Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama that Unfolded in the Skies over America on 9/11

Written by Lynn Spencer

Narrated by Joyce Bean

Touching History is told through the eyes of commercial airline pilots, FAA and military controllers, jet fighters and key military personnel at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and its subunit Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS), and the national FAA Command Center, whose personnel had to grapple with the bizarre and unprecedented unfolding drama of the attacks.



In a round-robin narrative in the style of Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn's 102 Minutes, Lynn Spencer takes readers right to the front lines of the unfolding drama as the realization hits that multiple hijackings are underway and then that the country is under attack. From the computer screen of the comptroller who first noticed that American flight 11 was flying off course, to the phone call from a stewardess onboard alerting American Airlines emergency personnel that hijackers had killed two flight attendants and entered the cockpit, to the battle cab of the military commander who ordered fighter jets in the air and the NASA-like operations floor of the FAA Command Center, to the cockpits of a number of the 4,500 commercial airliners flying over the United States that morning, Spencer follows the story all the way through the end of the day, when the fog of war had finally lifted and the country could assess exactly what had happened.



Spencer conducted hundreds of interviews and spoke to every key player in the airline industry and military who was involved in the major air events of the day—including a number of people the 9/11 Commission did not speak to. We hear from Ben Sliney, the man who came to work that morning for his first day on the job as the Operations Chief of the FAA and who made the brilliant, unprecedented decision to ground every commercial plane in the sky and close U.S. airspace; the military commanders who decided to override protocol and send fighter jets to defend Washington without approval; the pilot of Delta Flight 19889, which was mistakenly identified as a fifth hijacking; and the sole FAA controller who stayed at his post in the Boston Center, which was reported to be under attack, and provided the military with almost all of the information it got about the whereabouts of hijacked planes.



Based on highly detailed accounts from these interviews, as well as on the voluminous records of radio transmissions from the controllers, the hijacked planes, and many of the other planes that were in the air that day, Spencer fills in many holes in the story as it was reported by the 9/11 Commission. She also brings to pulse-quickening life the confusion, the horror, and the fierce determination and quick thinking of so many key players as they improvised their responses to a shocking new type of warfare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 17, 2008
• ISBN: 9781400177608

Lynn Spencer

Lynn Spencer is a pilot for ExpressJet Airlines as well as a certified flight instructor.  She has been a commercial pilot for eleven years, and in that time has held the coveted position of Instructor for the airline.  She graduated from Duke University with honors, before following her dream to become a pilot, and she completed her high-altitude training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.  She lives in Arlington, Virginia with her three children.

Reviews for Touching History

[pwoodford_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An insider’s examination of the aviation side of 9/11/2001: Lynn Spencer’s meticulously researched story of the commercial airline crews, FAA controllers, NORAD commanders and controllers, and military fighter pilots who were actors in the drama that day. Fascinating, even if you don’t know a lot about aviation. Finally, I got to the root of the rumor flying around fighter pilot circles on 9/11, that a USAF F-16 pilot had shot down American Airlines Flight 93 over Pennsylvania.

[tassin_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gripping account of events in the air and in the military and air traffic control on 9/11 by an author who is also a commercial pilot. Based on interviews, correspondence with participants and transcripts.

The book gives a clear account of what was happening, when, where, and to whom; and shows the confusion and communication problems that hampered responses. Covers what might have turned into a 5th hijacking (United 23) and sheds light on how airlines track and communicate with their planes through ACARS.

Differs from 9/11 Commission Report in stating that UA93 could have been intercepted if it had not crashed, and clears up rumours about missiles supposedly "missing" from the (unarmed) fighter sent to intercept it.

Complements other 9/11narratives that cover the Pentagon and World Trade Center attacks.

[pilgrimhen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Riveting book - I was hooked by the first few pages. Much of it was written in the present tense (he does this, he is that) which is not good literary style generally, BUT it worked for this book. Kept me on the edge of my seat, cover to cover. It also enlightens with information about that day that you just don't hear about. Excellent all around - highly recommended.

[karlus_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

While many of us were struck dumb, and watched the events of 9/11 unfold with dismay and horror and even fear, there were those whose job it was to preserve the safety of the airspace over the United States and indeed to protect the United States itself from attack. This is the story, from shore to shore, in military Air Force and civilian FAA, in control centers and cockpits, on the ground and in the air, of all those whose immediate and unquestioning response to their call of duty was a huge outpouring of every ounce of their stamina, devotion and heart in protection of their Country, and ours, for all of us. These people all were heroes when their Country needed them, and "tribute" is too mild a word. "Inspiration" for the rest of us is the word that comes closer to mind for a book, which after all its detailed facts, is still highly readable and eventually thrilling with its reenactment of the events of that day.