COMMISSION SENSITIVE

UNCLASSIFIED

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

Event: Linda Povinelli, Area 3 Air Traffic Control Supervisor

Type of event: Interview
Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Special Access Issues: none
Prepared by: Gate Taylor
Team Number: 8
Location: Indianapolis Air Traffic Control Center
Participants - Non-Commission: Linda Povinelli, Area 3 Air Traffic Controller;
Participants - Commission: John Farmer, Dana Hyde, Gate Taylor

Background
Linda Povinelli started with the FAA as an Air Traffic Controller in 1985. Since then she
has held the positions of Quality Assurance and Supervisor. She is currently the Air
Traffic Controller supervisor of area 3. Povinelli shares an office with Indi's other
supervisors but is usually on the main floor during her shifts. She is responsible for
resource management, break rotation, and personally overseeing the Air Traffic
Controllers in Area 3

Povinelli had never before been involved in a hijack situation. She has participated in
refresher training in the DYSIM, dynamic simulator about every six months. Povinelli
had never been presented with a suicide hijack situation in this training.

It is very uncommon to loose transponder. Povinelli believes this happens only about
once per year but a NORDO situation happens daily. When an aircraft deviates from it's
path, controllers communicate with the pilot over the radio to fix the deviation.

9/11 experience
Povinelli recalls that there were 15 people scheduled for the day shift and John Thomas
was her supervisor. While in the supervisor's office, Povinelli received a page form the
floor that read "think we lost an aircraft." She then ran down to Area 3 and started an
assessment of the situation. Povinelli called American Airlines to report the NORDO and
loss of transponder and also called the other sectors in front of AA77's flight path.

On the scope, she saw a slight turn in the path of AA77 before it lost communication but
assumed that the turn was an ordinary correction. Her first thought was a crash, so
Povinelli called the state police for a search and rescue of the area where AA77
disappeared.
 COMMISSION SENSITIVE
UNCLASSIFIED

At this time, the controllers had already hit the all primary. Povinelli was not aware that
AA77 had reappeared in the Henderson sector of Indi's airspace.

Povinelli's role in grounding flights was to inform the controllers to begin landing planes
and to keep frequencies clear.

After Action
The times in Povinelli's written statement are accurate since she went back and listened
to the recorded calls of the morning of 9/11.

In the briefing given shortly after 9/11, Povinelli recalls that the SW turn of AA77 was
not a big issue. It was on the Satori, but not included in the briefing.

Post 9/11
Since 9/11, Povinelli is more alert and more through with possible emergency situations.
She does not let the pilots get careless about giving call signs promptly.

NORAD
Povinelli knew of NORAD. In hindsight, she would have called NORAD on the morning
of 9/11 for a scramble. This would have been coordinated with the front desk. Povinelli
has covered the front desk on midnight shifts and could get a phone number for NORAD.
Contact with NORAD is beyond Povinelli's rank, but she knows that communication is
possible between the Air Traffic Control Centers and the military.
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