The Hijacking of Flight 219
The Hijacking began around 1:10PM
Flight 219 provided nonstop service from Sydney to Zootopia. . It carried its full capacity of nine flight attendants. Eighty-one passengers boarded the flight with them including the five terrorists. One of them former Zootopian Officer Jackson would be the pilot that crashed into the PBC Tower in Zootopia.
At 1:10 Officer Anderson that was on board flight 219 called the emergency into the Zootopian Airlines hotline to report the emergency on the flight. The plane took off at 1:00 PM and just before 1:09PM it had climbed to 26,000 feet, not quite its initial assigned cruising altitude of 29,000 feet. All communications and flight profile data were normal. About this time the "Fasten Seat belt" sign would usually have been turned off and the flight attendants would have begun preparing for cabin service.
At that same time flight 219 had its last routine communication with the ground when it acknowledged navigational instructions from the FAA's air traffic control. Sixteen seconds after that transmission, ATC instructed the aircraft's pilots to climb to 35,000 feet. That message and all subsequent attempts to contact the flight were not acknowledged. From this and other evidence, we believe the hijacking began at 1:10 or 1:12pm or shortly thereafter.
Reports from Officer Anderson told us most of what we know about how the hijacking happened. As it began, some of the hijackers-most likely Joseph and Johnathan who were seated in row 2 in first class-stabbed the two unarmed flight attendants who would have been preparing for cabin service. However we don't know exactly how the hijackers gained access to the cockpit. FAA rules required that the doors remain closed and locked during flight. Anderson speculated that they had "jammed their way" in. Perhaps the terrorists stabbed the flight attendants to get a cockpit key or maybe they forced one of them to open the cockpit door, or to lure the captain or first officer out of the cockpit. Or the flight attendants may just have been in their way. At the same time or shortly thereafter Jackson the only terrorist on board trained to fly a jet then ran to the cockpit from his business-class seat, possibly accompanied by Joseph and Johnathan. As this was happening, passenger Paul Henderson who was seated in the row just behind Jackson and Joseph. Paul was stabbed and killed by one of the hijackers-probably Jackson himself before making his way to the cockpit who was seated directly behind Jackson. Henderson had served four years as an officer in the Zootopian Police Department reports states that Officer Henderson made an attempt to stop the hijackers in front of him, not realizing that Johnathan was sitting behind him. Johnathan and the three others quickly gained control and sprayed Mace, pepper spray, or some other irritant in the first-class cabin in order to force the passengers and flight attendants toward the rear of the plane. They claimed they had a bomb.
About five minutes after the hijacking began Anderson contacted the Zootopian Airlines Northeastern Reservations Office in Savanna Central via a cell phone to report an emergency aboard the flight. This was the first of several occasions on 2/13 that Passengers took action outside the scope of their training which emphasized that in a hijacking, they were to communicate with the cockpit crew. The emergency call lasted approximately 25 minutes.
Anderson: The cockpit is not answering, somebody's stabbed in business class-and I think there's Mace-that we can't breathe-I don't know, I think we're getting hijacked he then told of the stabbings of the two flight attendants.
At 1:25pm James Wilde receiving Anderson's call in Zootopia Alerted the Zootopian Airlines immediately there after
James reached Steve, the manager on duty. Steve soon realized this was an emergency and instructed James to contact the cockpit
Two minutes later James tried unsuccessfully to contact the aircraft. Then the air traffic control specialist in Zootopia's operations center contacted the FAA's Savanna Central Office about the flight. They were already aware of the problem. They knew of a problem on the flight in part because just before 1:10 the hijackers had attempted to communicate with the passengers.
Jackson: Nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet
Air traffic controllers heard the transmission; Anderson did not. The hijackers probably did not know how to operate the cockpit radio communication system correctly. And thus inadvertently broadcast their message over the air traffic control channel instead of the cabin public-address channel. Anderson got through to the Zootopian Flight Services Office in Zootopia but was cut off after he reported someone was hurt badly aboard the flight. Three minutes later Anderson spoke with James Wilde on ground at the FAA's Flight control center
James: Anderson do you have any new information on the situation aboard flight 219?
Anderson: The plane is flying erratically. Anderson reported that he flight crew's phone lines had been hijacked. And a man in first class had his throat slashed two flight attendants had been stabbed-one was seriously hurt and was on oxygen while the other's wounds seemed minor. A doctor had been requested; the flight attendants were unable to contact the cockpit; and there was a bomb in the cockpit. Anderson said that he was trying to relay as much information as they could to people on the ground.
Anderson: Whoa the plane is flying erratically again. James the hijackers are Middle Easterners naming three of their seat numbers. One speaks very little English and another spoke excellent English
James: Oh my God
Anderson: The hijackers had gained entry to the cockpit, James I don't know how they did this so well
James: I don't know how either Anderson but this is extremely serious. And you said that these men are Middle easterners?
Anderson: Yes they are
James: Wow unbelievable. Is there anything new on board?
Anderson: The aircraft is in rapid descent
James: Can you look out the window and tell me where you are?
Anderson: Something is wrong. We are in a rapid descent we are all over the place
James: Anderson where are you?
Anderson: Near Downtown Zootopia.
James: Okay
Anderson: We are flying low. We are flying very, very low. We are flying way too low Oh my God we are way too low." The phone call ended.
At 2:32PM Nick and James Watch in horror as a second jet makes a surgical strike into The PBC tower.
Nick: Where's that plane going?
James: What the hell is that?
Nick: Holy FUCK!
James: Oh My God! Oh My God! Jesus Fucking Christ (Screams) James sobs Oh My GOD!
Judy : Oh No!
Nick: Oh My God!
Judy then tries to move the camera focused on the tower
Nick: No no don't touch it please
