Clear the Skies

When the unimaginable happened on September 11, 2001, 14 fighter planes took to the skies to carry out one urgent order: go to Condition Air Traffic Zero?clear the skies of all non-military aircraft. In less than three hours, those 14 planes were able to ensure the safe landings of the approximately 4,826 commercial and private planes that were in the air as the horrific events of 9/11 unfolded. This mesmerizing BBC documentary takes you behind the scenes of history in the making with personal accounts from the fighter pilots, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and others.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, there were over 4,000 planes flying over the United States. Four of them were hostile. America had the most powerful military in the world, yet an enemy attack was so unimaginable that they were utterly unprepared. The air defence for the entire US mainland ran to just 14 fighter planes. Told through interviews with American fighter pilots, officials at North American Aerospace Command, and government advisors, this is the minute-by-minute story of how America's air defences responded to the terrible events of 9/11.