While several people have been credited with issuing the SCATANA order for a national ground stop , the 9/11 Commission credits FAA National Operations Manager Ben Sliney with effectively issuing the directive . At 9:42 am on the morning of September 11 , 2001 , after the Air Traffic Control System Command Center learned from news reports that a plane ( American Airlines Flight 77 ) had crashed into the Pentagon , Sliney " ordered all FAA facilities to instruct all aircraft to land at the nearest airport " ( of sufficient runway length )
American Airlines Flight 77
American Airlines Flight 77
Security Control of Air Traffic and Air Navigation Aids