Information From Previously Unreleased 9/11 Commission Findings

Three years before the September 11, 2001 attacks, the FAA and officials from major domestic air carriers knew of a terrorist plot to "seek to hijack a commercial jet and slam it into a U.S. landmark," according to The New York Times.

This information -- suspected by many since the attacks occurred -- is from an updated release of the 9/11 Commission's report posted on the National Archives website last week. The new version makes available some information deleted from the original report released in January.

Many commission members, and the White House, have fought to have this information on airline security failures added to the heavily-edited original report. Most of the new material focuses on warnings the FAA received about possible terrorist hijackings, including information gathered from 52 intelligence documents mentioning either al-Qaeda or Osama bin Laden.

According to the new information, officials knew that two of the three airports ultimately utilized by the 9/11 hijackers -- Logan and Dulles -- had experience repeated security issues. For example, information deleted from the original report stated one-quarter of all screeners used for United Airlines flights at Dulles Airport in 2001 had not completed required criminal background checks. The screeners were contracted by Argenbright Security.

A separate statement on the report says that American Airlines suffered security lapses as well at Dulles. An American employee is quoted as saying keys to access the cockpit "would be lost or mishandled by employees without any significant repercussions or concern by management."

Much of the report still remains classified, as evidence by entire sections blacked out or simply erased, replaced by a hastily-scribbled "redacted."

FMI: Read The Updated 9/11 Commission Report (PDF)