9:08 a.m.-9:11 a.m. September 11, 2001: Flight 77 Autopilot Briefly Disengaged

After leveling off at 25,000 feet and making a slight course change to the east-northeast, Flight 77 has its autopilot disconnected. It remains off for about three minutes before being re-engaged. This is according to information later obtained from its flight data recorder. During these three minutes, Flight 77’s altitude dips as low as 22,000 feet, but by the time the autopilot is re-engaged it has leveled again at 25,250 feet. [National Transportation Safety Board, 2/13/2002, pp. 3 ; National Transportation Safety Board, 2/19/2002, pp. 2 ; 9/11 Commission, 8/26/2004, pp. 30 and 94] The autopilot will later be disengaged again for the last eight minutes of the plane’s flight (see 9:29 a.m. September 11, 2001).