Flight 77 - Pentagon Event

Tuesday, September 11, 2001; 4:59 PM


Steve Patterson, 43, said he was watching television reports of the World Trade Center being hit
when he saw a silver commuter jet fly past the window of his 14th-floor apartment in Pentagon City.

The plane was about 150 yards away,
approaching from the west about 20 feet off the ground, Patterson said.
He said the plane, which sounded like the high-pitched squeal of a fighter jet,
flew over Arlington cemetary so low that he thought it was going to land on I-395.

It was flying so fast that he couldn't read any writing on the side.
The plane, which appeared to hold about eight to 12 people,
headed straight for the Pentagon but was flying
as if coming in for a landing on a nonexistent runway, Patterson said.

"At first I thought 'God, there's a plane truly misrouted from National,'"
"Then this thing just became part of the Pentagon ...
I was watching the World Trade Center go and then this. What's next?"

He said the plane, which approached the Pentagon below treetop level,
seemed to be flying normally for a plane coming in for a landing
other than going very fast for being so low.

Then, he said, he saw the Pentagon "envelope" the plane
and bright orange flames shoot out the back of the building.

By Barbara Vobejda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 11, 2001; 4:59 PM
washingtonpost.com
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