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This article's subject relates to Season 4 of 24.

Mitch Anderson was a former American Air Force officer turned mercenary who joined up with the terrorist cell of Habib Marwan. Disguised as an Air Force pilot, he stole a stealth fighter and shot down Air Force One as it approached Los Angeles during Day 4.

Before Day 4[]

View Mitch Anderson's profile at Mitch Anderson

Anderson was born on 4 November 1968 in Battle Creek, Michigan.

At some point in his life, Mitch shared an address with his sister Alicia for a number of years.

24 Day 4, Ep16- Mitch Anderson profile

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. By Day 4, his parents were both deceased.

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―with Nicole's help as Hansen's undercover lover, he extracted Hansen's compliance by threatening his wife and children. After getting onto the base, Anderson told Hansen his family was dead as he killed him and contacted Marwan. Anderson took Hansen's pass card and identification, and snipped one of the pilot's thumbs off with a pair of pliers to bypass fingerprint locks. He then made his way through the next layer of security, passing Jones, a soldier at the base, on the way. After exchanging salutes, Jones left and Mitch used Hansen's severed thumb to verify his identity on a keypad, and pass through the security door.

Anderson's flight was delayed because of technical difficulties with the plane. He questioned the mechanic Lenkov, 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 Lenkov by wearing his clothes, 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. Marwan confirmed this.

CTU figured out that Anderson had stolen the stealth jet and planned to shoot down Air Force One after Nicole was killed as files on Aziz's hard drive were discovered. Jack Bauer contacted Anderson using a recall frequency for the stealth bomber, but Anderson didn't respond to Jack's pleas. The renegade pilot was moved for only a brief moment when Jack offered to connect him to his sister, who had been informed of his actions and wanted to speak. Anderson turned off his receiver and Chloe O'Brian informed Jack that Anderson had severed communication.

He then fired from his stealth plane and struck one of Air Force One's escort fighter jets, destroying it. The explosion severely damaged the President's plane, and it flew apart over the Mojave Desert and crash-landed. President Keeler was grievously injured during Anderson's attack. Over 75 people, Keeler's son included, were killed.

Bill Buchanan reported that one of the jets accompanying Air Force One spotted the stealth fighter and successfully shot it down.

Memorable quotes[]



  • 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. ("Day 4: 10:00pm-11:00pm")

Background information and notes[]

  • Anderson's fate is unclear. When speaking to Marwan over his radio before the attack, he revealed a plan in which his death would be very convincingly faked. Marwan assured him this would occur, so it is conceivable that Anderson was prepared for being shot down. It is also possible that he did not expect the fighter escort to find him on such short notice (or even be alerted to his presence), and was killed. No mention is made of Anderson parachuting out, and the character is never mentioned again in the series.
  • According to 24: The Ultimate Guide, Anderson's body was never found.
  • Although Anderson only appears in a few episodes, his shooting down of Air Force One and incapacitation of President Keeler leads to Charles Logan being sworn in as his replacement. Logan, in turn, causes much of the trouble that occurs throughout the rest of the series, both directly and indirectly. Anderson is ultimately responsible for almost everything that happens in the second half of the series.
  • Anderson is named on the Previously on 24 recap before his name is spoken on the show.

Live appearances[]

See also[]

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