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Sept. 11 flight attendants provided vital clues
JULY 19 — Two flight attendants* on the American Airlines
plane that crashed* into the World Trade Center gave important
details that helped the FBI identify* the terrorists*.The
crucial roles played by flight attendants Amy Sweeney and
Betty Ong have emerged for the first time.The two on the
Boston-Los Angeles flight fed a steady flow of information to
the carrier’s ground staff* until seconds before it hit the
north tower.“Listen and listen to me very carefully. I am on
Flight 11. The airplane has been hijacked*,” Sweeney told
ground manager Michael Woodward.Sweeney spoke “very, very
calmly — in a way which was quick but calm,” Woodward told ABC
News, adding that she gave him the seat numbers of four of the
five hijackers.That allowed airline staff to find the
terrorists’ names, phone numbers, addresses and credit-card
numbers.One of the names was ringleader* Mohamed Atta. That
was the key link that tied the attacks to Osama bin Laden and
his al-Qaida* network.Sweeney told Woodward how the hijackers
had stabbed* the two first-class attendants and slashed the
throat of a business-class passenger.Woodward asked Sweeney to
look out of the window and see if she could tell what was
happening.“I see the water. I see the buildings. I see
buildings,” she told him, adding that the plane was flying
very low. “She took a very slow, deep breath and then just
said, ‘Oh, my God!’ Very slowly, very calmly, very quietly. It
was not in a panic*.” (Difficulty: junior)Questions:Write T
for True and F for False according to the article.1. People
knew the important role played by the two flight attendants
immediately after the Sept. 11 attack.2. Sweeney was very calm
when she told the ground staff what was happening on the
hijacked plane.3. The seat numbers of four of the five
hijackers helped to tell the key link that tied the attacks to
Osama bin Laden.4. Woodward praised the calmness of the two
attendants.
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