Plagued by miscommunication and confusion, US aviation and military officials were entirely unprepared for the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the 9/11 Commission reported yesterday.

In its final public hearing, the commission detailed a series of communications breakdowns at the White House, Pentagon and Federal Aviation Administration so severe that jet fighters were sent to chase phantom aircraft while real airliners crashed undisturbed into their targets, killing nearly 3,000 people.

The top commander at NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command told the commission that the military could have shot down the hijacked planes that subsequently hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon if it had received more timely information from the FAA.

We’ll have more on this in a few minutes.