In a new documentary, pilot Tom Mannello of United Airlines Flight 23, which was scheduled to take off on September 11, 2001, believes that his plane was intended to be part of the terrorist attack.
A United pilot scheduled to fly on 9/11 says he lived in denial for years about the possibility hijackers targeted his plane that day … but he's more convinced than ever now. 'TMZ Investigates: 9/11: The Fifth Plane' premieres TONIGHT at 9/8c on @FOXTV pic.twitter.com/R0DEmNAkgK
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 20, 2023
The documentary, TMZ Investigates: 9/11: The Fifth Plane, claims to have spent six months investigating the “suspicious and alarming activities” that took place on Flight 23. Mannello states that he learned two box cutters had been found in the first-class seat pockets of the plane parked next to Flight 23, which had a tail number one digit off.
He believes that if somebody on the ground was cooperating with the terrorists, they may have made a mistake and placed the box cutters on the wrong airplane.
Also read | 9/11: The Fifth Plane: Who is Tom Mannello?
In the documentary, flight attendants on Flight 23 share their suspicions about four people in first class, including two men, a child, and a person who was dressed in a hijab, with the crew believing it was a man pretending to be a woman. They also recall a man profusely sweating in business class. The flight crew reported struggling to get fruit plates for their first-class flyers, who didn’t eat meat, igniting an argument between the passengers and the first-class attendant.
Mannello says he steered the plane toward the runway, unaware of what was unfolding in Manhattan at the time. He did not get cleared to take off, however, as air traffic control ordered all flights back to their gates for a mass evacuation. The attack killed 2,996 people, including 19 hijackers aboard four flights.
All-new special 'TMZ Investigates: 9/11: The Fifth Plane' investigates what could have been a fifth plane being targeted by hijackers on 9/11. Premieres TONIGHT at 9/8c on FOX. https://t.co/gC6tGMgb7E pic.twitter.com/elEPBMeq7M
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 20, 2023
Flight 23’s crew believes that they could have suffered a similar fate. TMZ reports that 20 minutes after passengers and crew members disembarked the United flight, and the aircraft was locked, people on the ground saw two uniformed individuals running in the passenger cabin. According to the documentary, when authorities came to investigate, they discovered an opened floor hatch, which led from the cabin to the belly of the plane. Mannello believes the two people may have been searching for the box cutters discovered on the neighboring plane.
Also read | Did George Santos lie about his mother’s death in 9/11 terrorist attack?
Former Rep. Carolyn Maloney says in the documentary that she is deeply concerned that Flight 23 could have been the fifth plane. She suggests that the Intelligence Committee and Congress should look at the intelligence reports that came out from this investigation.