Col. Paul J. Evanko’s Field Notes from 9/11

Col. Paul Evanko with President George W. Bush at the Flight 93 crash site near Shanksville.
Pennsylvania State Archives, RG-30.83: Colonel Paul Evanko Collection

The United States was changed forever on the morning of September 11, 2001, when it was attacked by members of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. One of the four airliners that was hijacked as part of the attack was United Airlines Flight 93, originally scheduled from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California. Flight 93 crashed in a field in Stonycreek Township, near Shanksville, in Pennsylvania’s Somerset County, after the passengers heroically fought back and attacked the hijackers. The passengers were able to overwhelm the terrorists and keep them from completing their plan of crashing the plane into a building in Washington, D.C.

Paul J. Evanko always wanted to be a Pennsylvania state trooper. His father served in the Pennsylvania State Police for 38 years; Paul planned from an early age to follow in his footsteps. He began serving in the Pennsylvania State Police in 1970, and by the time of the 2001 al-Qaeda attacks, he was both colonel and commissioner. As head of the State Police, he oversaw the organization’s response to the Flight 93 crash.

The morning of September 11, 2001, was filled with confusion and terror. Evanko had to analyze and evaluate information as it was reported to him. He had to make decisions quickly regarding the response to what had happened and assess other areas for potential terrorist attacks in Pennsylvania. Fortunately, for history’s sake, Evanko kept field notes during this time that describe when he learned various details about what happened with Flight 93 and the actions he ordered to be taken in response.

Pages from Col. Paul Evanko’s field notes on the Flight 93 crash, 2001.
Pennsylvania State Archives, RG-30.83: Colonel Paul Evanko Collection

The field notes consist of approximately 43 separate pages and are now in the collection of the Pennsylvania State Archives. Some are handwritten on yellow lined pages, and others are on white paper.

Evanko was first notified of the plane going down in Somerset County at 10:11 a.m. and noted it was unconfirmed. By 10:21 a.m. the Pennsylvania State Capitol was ordered to evacuate because of concerns about possible additional attacks. By 10:38 a.m. Evanko was notified that it was confirmed that a large jet airliner was down in Somerset County.

At 11:15 a.m. Evanko ordered two State Police officers to report to Pennsylvania’s nuclear power plants to assist with security. This was due to the continued concern that the coordinated terrorist attacks were not yet over that day. By 11:18 a.m. a platoon of State Police officers was ordered to the Flight 93 crash site, and the agency’s mobile command unit was also en route.

Within the first hour that the State Police arrived on the scene, two people were arrested for taking pieces of the plane and mail from the crash site. The police set up an inner perimeter of 300 to 400 yards and an outer perimeter of 3 to 4 miles around the site. They also set up perimeter check points staffed by state troopers. Once it was determined that there were no survivors from the crashed airliner, Evanko and the FBI designated the site a crime scene.

There were 44 people aboard Flight 93, including the four al-Qaeda terrorists. The aircraft hit the ground at such an angle and at such a high velocity of speed, about 575 miles per hour, that it exploded like a bomb on impact with the ground. Only very small pieces of aircraft debris were recovered. Passenger remains were also minimal, as most of their bodies had been incinerated on impact. Investigators were concerned about the potential for biological hazards from jet fuel or human remains, or the possibility of a weapon of mass destruction.

The Somerset County coroner in charge of the human remains stated that only 8 percent of the 44 bodies had been recovered. All identified remains of passengers and crew were returned to their families. Those remains that could not be identified were placed in three caskets and buried on September 12, 2011, at the Flight 93 National Memorial, which had been opened and dedicated two days before.

In 2016 Paul J. Evanko donated his field notes to the Pennsylvania State Archives, along with the State Police Flight 93 after action report; the State Police 2001 annual report; email correspondence and announcements; Flight 93 recordings, slideshows and photograph albums; correspondence from the Department of the Interior (2011–14); and 9/11 and Flight 93 VHS videotapes, all now held in Record Group 30.83.

Richard C. Saylor is an archivist for the Pennsylvania State Archives and author of the award-winning book Soldiers to Governors and numerous articles on military, political and sports history.