Ex-airline manager tied to 9/11 sentenced in child-sex case

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A former American Airlines operations manager who learned of the first Sept. 11 hijacking before the jet struck the World Trade Center has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to have sex with a child during a business trip to Pittsburgh last year.

Federal prosecutors had been prepared to seek an 18- or 19-year sentence before the plea bargain was struck, so Howland was "fortunate" to receive just 10 years, Walker said.

Howland's wife and children were in the courtroom but didn't comment or testify, though Howland, clad in an orange prison jumpsuit and athletic shoes, briefly whispered to them before sentencing.

Howland received some of the first panicked calls from employees at Boston's Logan Airport reporting the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11 on Sept. 11, 2001.