13 minutes passed before they called the military's northeast air defense sector, neads, to intervene. >> we have a hijacked airplane headed towards new york and we need you guys to -- we need someone to scramble some f-16s or something up there. >> is this real world are the exercise? >> no, this is not an exercise, not a test. >> fighter pilots at otis air force base in massachusetts were ordered to battle stations but they waited for neads to tell them where to go. while they stood by, american airlines flight 11 crashed into tower one of the world trade center at 8:46 a.m. >> i was in an elevator somewhere between the 78th and 101st floor when suddenly i felt a drop by an explosion and then felt it plummeting.