ABC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT {COVERAGE OF TERRORIST
ATTACKS} {TERRORIST ATTACKS} (TV)
Summary
This "ABC News Special Report" presents coverage of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath, as aired on ABC affiliate KABC-TV (Los Angeles). This coverage begins at 7:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, September 12, in the middle of a conversation between reporter Cynthia McFadden and New York Governor George Pataki; Pataki explains that late in the night two Port Authority police officers were extracted from the rubble and praises the efforts of the rescue workers. Next, investigative reporter Brian Ross tells anchors Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer that in the last twenty-five minutes FBI agents have entered the home of a man named Mohamed Atta in Florida. He adds that agents in that state are also investigating the owner of a car in which pictures of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden were found. John Miller then reports on government theories about the way in which the hijackers managed to take control of the airplanes. Gibson adds that the authorities have towed away a car in Boston that may provide evidence, and Miller explains that five names of potential hijackers have been identified. Gibson and Sawyer then talk to Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is in the nation's capital; McCain declares his support for the president and notes that defeating the terrorists may prove a long-term proposition. Next, the anchors speak with former CIA director James Woolsey, who suggests that a foreign government may be behind the attacks. In lower Manhattan, ABC's Don Dahler reports that six survivors have been pulled out of the wreckage alive -- one Port Authority police officer and five firefighters. Next, Lisa Stark tells viewers that the FAA hopes to allow planes back in the air soon. She also reports on what she has learned from federal authorities about the way in which the airplanes were removed from the surveillance of air-traffic controllers during the hijackings. Sawyer and Gibson then speak with Alice and Vaughn Hoglan, mother and uncle of passenger Mark Bingham on United Flight 93, the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. They share details of the young man's phone call home during the flight and express the hope that he worked with other passengers to foil the hijackers. Gibson then notes that lower Manhattan has been declared a disaster area by President Bush, and Sawyer relays some of the recent New York casualty figures. Next, Cynthia McFadden interviews Dr. Marc Wallack, the chief of surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital, about the condition of his patients. John Miller reports briefly on a fire near the World Trade Center that appears to have been spread by burning debris, and Dahler interviews some of the rescue personnel who saved a police officer. In the Washington area, John McWethy explains that fires are still being put out at the Pentagon, and Claire Shipman notes that the government is trying to function amidst the tragedy. Next, Sawyer and Gibson talk to Peter Gay and his sons David and William, the father and brothers of Peter Gay, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to hit the World Trade Center. John Miller then updates viewers on the investigation in Boston, and Brian Ross reports that authorities have discovered that Mohamed Atta apparently did not live at the Florida apartment just searched by the FBI. Gibson and Sawyer introduce an interview with FEMA director Joe Allbaugh and Bernadine Healey of the Red Cross as the tape ends.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 12, 2001 4:30 AM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:01:38
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:66714
- GENRE: News
- SUBJECT HEADING: Disasters; Hijacking of aircraft; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001; Terrorism
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 2001
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Charles Gibson … Anchor
- Diane Sawyer … Anchor
- Don Dahler … Reporter
- Cynthia McFadden … Reporter
- John McWethy … Reporter
- John Miller … Reporter
- Brian Ross … Reporter
- Claire Shipman … Reporter
- Lisa Stark … Reporter
- Joe Allbaugh
- Mohamed Atta
- bin Laden, Osama
- Mark Bingham
- George W. Bush
- David Gay
- Peter Gay
- William Gay
- Bernadine Healey
- Alice Hoglan
- Vaughn Hoglan
- John McCain
- George Pataki
- Marc Wallack
- James Woolsey