Mitch Anderson

Mitch Anderson, disguised as an Air Force pilot, stole a stealth fighter during Day 4 and shot down Air Force One as it approached Los Angeles.

Before Day 4
Mitch Anderson was in a military prison and became a hired mercenary after being dishonorably discharged from the military. He had been a mercenary for four years, and he lived with Aziz, another one of Habib Marwan's accomplices.

Day 4
On Day 4, 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.

With the help of Nicole, he used John Hansen to get into the Air Force base. After getting onto the base, Anderson killed Hansen and contacted Marwan. Anderson took the man’s passcard and identification, and snipped one of the pilot's thumbs off with a pair of pliers. He used the severed thumb to verify his identity on a keypad.

Anderson's flight was grounded because of technical difficulties. He questioned a mechanic, who informed Anderson that the broken part for the plane wouldn't be available until the morning. Since the mechanic hadn’t filed a report or notified the chief mechanic, Anderson murdered the mechanic and hid his body.

Anderson then posed as the mechanic, and told the chief mechanic, Horter, that the flight was cleared for takeoff and that the earlier difficulties were only a false alarm.

Marwan phoned Anderson again and found that Anderson has taken off in an F-117A stealth fighter jet. Anderson knew that the entire world would be looking for him and he asked Marwan to confirm that his cover has been established and that he would be assumed dead.

CTU figured out that Anderson had stolen the stealth jet and planned to shoot down Air Force One. Jack Bauer attempted to contact Anderson using a recall frequency for the stealth bomber, but Anderson didn't respond to Jack's pleas. Anderson turned off his receiver and Chloe O'Brian informed Jack that Anderson had severed communication.

Anderson fired from the stealth plane and an explosion erupted 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.

Bill Buchanan reported that one of the jets accompanying Air Force One spotted the stealth fighter and shot it down. However, it is possible that Anderson still lived based on Marwan's earlier promise of faking Anderson's death. Although it is also possible that he did not expect CTU to find out his plan on such short notice and did in fact die.

Memorable quotes

 * Mitch Anderson: Your family is dead and so are you.


 * Mitch Anderson: Get your things. We have a plane to catch.


 * Mitch Anderson: Is my cover in place?


 * Habib Marwan: I’ve told you before: yes, you’ll be 100% safe.


 * Anderson: Marwan, they have to believe I’m dead.


 * Marwan: They will. My people have taken care of this.


 * Anderson: They'd better, because once this is done, the entire world will be looking for me.