The Plan for the Security Control of Air Traffic and Air Navigation Aids (SCATANA) is an emergency preparedness plan of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

which prescribes the joint action to be taken by appropriate elements of the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

, and the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

in the interest of national security in order to effectively control air traffic and air navigation aids under emergency conditions. Known versions of the plan are dated June 1971 and August 1975. The plan implements parts of the

Federal Aviation Act of 1958 The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 was an act of the United States Congress, signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, that created the Federal Aviation Agency (later the Federal Aviation Administration or the FAA) and abolished its predecessor, t ...

, the Communications Act of 1934, and Executive Order 11490 of October 28, 1969 (amended by Executive Order 11921 on June 11, 1976). A similar plan by the same name existed in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

for many years before it was replaced by the Emergency Security Control of Air Traffic (ESCAT) Plan on October 9, 2002.

Use on September 11, 2001

The U.S. plan has been implemented once (other than tests) since its inception, and even then, it was a modified version. On September 11, 2001, the codeword was broadcast ordering that all U.S. air traffic be grounded, after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. Even in that instance, the emergency plan was only partially implemented as the Defense Department left command and control of the air traffic system with the

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

and intentionally allowed all

radio navigational aids The ''Radio Navigational Aids'' (Publication 117) publication contains a detailed list of selected worldwide radio stations that provide services to the mariner.National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, 2008. The publication is divided into chapte ...

to remain in operation to aid in the process of controlling and landing the thousands of planes which were aloft in domestic airspace. The

9/11 Commission Report ''The 9/11 Commission Report'' (officially the ''Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States)'' is the official report into the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was prepa ...

never refers to SCATANA directly, but it does discuss this unprecedented order and commends the

air traffic controller Air traffic control specialists, abbreviated ATCS, are personnel responsible for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. Usually stationed in air traffic control centers and control ...

s who carried it out.9/11 Commission Report
/ref> 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 Benedict L. Sliney (born 1945) is an American retired lawyer, air traffic controller, and former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Operations Manager. His first day in this position was on September 11, 2001, and he was responsible ...

with effectively issuing the directive. At 9:42 am on the morning of September 11, 2001, after the

Air Traffic Control System Command Center The Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC)is a part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control system, located in Warrenton, Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the ...

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".

References

{{reflist air traffic control in the United States aviation law Federal Aviation Administration Federal Communications Commission September 11 attacks United States administrative law United States Department of Defense United States federal government administration legislation

Use on September 11, 2001

See also

References