Flight 11

What about the other American Airlines jet, the first jet to be hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center?

Once again let's review the timeline from the  9-11 Commission Report.

7:59 Takeoff
8:14 Last routine radio communication; likely takeover
8:19 Flight attendant notifies AA of hijacking
8:21 Transponder is turned off
8:23 AA attempts to contact the cockpit
8:25 Boston Center aware of hijacking
8:38 Boston Center notifies NEADS of hijacking
8:46 NEADS scrambles Otis fighter jets in search of AA 11
8:46:40 AA 11 crashes into 1 WTC (North Tower)
8:53 Otis fighter jets airborne
9:16 AA headquarters aware that Flight 11 has crashed into WTC
9:21 Boston Center advises NEADS that AA 11 is airborne heading for Washington
9:24 NEADS scrambles Langley fighter jets in search of AA 11

We've shown with the location of the radar holes that Flight 11 turned off its transponder right next to a primary radar gap. This is the most logical place for a plane swap to take place

This map shows the Commission Report flight path (black line) and the Flight Explorer flight path (blue plane symbols) superimposed onto a Flight Explorer backdrop showing radar sites, ATC Centre boundaries (pink lines) and ATC Sector boundaries (green lines).

You may wonder why the hijackers took this detour to the North-West when they were attacking the World Trade Center

You will also see how Flight 11 "appears" to turn right at the centre point between the two radar sites. One of these sites would seem to be another secondary or "beacon only" radar as suggested by its absence from the FAA radar map.

Like Flight 77, if this section of air traffic space was assigned the "beacon only" radar as its preferred source of radar data, the controller would see the drone turning to the south while the real Flight 11 flies on without being seen.

Look at the location of the "apex blip" on this relief map. It is directly over the mouth of the Mohawk river valley. Now look at the plane's bearing at this point. It is heading almost directly towards Griffiss air base, a closed USAF base that still however provides a home for NEADS.

Using terrain to hide from radar is a common military tactic. A good pilot could fly the plane low along the valley without appearing on the radar. Maybe a veteran pilot like John Ogonowski could do it, perhaps having been fooled into thinking that he was participating in a drill.

However, if the plane was being tracked by "beacon only" radar

This map is a speculative attempt to find the source of a "swapped" plane that would take over after Flight 11 "disappeared".

Just before the turn, flight 11 flew directly over Schenectady County Airport home of the ANG 109th Airlift Wing (c-130s)
Look carefully at these three frames from the Flytecomm video clip. Look at the clocks. Flight 11 is in two places at once while Flight 175 is still shown in the same spot. Two planes?