Terror in the Skies: Why 9/11 Could Happen Again (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This event is not a singular or isolated experience. The terrorists are probing us all the time. -- Gary Boettcher, president, Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations

This incident, and incidents like it, occur more than you like to think. It is a "dirty little secret." -- Mark Bogosian, a pilot for a major airline

This is a major embarrassment [for the Department of Homeland Security]. . . . this is a scandal. . . . this needs to be exposed. -- Steven Emerson, author of

Product Description

Annie Jacobsen’s harrowing first-hand account of her flight with a group of suspected terrorists forces us to ask: Could 9/11 happen again? On June 29, 2004, Jacobsen, traveling with her family on Northwest Airlines flight 327, witnessed what she believed was a terrorist "dry run." The blogosphere quickly made world news of Jacobsen’s article on her terrifying experience, launching her on a year-long investigation. In Terror in the Skies, Jacobsen tells, for the first time, the full story of the events on Northwest 327 and the investigation that followed. What happened on her flight, she discovered, was not an isolated incident, and if our air security does not improve, 9/11 is likely to happen again.

Jacobsen interviewed dozens of flight attendants, pilots, air marshals, FBI agents, government officials, and ordinary passengers—eventually gaining access to confidential government reports and correspondence. She reveals a Department of Homeland Security, especially its Federal Air Marshal Service, mired in bureaucracy and political correctness. Teams of terrorists consistently "probe" security on airline flights, and front-line law enforcement officers and airline personnel are effectively prevented from doing anything about it.

Jacobsen’s persistence earned her the wrath of the Air Marshal Service’s management, which embarked on an unsuccessful campaign to discredit her. Their willingness to ignore even congressional inquiries and federal legislation, in an attempt to preserve ill-conceived policies and cover their mistakes, is one of Jacobsen’s most disturbing discoveries.

From her search for flight 327’s "Syrian Wayne Newton" to her testimony to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Jacobsen’s scrutiny of our air security makes the case for an overhaul of our security services. Many of the federal agents involved in the events of flight 327 have stood firm: nothing happened. But as Jacobsen shows, we can no longer afford to take nothing happened for an answer.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Spence Publishing Company; 2 edition (December 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890626627
• ISBN-13: 978-1890626624
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #808,176 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Riverboat Reading, May 4, 2006

By	Mark Twain "Mark" (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

I was informed of this book by a recent article in the Washington Times. Fascinating read! I remember the bizarre story of Northwest flight 327 and the 14 Syrian suspects and I was surprised to learn that for nearly two years now (from the Washington Times) the Department of Homeland Security has been "secretly" working on a report on the controversial flight. I do remember something way back when from the government to the affect of "nothing happened" on the flight. Something about the Syrians being part of a band. Well, well, surprise surprise. Now the DHS report has come out and it's been classified. Fortunately, Ms. Jacobsen's investigative work has not been classified. In this book, she shows us what Homeland Security doesn't want us to know: that 14 Syrian men can fly around the country on expired visas, terrorizing passengers and conducting test runs for hijacking and no one says boo. Buy a ticket to United 93, read this book and say a prayer. When you're done praying, get real and call your Congressman. If not, the news of your death will not be an exaggeration.

41 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not being paranoid if someone really is out to get you, September 20, 2005

By	Nancie Clare (Southern California) - See all my reviews

Everyone who flies often, or has loved ones who fly often, should read this book. It's one way to become a better informed consumer of airline travel. You'll learn that the government, which is supposed to protect you, is much more interested in covering up their mistakes, pointing fingers, using diversionary tactics and expending effort in obfuscating the truth.

While, this book reads like a fiction political thriller, it's real life. It was too much to hope for that the government would be proactive in protecting us from terrorists who would turn our airliners into weapons against us. Instead they wait until something happens - Richard Reid tries to blow up a plane with a bomb in his shoe, and now 86-year old grandmothers have to take off their shoes. One hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing: The CIA knew the 9/11 bombers were in the country, but didn't bother to tell the FBI. Once the FBI knew, they couldn't find them - even though some of them were actually listed in the phone book.

It's hard to read this book and keep on flying on commercial aircraft. But if anything, I have a whole lot more respect for the airline crews. I would say I have less confidence in our government, but I'm not sure confidence can be measured in the negative.

34 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Since when are the skies friendly?, September 19, 2005

By	btd "btd" (California) - See all my reviews

Layers upon layers of half truths and misleading information have always been apart of the information highway. After 9/11 i figured we would get to the bottom of some of the major issues facing National Security and airline safety, at the very least. To discover that even today, after all that has occurred we, as a nation of people, are still held under the thumb of misinformation when it comes to the airline industry and safety issues is absolutely unacceptable.
Annie's book expands very well on the layers of bureaucracy, lies and cover-ups that occur even today within the many institutions set up to protect our lives in the air as well as on the ground.
Dave Adams should be fired and the TSA should almost start from scratch and Mr. Mineta needs to be replaced immediately.
The airline industry should somehow be held accountable for the lack of information they allow their employees to share and how this inability to tell the crucial truths about what happens in the skies of today kills people and will again and again and again.
Ms. Jacobsen had a traumatic experience and didn't bury her head in the sand as so many of us have in the past. To pursue the personal truths that scare us so much is admirable. To pursue the truths that threaten a nation is courageous and patriotic. I commend her for telling a story that needed to be told, in a manner that is enjoyable to read and informative. This book isn't about her or her story.
This book, after reading it, is about me, you and everyone else who "fly the friendly skies."
A good read.
An informative read.
An incredibly discouraging read.