American Airlines blasts ABC-TVs "Path to 9/11"

American Airlines has issued a statement blasting ABC-TV's "Path to 9/11" show for what American calls an "inaccurate and irresponsible" portrayal of suspected Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist ringleader Mohammed Atta checking in for Flight 11 that day at Boston's Logan International Airport.

The program depicts a warning flashing on the computer screen of an American agent at Logan's Terminal B when Atta checks in. She calls over a supervisor asking whether Atta should be searched, but the supervisor responds that American should only hold his luggage until he boards the plane.

The scene has been widely interpreted as suggesting American could have thwarted the 9/11 attacks but failed to detain Atta. In fact, no such incident ever occurred. The warning actually flashed on the screen of a US Airways agent in Portland, Maine, when Atta and accomplices boarded a US Airways flight from Portland International Jetport to Logan before getting on Flight 11 in Boston later in the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

At the time, federal aviation security rules did not mandate passengers whose names were flagged be searched, only that their bags be held until they boarded the plane. American in a statement distributed Monday evening said, "The Disney/ABC television program, "The Path to 9/11," which began airing last night, is inaccurate and irresponsible in its portrayal of the airport check-in events that occurred on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

A factual description of those events can be found in the official government edition of the 9/11 Commission Report and supporting documents. This misrepresentation of facts dishonors the memory of innocent American Airlines employees and all those who lost their lives as a result of the tragic events of 9/11.”

ABC officials could not immediately be reached for response to the American statement and have not responded to other media outlets reporting on the American statement.

(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)