Commission: military had no warning during 9/11.

Three of the four hijacked planes used during the attacks of September 11, 2001 had already crashed by the time fighter pilots scrambled to intercept them, according to the final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States.

Officials with North East Air Defense Sector (NEADS), based in Rome, N.Y., had nine minutes' notice on the first hijacked plane and no advance notice on the other three, the report states.

The only military aircraft that was in position to witness the attack on the capital was an unarmed National Guard C-130H, heading for Minnesota and re-vectored by Reagan National Airport controllers to identify a "suspicious aircraft." That aircraft was American Flight 77, heading towards a fiery crash at the Pentagon.

The C-130 pilot found the plane, followed in its path and witnessed the Boeing 757's descent into the Pentagon. That pilot later reported a column of black smoke from United 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers rushed the cockpit, the first report of that aircraft being downed.

"More than the actual events, inaccurate government accounts of those events made it appear that the military was notified in time to respond to two of the hijackings, raising questions about the adequacy of the response," the report noted, before outlining several incorrect reports from NORAD on exactly when the defense command received information.

Among the confusing reports are intercept orders given to thwart hijackings that didn't take place, while two actual planes were careening towards Washington, D.C. Testimony from NORAD to the commission indicated the military had 47 minutes to respond to United 93, when in truth, the report states, "by the time the military learned about the flight, it had crashed."

At Langley Air Force Base, fighters were placed on battle stations at 9:09 a.m. This was done in case they needed to be sent to New York; NORAD had no indication that any other planes had been hijacked. At 9:34 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration advised that Flight 77 was missing, location unknown; three minutes later it crashed into the Pentagon.

The commission report scuttles the idea, put forth by senior administration officials, that United Flight 93 could have been shot down prior to reaching targets in Washington, D.C. The commission timeline shows that the FAA notified the military of the hijacking at 10:07; four minutes after the pane had crashed. Additionally, fighters from Langley were not given clearance from NEADS commanders to shoot down aircraft. That clearance was later given by President Bush.

"The defense of U.S. airspace on 9/11 was not conducted in accord with pre-existing training and protocols," the report said. "It was improvised by civilians who had never handled a hijacked aircraft that attempted to disappear (by removing transponders) and by a military unprepared for the transformation of commercial aircraft into weapons of mass destruction ... We do not believe that the true picture of that morning reflects discredit on the operational personnel at NEADS or FAA facilities."

Since the attacks of 2001, the Pentagon established Northern Command to better defend U.S. airspace.