Mitch Anderson

Mitch Anderson, disguised as an Air Force pilot, stole a stealth fighter during Day Four and shot down Air Force One as it approached LA. Mitch Anderson is played by Ned Vaughn.

Background
Mitch Anderson was in a military prison and became a hired mercenary after being dishonorably discharged from the military. He has been a mercenary for four years, and he lives with Aziz, another one of Marwan's accomplices.

Day Four
Habib Marwan called Mitch Anderson to ensure that he was ready for the next phase of Marwan's plan. Anderson assured Marwan that it would take him less than thirty minutes to reach his destination, and then he pulled an Air Force uniform out of his closet.

In a hotel room nearby, an Air Force pilot is with his mistress. He gets a phone call from his wife who tells him that masked gunmen are holding her and their children hostage. The pilot turns and sees the mistress aiming a gun at him. She orders him to get dressed. Mitch Anderson enters the room, gives the woman a bag of money, and tells the pilot, "We have a plane to catch."

Wearing his uniform, Anderson calls Marwan, who meets him and promises him clearance and identification codes for a flight package.

The real Air Force pilot drives onto an Air Force base. Security guards search his car, but don’t find Anderson, who is hiding in a collapsed seat. After getting onto the base, Anderson kills the pilot and contacts Marwan. Anderson takes the man’s passcard and identification. He also snips one of the pilot's thumbs off with a pair of pliers.

As Anderson enters the high security area of the Air Force base, he uses the severed thumb to verify his identity on a keypad.

Anderson's flight is grounded because of technical difficulties. He questions a mechanic, who informs Anderson that the broken part for the plane won’t be available until the morning. Since the mechanic hasn’t filed a report or notified the chief mechanic, Anderson shoots the mechanic in the head.

Posing as the mechanic, Anderson tells the head mechanic that the flight is clear for takeoff and that the earlier difficulties were only a false alarm.

Marwan phones Anderson again and finds that Anderson has taken off in an F-117A stealth fighter jet. Anderson knows that the entire world will be looking for him and he asks Marwan to confirm that his cover has been established and that he will be assumed dead.

CTU figures out that Anderson has stolen the stealth jet and plans to shoot down Air Force One. Jack attempts to contact Anderson using a recall frequency for the stealth bomber, but Anderson doesn’t respond to Jack's pleas. Anderson turns off his receiver and Chloe informs Jack that Anderson has severed communication.

Anderson fires from the stealth. An explosion erupts in Air Force One. Chloe reports that Air Force One suffered an indirect hit and pieces of the plane are falling to the ground over the desert.

Memorable Quotes
Habib Marwan (to Anderson): The President of the United States is on a tight schedule. We can’t be late.