"Yossarian" wrote

Dunno. I rather prefer the notion of F-15/16s sprinting to the site.
Heck, they didn't do too shabbily on 9/11, from a cold start.

News flash: the fighters didn't arrive in time! Balloons and
artillery have amazing loiter times where they are needed most.
Substantive responses appreciated.

Given the alert status of 9 AM, Sep 11, 2001, the balloons would have been
deflated and folded in a hangar somwhere. How long does it take to inflate
and loft a balloon?

What SAM or AAA was in place and ready to shoot down a civilian airliner on
that morning?

Pete