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American Airlines Flight 77

SOLVED2001The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Aerial view of the Pentagon during rescue operations post-September 11 attack
TSGT CEDRIC H. RUDISILL, USAF · Public domain

American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled domestic flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport on September 11, 2001. The Boeing 757-223, registered N644AA, took off at 08:20 EDT with 58 passengers, including five hijackers, and a crew of six led by Captain Charles Burlingame and First Officer David Charlebois.

Approximately 31 minutes after takeoff, the hijackers stormed the cockpit and forced passengers and crew toward the rear of the cabin. Lead hijacker Hani Hanjour, who had trained extensively as a pilot, took control of the aircraft. Because air traffic controllers at Indianapolis Center were not yet aware that hijackings were underway elsewhere, Flight 77's disappearance from radar near southwestern West Virginia was initially treated as a possible crash, and search-and-rescue resources were misdirected accordingly.

While the hijacking was underway, two people aboard made phone calls without the hijackers' knowledge. Flight attendant Renee May called her mother, and passenger Barbara Olson called her husband, then-Solicitor General Theodore Olson, describing the hijacking and the weapons the hijackers carried. Hanjour ultimately flew the aircraft into the western side of the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, at 09:37, after executing a descending turn detected on radar at Dulles. The impact and resulting fire killed all 64 people aboard the aircraft and 125 people inside the Pentagon, for a combined death toll of 189. A portion of the Pentagon's west side later collapsed as a result of the fire.

Rescue operations were led initially by military and civilian personnel inside the building, with the Arlington County Fire Department assuming command within about ten minutes. Investigators, including the FBI's Washington Field Office and National Capital Response Squad, later took over the crime scene from fire officials. The Armed Forces Medical Examiner's office identified remains of 179 of the victims; overall, 184 of 189 people who died were identified. In 2002, unidentified remains of 25 victims were interred collectively at Arlington National Cemetery beneath a memorial marker inscribed with the names of all who died.

The flight's two "black boxes" were recovered from the wreckage; the cockpit voice recorder's magnetic tape was too damaged to yield usable audio, but data was recovered from the flight data recorder. The damaged section of the Pentagon was rebuilt and reoccupied by August 2002. An outdoor Pentagon Memorial, containing a bench for each of the 184 people killed in the building and aboard the aircraft, was dedicated on September 11, 2008.

Flight 77 was the third of four aircraft hijacked that morning as part of the coordinated September 11 attacks carried out by al-Qaeda, and was the only one of the two aircraft targeting Washington, D.C. (Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 93) to reach its intended target.

Key facts

Victims
Mari-Rae Sopper, Wilson Flagg, Charles Burlingame, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth Lewis, Timothy Maude, Dana Falkenberg, David Charlebois, Renee May, Barbara Olson, Michele Heidenberger
Date
2001
Location
The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2001-09-11T08:20

    Flight 77 departs Washington Dulles International Airport bound for Los Angeles.

  2. 2001-09-11T08:51

    Hijackers storm the cockpit and take control of the aircraft.

  3. 2001-09-11T09:12

    Flight attendant Renee May calls her mother and reports the hijacking.

  4. 2001-09-11T09:15

    Passenger Barbara Olson calls her husband, Theodore Olson, describing the hijacking.

  5. 2001-09-11T09:37

    Hani Hanjour crashes the aircraft into the western side of the Pentagon, killing all 64 people aboard and 125 in the building.

  6. 2001-09-11T10:10

    A damaged section of the Pentagon's western flank collapses.

  7. 2001-09-14

    The flight's two black boxes are recovered from the wreckage near the impact site.

  8. 2001-10-02

    Search for evidence and remains at the Pentagon crash site is completed.

  9. 2002

    Remains of 25 unidentified victims are interred collectively at Arlington National Cemetery.

  10. 2002-08

    Rebuilt sections of the Pentagon are reoccupied.

  11. 2006-05-16

    The Department of Defense releases security camera footage of the crash.

  12. 2008-09-11

    The outdoor Pentagon Memorial is dedicated.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Mari-Rae Sopper

    VICTIM

    Navy Judge Advocate Corps lieutenant, passenger aboard Flight 77, killed in the crash; first Navy JAG killed in action.

  • Wilson Flagg

    VICTIM

    Retired Rear Admiral, passenger aboard Flight 77, killed in the crash.

  • Nawaf al-Hazmi

    CHARGED

    Identified as one of five hijackers aboard Flight 77; died in the crash.

  • Majed Moqed

    CHARGED

    Identified as one of five hijackers aboard Flight 77; died in the crash.

  • Charles Burlingame

    VICTIM

    Captain of Flight 77, killed in the crash.

  • Khalid al-Mihdhar

    CHARGED

    Identified as one of five hijackers aboard Flight 77; died in the crash.

  • Salem al-Hazmi

    CHARGED

    Identified as one of five hijackers aboard Flight 77; died in the crash.

  • Jennifer Lewis

    VICTIM

    Flight attendant aboard Flight 77, killed in the crash.

  • Kenneth Lewis

    VICTIM

    Flight attendant aboard Flight 77, killed in the crash.

  • Timothy Maude

    VICTIM

    Lieutenant General and Army deputy chief of staff, killed in the Pentagon; the highest-ranking military officer killed in the attack.

  • Dana Falkenberg

    VICTIM

    Three-year-old passenger aboard Flight 77 with her parents and sister, killed in the crash; one of five victims for whom no identifiable remains were found.

  • Hani Hanjour

    CHARGED

    Identified as lead hijacker who piloted the aircraft into the Pentagon; died in the crash and was never prosecuted in court.

  • David Charlebois

    VICTIM

    First Officer of Flight 77, killed in the crash.

  • Renee May

    VICTIM

    Purser aboard Flight 77, killed in the crash; made a phone call to her mother during the hijacking.

  • Barbara Olson

    VICTIM

    Passenger aboard Flight 77, killed in the crash; made phone calls to her husband describing the hijacking.

  • Michele Heidenberger

    VICTIM

    Flight attendant aboard Flight 77, killed in the crash.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • Aerial view of the Pentagon during rescue operations post-September 11 attack

    archival location

    Aerial view of the Pentagon during rescue operations post-September 11 attack

    TSGT CEDRIC H. RUDISILL, USAF · Public domain · Source

  • Flight 77 wreckage at Pentagon

    archival location

    Flight 77 wreckage at Pentagon

    U.S. Navy Photo by Journalist 1st Class Mark D. Faram. (RELEASED) · Public domain · Source

  • Barbara Olson phone call details

    other document

    Barbara Olson phone call details

    United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia · Public domain · Source

  • Flight 77 CVR

    unclassified

    Flight 77 CVR

    James R. Cash (Electronics Engineer at the NTSB) · Public domain · Source

  • Hani Hanjour ATM security camera crop

    unclassified

    Hani Hanjour ATM security camera crop

    Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Source

  • Khalid al-mihdhar 2

    mugshot

    Khalid al-mihdhar 2

    California Department of Motor Vehicles · Public domain · Source

  • N644AA Boeing 757-223 American Airlines - AA, Phoenix Sky Harbor Int Airport December 2000

    unclassified

    N644AA Boeing 757-223 American Airlines - AA, Phoenix Sky Harbor Int Airport December 2000

    James Richard Covington · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

  • Nawaf al-Hazmi Florida Driver's License photo

    mugshot

    Nawaf al-Hazmi Florida Driver's License photo

    State of Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles · Public domain · Source

  • Pentagon fire AFIP

    archival location

    Pentagon fire AFIP

    U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Louis Briscese, Forensic Photography, Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, AFIP. · Public domain · Source

  • Renee May phone call details

    other document

    Renee May phone call details

    United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia · Public domain · Source

  • US Navy 070911-N-0962S-032 A memorial flag is illuminated near the spot where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001

    unclassified

    US Navy 070911-N-0962S-032 A memorial flag is illuminated near the spot where American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001

    U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brandan W. Schulze · Public domain · Source

  • Video2 flight77 pentagon

    unclassified

    Video2 flight77 pentagon

    Federal government of the United States · Public domain · Source

Places

The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia

38.8711, -77.0581

View on the map

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On September 11, 2001, five al-Qaeda hijackers seized American Airlines Flight 77 and crashed it into the Pentagon, killing all 64 people aboard and 125 people in the building.
Where did the crime happen?
The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Virginia

Sources

  1. American Airlines Flight 77wikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — The Washington Postnews · The Washington Post · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — ntsb.govnews · ntsb.gov · 2026-07-07