The F-15 Eagles That Defended New York on 9/11
On September 11, 2001, the United States faced the deadliest terrorist attack in its history when al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four commercial airliners and turned them into weapons. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.
Amid the confusion and uncertainty of that morning, two F-15 Eagles from the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Fighter Wing, based at Otis Air National Guard Base, became the nation’s first airborne military response to the unfolding crisis.
Racing Toward an Unknown Threat
As reports of multiple hijackings began reaching military and aviation authorities, Lieutenant Colonel Tim Duffy and Major Dan Nash were ordered to scramble. Once in their aircraft, the pair launched within six minutes and accelerated toward New York City, approximately 153 miles to the southwest.
“We got into the jets for battle stations, and the green light came on to give us the scramble order,” Nash later recalled. “Duff taxied out as number one, and I followed him. While we were taxiing, we received instructions to climb to a designated altitude and proceed on a heading toward New York City.”
At the time, the pilots had only a limited understanding of the scale of the attack. During the flight south, updates from the Federal Aviation Administration revealed that American Airlines Flight 11 had already struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Soon afterward, they learned of a second hijacked aircraft, United Airlines Flight 175.
Searching a Crowded Sky
The task facing air defense controllers was extraordinarily difficult. The congested airspace of the northeastern United States complicated efforts to locate the hijacked airliners, a challenge made even greater because the hijackers had disabled the aircrafts’ transponders, removing their primary means of identification on radar.
As the situation evolved, Duffy and Nash received a new mission: establish a combat air patrol (CAP) over Manhattan.
“They came back and told us we had a new mission to proceed directly to Manhattan and set up a combat air patrol,” Duffy said. “We were trying to make sure we could identify aircraft, escort them to land, turn them away, or do whatever was necessary to keep this from happening again.”
Witnessing History from Above
Upon arrival, the F-15s established a protective CAP over New York City as federal authorities moved to secure the nation’s airspace. The FAA soon ordered an unprecedented nationwide grounding of civilian air traffic, while military aircraft assumed responsibility for protecting major population centers and critical infrastructure.
While orbiting above Manhattan, Duffy and Nash flew directly over the World Trade Center complex to assess conditions on the ground. It was during this patrol that they witnessed the collapse of the South Tower.
“As I was looking at the roof, it started getting smaller,” Duffy recalled. “Then I saw the plume coming out from the bottom. The building was falling away from us as we watched.”
Sustaining the Mission
The two Eagles remained on station with support from KC-135 Stratotankers of the Maine Air National Guard’s 101st Air Refueling Wing, enabling them to continue their patrol over the city. Additional fighters soon joined the mission, including F-15s from the 102nd Fighter Wing and F-16s from the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing and New Jersey Air National Guard’s 177th Fighter Wing.
During more than five hours of airborne operations, the fighters escorted approximately 100 aircraft from the restricted airspace surrounding New York before finally returning to Otis.
A Lasting Legacy
The actions of Duffy, Nash, and the personnel who supported them marked the beginning of a new era in homeland air defense. Their rapid response on the morning of September 11 demonstrated the critical role of the Air National Guard in protecting U.S. airspace during a national emergency.
Today, the Massachusetts Air National Guard, including the unit now redesignated as the 102nd Intelligence Wing, continues its mission of safeguarding the nation through training, intelligence operations, and aerospace defense, carrying forward the legacy of those who answered the call on one of America’s darkest days.
