Clear the Skies

Released: 2002-09-01
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7874798

Description from the DVD:
"The very idea of the United States being attacked by air was unimaginable and unexpected. ON the morning of September 11, 2001, fourteen fighter planes, dispersed among seven bases, were responsible for the country's mainland air defense; four alone responsible for the entire North East. At 9:44 an order was given that had never been attempted before, to go to Condition Air Traffic Control Zero - to clear the skies of all non-military aircraft. At that time, roughly 4, 836 commercial and private planes were flying over the United States and in less than three hours the clear the skies order was fully carried out.

This is the story of how, minute-by-minute, America's air defense responded, as well as those responsible for the President's and other government officials' safety when the horrific events of 9/11 unfolded. Discover intriguing personal accounts from this unforgettable day as fighter pilots, air defense officials, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, Lynne Cheney and those who at key moments were with the President to tell their stories."

It's important to note that since this documentary was produced in 2002, it's based on the incorrect timeline and events initially presented by military and government officials. In this version of events, it was claimed that the Langley fighters were deployed in response to the hijacking of American 77, that NORAD were tracking United 93, and shoot-down authorization had been established and given to the pilots. The 9/11 Commission later revealed that the Langley jets were, in fact, deployed in response to a mistaken belief that American 11 was still airborne and heading toward Washington, that the FAA did not notify NORAD about United 93 until shortly after it had already crashed, and the pilots did not receive shoot-down orders until later. Commission member John Farmer discusses this in detail in his excellent 2009 book, The Ground Truth: The Untold Story of America Under Attack on 9/11.

Sourced from my own DVD:
Format: MPEG Video
Format version: Version 2
Bit rate mode: Variable
Bit rate: 5 482 kb/s
Maximum bit rate: 7 500 kb/s
Width: 720 pixels
Height: 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio: 16:9