Benedict Sliney's first day as the national operations manager for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on September 11, 2001, thrust him into the center of an unprecedented crisis. Overseeing the nation's air traffic flow from the command center in Herndon, Virginia, Sliney, a seasoned air traffic controller and lawyer, had to make immediate and impactful decisions as the events of that day unfolded.
Sliney had returned to the FAA after several prior stints and periods practicing law. He took on the national operations manager role just a couple of months before his 56th birthday, spending two months familiarizing himself with new technology and procedures. His new position meant regulating air traffic across the entire country.
On the morning of September 11, Sliney was preparing for his initial management briefing when reports of a hijacking out of Boston emerged. Initially, protocols for hijackings were followed, but the situation escalated rapidly when word came that a flight attendant had been stabbed. Sliney immediately returned to the command center to take charge. He attempted to track the hijacked plane, identified as American 11, but the aircraft disappeared from radar coverage after shutting off its transponder.
Shortly after, the first plane struck the World Trade Center's North Tower. Watching the television coverage, Sliney recognized the impact was not from a small aircraft. He suspected the hijacked airliner was responsible. His fears were amplified minutes later when United 175 crashed into the South Tower.
Eleven minutes before American 77 hit the Pentagon, Sliney issued a ground stop for all flights bound for New York and those transiting New York airspace. At 9:45 a.m., eight minutes after the Pentagon attack, he ordered all aircraft within U.S. airspace to land immediately. This directive, effectively a total shutdown of civilian air traffic, meant grounding thousands of planes, including commercial airliners, cargo planes, private jets, and military aircraft.
The decision to clear the skies, though costly and disruptive, was an implementation of SCATANA (Security Control of Air Traffic and Air Navigation Aids), a Cold War-era protocol designed to hand control of the airspace to the military in a hostile scenario. Despite the magnitude of his actions, Sliney faced immediate scrutiny from FAA headquarters, but he asserted that the decisions were necessary.
Later, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta was credited with the order and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Sliney's decisive action ensured that no further civilian aircraft could be used in the attacks, and he instructed air traffic controllers to report any deviations from flight paths, a measure that proved critical in tracking United 93's final, tragic course.
