Sep15 |title=Portrait of a Day That Began in Routine and Ended in Ashes |publisher=The Washington Post |date=September 16, 2001 |author=Maraniss, David}}</ref> The [[9/11 Commission]] estimated that the flight was hijacked between 08:51 EDT and 08:54 EDT, just minutes after [[American Airlines Flight 11|the first hijacked plane]] had struck the [[World Trade Center]] in [[Manhattan]] at 08:46 EDT. The last normal radio communications from the aircraft to [[air traffic control]] occurred at 08:50:51 EDT.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntsb.gov/info/ATC_%20Report_AA77.pdf |title=ATC Report American Airlines Flight 77 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)}}</ref>

===Hijacking===
[[Image:Aa757.jpg|thumb|left|[[American Airlines]] [[Boeing 757]]]]
At 08:54 [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]], American Airlines Flight 77 began to deviate from its normal, assigned flight path and turned south.<ref name="911-ch1"/> The Boeing 757's [[autopilot]] destination was set for [[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport]], located a short distance from the Pentagon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntsb.gov/info/autopilot_AA77_UA93_study.pdf |title=Study of Autopilot, Navigation Equipment, and Fuel Consumption Activity Based on United Airlines Flight 93 and American Airlines Flight 77 Digital Flight Data Recorder Information |author=O’Callaghan, John Daniel Bower |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=February 13, 2002}}</ref> The Indianapolis Air Traffic Control Center, as well as American Airlines dispatchers, made several failed attempts to contact the aircraft. After learning of this second hijacking involving American Airlines aircraft and the hijacking involving [[United Airlines]], American Airlines Executive Vice President Gerard Arpey ordered a nationwide ground stop for the airline.<ref name="911-ch1"/>

Passenger [[Barbara Olson]], who called her husband, [[Ted Olson]], reported that the assailants had box cutters and knives.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm |title=Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes |date=November 23, 2001 |author=Johnson, Glen |publisher=Boston Globe}}</ref> By 08:56 EDT, the flight was turned around, and the [[transponder]] had been disabled. The [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]] was aware at this point that there was an emergency aboard the plane. By this time, [[American Airlines Flight 11]] had already crashed into the [[World Trade Center]], and [[United Airlines Flight 175]] was known to have been hijacked.

A plane was detected again by Dulles controllers on radar screens as it approached Washington, turning and descending rapidly. Controllers initially thought this was a fighter plane, due to its high speed and maneuverability.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20011024150915/http:/abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/2020/2020_011024_atc_feature.html | title=‘Get These Planes on the Ground’ |date=2001, October 24 |author=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A14365-2001Sep11&notFound=true | title=On Flight 77: 'Our Plane Is Being Hijacked' |date=2001, September 12 |author=Washington Post}}</ref>

===Phone calls===
Two people on American Airlines Flight 77 made phone calls to contacts on the ground. At 09:12 EDT, flight attendant Renee May called her mother, Nancy May, in Las Vegas.<ref name="P200018">{{cite web |url=http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/notablecases/moussaoui/exhibits/prosecution/flights/P200018.html
|title=Exhibit #P200018, United States v. Zacarias Moussaoui |publisher=United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia}}</ref> During the call, which lasted nearly two minutes,<ref name="P200018"/> May said her flight was being hijacked by six individuals and they had been moved to the rear of the plane.<ref name="911-ch1"/> May also asked her mother to contact American Airlines, which she and her husband promptly did.<ref name="911-ch1"/> American Airlines was already aware of the hijacking.

Passenger [[Barbara K. Olson]] called her husband, [[United States Solicitor General]] [[Theodore Olson]] at the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] twice to tell him about the hijacking and to report that the passengers and pilots were held in the back of the plane. After the first call was cut off, Theodore Olson contacted the command center at the Department of Justice,<ref name="CNN-091174CN">{{cite news |title=CNN Breaking News 16:58, Transcript # 091174CN.V00 |publisher=CNN |date=September 11, 2001}}</ref> and tried unsuccessfully to contact [[Attorney General]] [[John Ashcroft]]. Olson called her husband back, and asked him "What should I tell the pilot?"<ref name="fisher">{{cite news |title=On Flight 77: 'Our Plane Is Being Hijacked' |publisher=The Washington Post |date=September 12, 2001 |author=Fisher, Mark, Don Phillips}}</ref>

== Crash ==
{| style="float:right;"
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Flight 77 crashed into the western side of [[the Pentagon]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia]], just south of [[Washington, D.C.]] at 09:37:44 [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntsb.gov/info/AAL77_fdr.pdf |title=American Airlines Flight 77 FDR Report |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board}}</ref> killing all of its 53 regular passengers, 5 hijackers, and 6 crew. As the aircraft hurtled towards the Pentagon at 530 miles per hour,<ref name="fps"/> it clipped several street lampposts (one of which fell onto a taxi cab, injuring the driver, Lloyd England<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.survivorsfundproject.org/SFPFinal/survivors_fund_project_clients/lloyd.asp|title=Survivors' Fund Project Survivor Story}}</ref>) as it passed over [[Washington Boulevard (Arlington)|Washington Boulevard]], approximately 20 feet off the ground.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blflight77w.htm |title=Some Eyewitness Accounts: Flight 77 Crash at the Pentagon, Sept. 11, 2001 |publisher=About.com}}</ref> Its right wing hit a portable [[electrical generator|generator]] that provided backup power for the Pentagon and the left engine hit an external steam vault before it slammed into the Pentagon. As it crashed, the plane was rolled slightly to the left, with the right wing elevated.<ref name="nist">{{cite book|url=http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build03/PDF/b03017.pdf |author=NIST |title=The Pentagon Building Performance Report |publisher=NIST |date=January 2003}}</ref> When the plane impacted, the front part of the [[fuselage]] disintegrated, while the mid and tail-sections moved for another fraction of a second, with tail section debris pieces ending furthest into the building.<ref>{{cite book |author=Goldberg, Alfred |title=Pentagon 9/11 |year=2007 |publisher=GPO |pages=p. 17}}</ref>

At the time of the attacks, approximately 18,000 people worked in the Pentagon, which was 4,000 less than before renovations began in 1998.<ref>{{cite book |author=Goldberg, Alfred |title=Pentagon 9/11 |year=2007 |publisher=GPO |pages=p. 3}}</ref> The section of the Pentagon, which had recently been renovated at a cost of $250 million,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/flash/metro/phoenix/phoenix.swf |title=Phoenix Rising: The Rebuilding of the Pentagon (Flash)|publisher=The Washington Post}}</ref> housed the Naval Command Center<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/neigh_south/20030611s19kevin0611p6.asp |title=Survivor of Pentagon attack has a positive attitude |publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=June 11, 2001 |author=Zablotsky, Sarah}}</ref> and other Pentagon offices, as well as some unoccupied offices. The crash and subsequent fire penetrated three outer ring sections of the western side. The outermost ring section was largely destroyed, and a large section collapsed. 125 people in the Pentagon died from the attack.
===Witnesses===
The Pentagon is bordered by [[Interstate 395 (District of Columbia-Virginia)|Interstate 395]] and Washington Boulevard, on the side where the impact occurred. Steve Riskus witnessed the plane crash into the Pentagon, as he was driving along Washington Boulevard and stopped to take photographs moments after the impact.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.criticalthrash.com/terror/crashthumbnails.html |title=Crash photographs |author=Riskus, Steve |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20041026123129/http://www.criticalthrash.com/terror/crashthumbnails.html |archivedate=October 26, 2004 |accessdate=2006-11-12}}</ref>
Mary Lyman, who was on I-395, saw the airplane pass over at a "''steep angle toward the ground and going fast''" and then saw the cloud of smoke from the Pentagon.<ref name="wp-20010916">{{cite news |title=Terrible Tuesday |publisher=The Washington Post |date=September 16, 2001}}</ref>
Jim Sutherland, also on I-395, witnessed the plane pass 50 feet overhead, heading in a straight line into the Pentagon.<ref name="vancouver">{{cite news |title=Plane crashes into Pentagon |publisher=The Vancouver Province |date=September 11, 2001}}</ref>
Mary Ann Owens, of [[Gannett Company|Gannett News Service]], was stuck in traffic near the Pentagon when she saw the airplane pass 50 to 75 feet overhead and crash into the Pentagon.<ref name="wheeler">{{cite news |title=Witnesses: Airplane hit the Pentagon hard |publisher=Gannett News Service |date=September 11, 2001 |author=Wheeler, Gary}}</ref> Another witness, Daryl Donley, saw the crash as he was driving on Washington Boulevard. Among debris that was scattered as the plane crashed, he found a "scorched green [[oxygen tank]] marked 'Cabin air. Airline use'" on the road.<ref name="wheeler"/>
Mr. Donley also had a camera with him, and took some of the first photographs after the crash.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/911/911-docphotos.html |title=Documentary Photographs |publisher=Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |accessdate=2006-11-12}}</ref> [[USA Today]] reporter Mike Walter, while driving on Washington Boulevard, also witnessed the crash.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycPUDktZpCU |title=Mike Walter debunks the conspiracy theorists |publisher=[[WUSA (TV)|WUSA-TV 9]]}}</ref> He recounted to CNN, "...looked out my window. I saw this plane, the jet, American Airlines jet coming. And I thought, this doesn't add up. It's really low. And I saw it. It just went &mdash; I mean, it was like a cruise missile with wings, it went right there and slammed right into the Pentagon. Huge explosion."<ref name="CNN-091174CN"/>
[[Image:Pentagon taxi hit by lightpole.jpg|left|thumb|Lloyd England's taxicab hit by a lightpole as American Airlines Flight 77 passed low over Washington Boulevard and crashed into the Pentagon.]]
Terrance Kean, who lived in a nearby apartment building, heard the noise of loud [[jet engine]]s, glanced out his window, and saw "very, very large passenger jet." He watched "it just plow right into the side of the Pentagon. The nose penetrated into the portico. And then it sort of disappeared, and there was fire and smoke everywhere."<ref>{{cite news |title=Loud Boom, Then Flames In Hallways; Pentagon Employees Flee Fire, Help Rescue Injured Co-Workers |date=September 12, 2001 |publisher=The Washington Post |author=Sheridan, Mary Beth}}</ref> Terry Morin, who worked at the nearby [[Navy Annex]], saw the airliner pass 100 feet overhead, moments before it crashed into the Pentagon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.coping.org/911/survivor/pentagon.htm |title=Eyewitness Account of Pentagon Attack |author=Morin, Terry |accessdate=2006-11-12}}</ref> Passengers aboard a [[Washington Metro]] train heading to [[Ronald Reagan National Airport]] also saw the crash and explosion, including Allen Cleveland who explained [he] "looked out the window to see a jet heading down toward the Pentagon."<ref name="fisher">{{cite news |title=On Flight 77: 'Our Plane Is Being Hijacked' |author=Fisher, Marc, Don Phillips |date=September 12, 2001 |publisher=The Washington Post}}</ref> [[Associated Press|AP]] reporter Dave Winslow recounted, "I saw the tail of a large airliner. ... It plowed right into the Pentagon."<ref name="fournier">{{cite news |title=URGENT |publisher=Associated Press |date=September 11, 2001 |author=Fournier, Ron}}</ref> Tim Timmerman, who is a pilot himself, noticed American Airlines markings on the aircraft as he saw it hit the Pentagon.<ref>{{cite news |title=Terrorists Use Passenger Planes |publisher=United Press International |date=September 11, 2001 |author=Benjamin, Mark, Nicholas Horrock}}</ref> Commander Mike Dobbs, who worked at the Pentagon, was on an upper level of the outer ring, looking out the window when he saw the crash.<ref name="vancouver"/> Other drivers on Washington Boulevard, [[Interstate 395 (District of Columbia-Virginia)|Interstate 395]], and [[Columbia Pike (Virginia)|Columbia Pike]], as well as people in nearby locations such as [[Pentagon City, Virginia|Pentagon City]], [[Crystal City, Virginia|Crystal City]] also witnessed the crash.<ref name="wp-20010916"/>

=== Security camera video ===
On [[May 16]], [[2006]], the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] released filmed footage that was recorded by a security camera of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the Pentagon, with a plane visible in one frame, as a "thin white blur"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12818225/ |title=Video of 9/11 plane hitting Pentagon is released |publisher=MSNBC/Associated Press |date=May 16, 2006}}</ref> and an explosion following.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/|title=Security camera release |publisher=U.S. Department of Defense, FOIA office}}</ref> The images were made public in response to a December 2004 [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] request by [[Judicial Watch]].<ref name="jw-pr">{{cite news|url=http://www.judicialwatch.org/5772.shtml |title=Judicial Watch Obtains September 11 Pentagon Video |publisher=Judicial Watch |date=May 16, 2006}}</ref> Some still images from the video had previously been released and publicly circulated, but this was the first official release of the full video of the crash.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/03/07/gen.pentagon.pictures/ |title=Images show September 11 Pentagon crash |publisher=CNN |date=March 8, 2002}}</ref> Judicial Watch hoped that the Pentagon security video would dispel [[9/11 conspiracy theories|conspiracy theories]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4987716.stm |title=US releases 9/11 Pentagon video |publisher=BBC |date=May 16, 2006}}</ref> though David Yancey, whose wife died on the flight, expressed concerns that the video did not show enough detail to "end the talk of a conspiracy".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/16/AR200605160078.html |title=Videos Released Of Plane Crashing Into Pentagon |publisher=The Washington Post |author=Markon, Jerry |date=May 17, 2006}}</ref>

A nearby [[Citgo]] gas station also had security cameras, but this video released on [[September 15]], [[2006]] did not show the crash because it was pointed away.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.judicialwatch.org/5965.shtml |title=CITGO Gas Station Cameras Near Pentagon Evidently Did Not Capture Attack |date=September 15, 2006 |publisher=Judicial Watch}},</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LJvFjsl6zk |title=Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Citgo Video |publisher=Judicial Watch / YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.debunk911myths.org/?p=20 |title=More analysis of the Citgo security video |publisher=debunk911myths.org |date=September 16, 2006}}</ref> The [[Doubletree]] hotel, located nearby in [[Crystal City, Virginia]], also had a security camera video, and on [[December 4]], [[2006]] the FBI released the video in response to a freedom of information lawsuit filed by Scott Bingham. "The video is grainy and the focus is soft, but a rapidly-growing tower of smoke is visible in the distance on the upper edge of the frame as the plane crashes into the building."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/4821121.html |title=FBI Releases New Footage of 9/11 Pentagon Attack |publisher=KWTX News |date=December 5, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H285_DWX_bQ|title=Flight77.info's FOIA Release: Doubletree Hotel 9/11 |publisher=Flight77.info/ YouTube}}</ref> No plane can be clearly seen entering the Pentagon since the camera was mounted on a lower point on the Doubletree Hotel and an elevated highway obstructs the view of the Pentagon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.debunk911myths.org/topics/index.php?title=Doubletree |title=Doubletree Hotel security video |publisher=debunk911myths.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doubletree.com/en/dt/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=DCAAEDT |title=Doubletree Hotel Crystal City-National Airport |publisher=Doubletree Hotels}}</ref> However, a shape or group of shapes can be seen above the highway, moving from left to right and ending at the explosion point.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H285_DWX_bQ|title=Flight77.info's FOIA Release: Doubletree Hotel 9/11 |publisher=Flight77.info/ YouTube}}</ref>

==Collapse==
When the plane crashed, the right wing hit a generator outside of the Pentagon and the left engine hit a ground-level, external vent structure just outside of the building, before the plane crashed. The crash of Flight 77 caused extensive damage to the E, D, and C rings of the Pentagon, with damage and debris extending into the A and B ring. A piece of a [[landing gear]], as well as the [[flight data recorder]] were found days later, nearly 300 ft into the building.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build03/PDF/b03017.pdf |title=The Pentagon Building Performance Report |publisher=American Society of Civil Engineers |date=January 2003}}</ref> At 10:15 a.m., the upper floors of the damaged area of the Pentagon collapsed. This amount of time between impact and collapse allowed everyone on the fourth and fifth levels to evacuate safely before the structure collapsed.<ref>{{cite book |author=Goldberg, Alfred |title=Pentagon 9/11 |year=2007 |publisher=GPO |pages=p. 19}}</ref>

==Rescue and recovery==
[[Image:Flight 77 CVR.jpg|thumb|100px|left|[[Cockpit Voice Recorder]] from Flight 77]]
[[Image:Flight 77 wreckage at Pentagon.jpg|thumb|right|Debris from Flight 77 scattered near the Pentagon.]]
The [[United States Pentagon Police]] led the rescue and recovery efforts at the Pentagon, with involvement from the [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington County]] Police Department and Fire, [[Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority]], [[Fort Myer]], and others.<ref name="acfd">{{cite web |url=http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/Fire/edu/about/docs/after_report.pdf |title=Arlington, Virginia After-Action Report |publisher=Arlington County Fire Department}}</ref> Other area jurisdictions, including the [[Urban Search and Rescue Virginia Task Force 1|Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue]] team, were able to assist the rescue and recovery efforts, working through the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS).<ref>{{cite news |title=The Pentagon Attack on 9-11: Arlington County (VA) Fire Department Response |publisher=Fire Engineering |author=Eversburg, Rudy |date=November 2002}}</ref> The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]'s Washington Field Office, National Capital Response Squad (NCRS), and the [[Joint Terrorism Task Force]] (JTTF) led the [[crime scene]] investigation at the Pentagon.<ref name="acfd"/> The [[flight data recorder]] and [[cockpit voice recorder]] were both recovered at the Pentagon; however, the cockpit voice recorder was so badly damaged and burned that nothing could be recovered from it.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pentagon plane voice recorder is too 'cooked' to aid in probe |publisher=The Washington Times |author=Murray, Frank J. |date=September 15, 2001}}</ref>
{{sect-stub}}

== Victims ==
Non-hijacking passengers included:
*[[Barbara Olson]], American television commentator for CNN (b. [[1955]]). Olson was en route to a taping of ''[[Politically Incorrect]]'' with [[Bill Maher]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Letterman's Back Tonight, but Don't Expect a Biting Monologue |publisher=The Washington Post |author=de Moraes, Lisa |date=September 17, 2001}}</ref>
*Three 11-year-old schoolchildren (Bernard Brown, Asia Cottom, and Rodney Dickens) embarking on an educational trip to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary near Santa Barbara, California, as part of a program funded by the [[National Geographic Society]]. Their chaperones and National Geographic staff members Sarah Clark, 65, James Debeuneure, 58, Ann Judge, 45, Hilda Taylor and Joe Ferguson, were with the children.<ref name="fisher"/>
*[[Wilson Flagg]], an Admiral in the [[U.S. Navy]].
* [[William E. Caswell]], a physicist specializing in [[quantum chromodynamics]].
* A family of four (father Charles Falkenberg, daughter Zoe Falkenberg, daughter Dana Falkenberg and mother Leslie Whittington) from [[College Park, Maryland]]
=== Memorial ===
{{main|Pentagon Memorial}}
A memorial is currently being constructed at the Pentagon in memory of those who lost their lives at the Pentagon and aboard American Airlines Flight 77.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pentagon Memorial Web Site |url=http://memorial.pentagon.mil}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Official Press release at the United States Department of Defense |url=http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2003/nr20030806-0326.html}}</ref>

== Conspiracy theories ==
{{main|9/11 conspiracy theories#Pentagon not hit by a Boeing 757|l1=Pentagon not hit by a Boeing 757}}
The [[September 11, 2001 attacks|9/11 attacks]] have spawned a [[9/11_conspiracy_theories|number of conspiracy theories]] challenging
the mainstream account. One of the most well-known theories was put forward by [[Thierry Meyssan]] which contends that the Pentagon was not hit by a Boeing 757, but by a missile launched by the American military.<ref name="CNNFRA">CNN [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/06/26/france.book/ French buy into 9/11 conspiracy] June 26, 2002 Posted: 8:26 PM EDT (0026 GMT) CNN's Jim Bittermann</ref> Proponents say that the 75 foot hole is too small to account for an aircraft with a wingspan of 124 feet.<ref name="TIMEGO">Time magazine, [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1531304,00.html Why the 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Won't Go Away] Sunday, Sep. 03, 2006 By LEV GROSSMAN</ref> Conspiracy advocates also point to other minutiae such as small amount of debris or condition grass on the lawn.<ref name="TIMEGO">Page 3</ref> In an attempt to rebut the theories, Mete Sozen, a member of the [[ASCE]] team onsite after the crash, explained that an airplane does not create a "cartoon-like outline of itself" when crashing into a [[reinforced concrete]] building.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1227842.html?page=6#bigplane |title=Debunking the 9/11 Myths: Special Report |publisher=Popular Mechanics |date=March 2005}}</ref>

==Notes==
* After the crash, the [[flight route designation]] for future flights on the same route was renumbered to Flight 149, which is now operated by a Boeing 737-800 instead of a Boeing 757-200.
* Flight 77 was the only flight hijacked where a bomb threat was not made. The other three hijacked flights were each reported to have had one hijacker with a red box strapped around his torso, claiming it to be a bomb.<ref name="staff4">{{cite web |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/staff_statement_4.pdf |title=The Four Flights - Staff Statement No. 4 |publisher=9/11 Commission}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
* [[:sep11:Casualties of the September 11, 2001 attacks: plane passengers|Flight manifest for American Airlines flight 77]]
* [[sep11:American Airlines flight 77|Memorial wiki tribute to those killed in this flight]] (with flight manifest)
* {{cite web|url=http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/Fire/edu/about/docs/after_report.pdf |title=Arlington County After-Action Report on the Response to the September 11 Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon |date=2002, July 23 |author=Arlington County, Virginia}}
* [http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/foi/index.html Joint Staff FOIA Requester Service Center]- Pentagon site for two videos released by same on 16 May 2006
* [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/index.html GPOAccess.gov] - 'The 9-11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Official Government Edition' [[2005]])
* [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/03/07/gen.pentagon.pictures/index.html Full series of images]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVDdjLQkUV8 3-D simulation of the last moments of American Airlines Flight 77] - 911 Case Study: Pentagon Flight 77
* [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB196/index.htm 9-11 NTSB Report]
* [http://arlingtonfirejournal.blogspot.com/2005/03/attack-on-pentagon-sept-11-2001.html Arlington Fire Journal - Arlington County Fire Dept. operations at crash site]
* September 11, 2001 archive of American Airlines site explaining that all aircraft are accounted for [http://web.archive.org/web/20010911233514/http://www.aa.com/]
* September 12, 2001 archive of American Airlines site with condolences for deceased [http://web.archive.org/web/20010912191349/http://www.aa.com/]
* [http://neverforget911.org/americanairlinesflight77.aspx Victims of American Airlines Flight 77]
{{coor title d|38.87095|N|77.05827|W|region:US-VA_type:landmark}}

[[Category:American Airlines Flight 77| ]]

[[es:Vuelo 77 de American Airlines]]
[[fr:Vol 77 American Airlines]]
[[id:American Airlines Penerbangan 77]]
[[it:Volo American Airlines 77]]
[[nl:American Airlines vlucht 77]]
[[ja:アメリカン航空77便テロ事件]]
[[sv:American Airlines Flight 77]]
[[th:อเมริกัน แอร์ไลน์ เที่ยวบินที่ 77]]