20 Years Ago Today

Lots of tragic things happened in the Northeast 20 years ago today. Seems like it was yesterday. Let's remember those who parished. Also, thank you for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Even tho this was a dark day, it also reminds us that it also can bring out the best in mankind sometimes. That is all.

Indeed, the stories of heroism that happened that day continue to inspire us now. Ordinary people put in extraordinary circumstances and rising to the occasion.

I just hope that we've learned that some of the actions we took in the emotions afterward were regrettable, and keep that in mind the next time something like this happens.

Sad day for sure.  Lost someone on Flight 93.  I wondered at the time how many people do we see, nodding acquaintances we may see twice a week at a coffee shop, the guy that mounts your tires, or the guy two blocks away who has a sports car and you see him walking his dog when you walk yours; how many of these people just went away and we will never know it.

I saw Flight 11 while walking between buildings for a meeting.  At work, big open area, as a pilot I knew that low flying airliner was too low and not on a flight path to Albany airport or Schenectady Air Base.  Just said "Hmmmm..." .  Then I got to the other building.  =~ 0

This whole week it felt like the other shoe was going to drop today and someone was going to try something.  I hope I'm wrong.

Wife has been watching documentaries and such on it all week.  Might have contributed to my feeling of anxiousness.  I haven't been able to join her in watching, its too much.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

Indeed, the stories of heroism that happened that day continue to inspire us now. Ordinary people put in extraordinary circumstances and rising to the occasion.

I just hope that we've learned that some of the actions we took in the emotions afterward were regrettable, and keep that in mind the next time something like this happens.

That is well put. For the time being, at least, we're all stuck here together. We should make the most of it. 

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Same regarding watching it again. I saw the footage back then and it hits too close to home. I don't need to watch it happen again. 

We've been up the new tower, seen the memorial and paused to remember.

We're from New York. One of my grandmother's brothers was a glazier on the Towers. Someone lost that day had the same name as my brother--almost the same age, too. It makes you pause. 

I live about 20 miles North-West of LAX under one of the arrival flight paths.

When the flights due to COVID dropped to a trickle, I was reminded of the eerie, post 911 empty sky.

It's funny what can invoke unique 911 memories.  

I'm a pilot. The next day, and the days after when you looked up, and there was... nothing in the sky, that's when it truly hit me that things were different, now, and forever. 

It certainly doesn't feel like 20 years.   And yet feels like forever.  I guess that's how time goes at a certain point.

In reply to KyAllroad :

It does feel like yesterday and also a lifetime ago. I was listening to Stern on the way to the office. Once they realized what was up, the entire tenor of the show changed--like a switch had been flipped and the entire cast immediately went into traditional news-gathering mode. 

In reply to Appleseed :

I flew not long after 9/11--the EP3 Civic Si launch in Washington. It might have been a month or so later but it was my first flight after 9/11.

The flight wasn't that full and, for whatever reason, I was in the front row. I can't remember if I had been bumped to first class or if this plane even had a first class section. Or maybe first class was empty and I had the first seat in coach. Anyway, me and the dude across the aisle had the seats closest to the front of the airplane.

As the pilot walked past, he paused and looked at us: You're my posse, right?

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I learned to fly when I was a kid and I travel for business a lot so for several years post 911 I set off the person of interest trigger "male, traveling alone with flying experience".  My boarding pass would pretty much always have a special black & white checker board at the bottom which got me and my luggage a heightened looking over.  Whatever, do your part to keep everyone safe...just get to the airport a little early.

I was on one of the first flights out of London back to the USA and landed at a neatly empty Newark airport  on Saturday , our flight was only 10% full !

I was in AP Calculus at the time.  Class kinda stopped and everyone turned on the TV.  I remember they canceled classes for us high schoolers, not sure what they did for middle school and elementary (I went to a K-12 school)

This girl I was kind of not-really dating at the time said "I don't get it.  That's New York City, it doesn't effect us?"

I had to remind her that in less than a year I was going to be joining the USAF and that two of our teachers were in the Reserves. 

I don't remember much else of the day other than watching the news.

Went to Shanksville a few years ago when visiting my family in Pittsburgh. This guy is, no E36 M3, one of my heroes:

"Let's roll!"

Mr_Asa said:

I was in AP Calculus at the time. 

Me too.

I heard on the radio on the way to school that a plane had crashed into the WTC. Not knowing the full story, I was thinking it was a little prop plane accident. My first period classroom had no TV and it was announced that no one was allowed off campus for lunch, then 2nd period calculus had one turned on and it hit me.

Years later I was talking to an old security guard who told me he was a pizza deliverer at the time and that was the busiest day. His trunk was literally full of boxes.

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Same regarding watching it again. I saw the footage back then and it hits too close to home. I don't need to watch it happen again. 

We've been up the new tower, seen the memorial and paused to remember.

We're from New York. One of my grandmother's brothers was a glazier on the Towers. Someone lost that day had the same name as my brother--almost the same age, too. It makes you pause. 

Other than being from New York- we are the exact same.  Very tough day, and completely impossible to forget.

I was in the emissions lab running a test when someone told me, and I thought they said something about a local place that got hit.  Then it was covered on all of the TV's that show the corporate news scattered around our buildings.  There was a pretty decent crowd watching when one of the towers went down.  Can't forget that.  I really, really hoped that the commute was delayed in Manhattan for any reason.

My mother worked there a ton and had just left the day before. She was there weekly, and in one of the buildings that got damaged, I cannot remember which.

She lives in Pittsburgh, Pa and when the 93 went down in PA, I freaked out more than I already was. I tried to call her but got a message saying all circuits are busy in the 412. I was losing my E36 M3.

On the one year anniversary, I was mad and depressed like so many, then my buddy called. His first child was born. It made the day so much better.

I remember flying Richmond to St. Louis on business on October 12, 2001.  I'm not a fan of flying under any circumstances but that flat sucked.  Lots of new security measures in place, but nothing was working smoothly.  Check-in lines were like two hours long.  We stopped at New York-LaGuardia.  We got a good look at Lower Manhattan flying in.   I remember seeing the smoldering hole that was the WTC.  Surreal.

Never forget.

I was in college at the time.  Since I listened to books on tape at the time I didn't hear about the first plane until I got to class and people were talking about "something happening".   I figured it was a smaller plane and told people about the B-25 that had hit the Empire State Building years ago.  Then during a break I went to the office and saw Tower 2 coming down.   I knew that the E36 M3 was hitting the fan at that point.   I called my national guard unit to check in and was instructed to stand by.  Went back to class where the teacher told us several rumors she'd heard and when she started up her lecture I excused myself and headed out.

Stopped at the ATM for a maximum withdrawal (don't know when I can get cash again if things are really going tits up).   And headed home, there was a biker standing on an overpass waving a huge American flag.  The roads were nearly deserted but he clearly felt the need to do something.

It was a dark day with a lot of uncertainty. 

Appleseed said:

I'm a pilot. The next day, and the days after when you looked up, and there was... nothing in the sky, that's when it truly hit me that things were different, now, and forever. 

That struck me as well.  My office was close to the airport so there was usually airliners landing and taking off overhead; the next day there were just two F-16s on patrol.

Appleseed said:

I'm a pilot. The next day, and the days after when you looked up, and there was... nothing in the sky, that's when it truly hit me that things were different, now, and forever. 

I was a pilot at the time, too. We landed in Atlanta and I walked up the jet bridge and saw on the TVs in the terminal that the first tower had been hit, so I went downstairs to the operations office. They had a TV in the office and I got there just in time to see the second tower get hit. We were stuck in Atlanta for 3 days, IIRC, before we got permission to ferry back to Raleigh. It was really eerie being in Atlanta and not hearing any jets except occasional military jet engines. When we took off for Raleigh, ATC told us "direct" was prohibited ("stay on the airways") and there were no other civilian planes on the frequency. We could hear ATC talking to military jets, but their replies were on UHF, so we couldn't hear them. We passed a couple of thousand feet below a KC-10 with a flight of F-16s as we went through SC. What was really weird was that for that month, my schedule was nothing but day trips, four days per week. I'd fly the first flight to DC, sit there until a little after 9, head back to Raleigh and then do an Atlanta run. I loved it because I had weekends off and I'd usually get home in time to meet my daughter getting off the school bus. For Sept 11 only, my trip was an Atlanta run first and then a DC run. Two of my friends who flew the morning DC run saw the Pentagon jet; I'm thankful I missed seeing it.

A nice link about Gander Newfoundland. A small town that took in thousands of road weary travelers who couldn't land due to the US airports being shut down due to 9/11.

Our former BIL, who was married to Annie's sister, wrote this account of his experience on that day. He worked in WTC Building #7. It's a long account of his experience, but very moving. He wrote this on the eleventh anniversary, and our niece has posted it on FB every year since:

"Reflecting on 11 years ago…
I had driven into the city as I needed to be in very early to prepare for a seminar about securities processing in India and parked in an outside lot a half block West of the North tower. I remember thinking what a beautiful Fall like day it was.
I was sitting at my desk on the 27th floor of WTC #7. My back faced a window that viewed the North face of the North tower…no more than 20 yards away across Vesey Street. Other colleagues had started to arrive and get settled. My assistant had just arrived with a big suitcase containing everything she owned as she was headed off to Ireland later in the day to attend a wedding. After dropping off her suitcase, she and a few co workers headed over to a café located between the two towers. About ten minutes had passed when I heard the roar of a jet engine followed by a horrific crash. It sounded like a military jet had dropped a bomb.
Several of us sat dumbfounded wondering what had just happened. About 30 seconds had passed before we saw debris falling outside our windows on the 27th floor and upon looking up, we saw the crash site burning away. I called home to inform my wife to turn on the tube to see what had happened. I was certain that some hot shot military pilot had tried to buzz the tower and screwed up. I returned to the window along with my colleagues and began to witness what will always be the most horrific sights I’ve ever seen. People were standing on the edge of the crash site trying escape the smoke and fire. Burning debris was falling to the street below. A colleague and I were standing side by side and we both followed a large piece of burning debris to the ground. We both turned to each other with blank expressions as we realized what we just witnessed was a burning body hitting the pavement below. I don’t think either of us ever looked down again. To this day, we call each other every anniversary in remembrance of that moment.
I returned to my desk not really knowing what had happened and began to think this may be significant enough to disrupt the day’s plans. A client in Boston called me to see if we were ok. What I didn’t know was that most people in the building had experienced the bombing in 1993 and wasted no time evacuating the building immediately after hearing the crash. Those of us with a view of the site stayed and watched.
Again I heard the roar of a jet engine, not as loud but we could hear it getting closer. Then the second crash…I could feel the heat from the explosion..someone said she saw a jet engine fly out of the South Tower…windows down the hall had shattered and I realized we had to get out of the building. I packed up my laptop and grabbed a few things. I made a quick sweep of the floor to tell people to leave…most had left a long time ago. One colleague reminds me of my response when he told me he was just finishing up an email…I said “@#$! the damn email…we need to get the #@$! out of here NOW!” Before entering the stair case, I grabbed my assistant’s suitcase forever endearing her to me.
Inside the stairwell were masses of people still evacuating the building. I heard people saying it was a United Airlines flight…others were saying it was an American Airlines flight. I was thinking what could have possibly gone wrong to cause the crashes. I remember going down 27 flights of stairs took longer than I ever imagined. When we got to the bottom there was confusion which doors to exit through…we were routed right onto Vesey Street where we were quickly escorted around to the rear of the building. The street was strewn with debris and sheet covered bodies. Why we were using that exit still bothers me to this day.
We congregated behind the building and like the rest of the world, watched the two crash sites burn. I wondered how the hell fire fighters were going to fight those flames. I turned to a co-worker and said, “You know, I don’t think we’re going back in the building today, I’m going to grab my car and head home”. I turned over my assistant’s suitcase and headed to the lot where I had parked.
The lot was secured by attendants who left keys on the front tires so they could move cars to get to other cars. The lot was in the debris field, however I did not see any bodies. The attendants however were not entering the lot and said that upon paying we could assume the risk of getting our own cars out. There was a line of three or four of us looking to get our cars. Credit cards were not working as the phone lines were incapacitated…a man behind me threw the attendant a $100 bill and said he’d pay for us. The attendant printed receipts and let us in. To free my relatively new Subaru, I had to move a beautiful new Porsche (blue with tan interior….I remember how nice it smelled). I got into my car and exited the lot. I was stopped by a Fireman who said I could not go South..only North..which worked for me. I got onto the Hudson River Parkway and headed North.
I turned on the radio and was quickly made aware we were under attack by terrorists and that there were more planes in the air! There were phone interviews with people trapped in the towers above the crash sites. I could hear the fear in their voices. I recall one man saying how much he loved his family and said good bye to them. I learned that Manhattan was closed…no trains were running and bridges were closed.. I was moving along pretty well until I got to the Lincoln Tunnel…I turned into the city for a block or two then headed North around the Empire State building…my head crushed below my shoulders as I was thinking maybe one of the planes may be targeting the ESB. I was thinking I’ll go as far North as possible…maybe ditching the car in Harlem and walking over the Westchester bridge. I had gotten back on the Hudson Parkway North of the congestion and could see the towers burning in my rear view mirror….then I saw the first one collapse and listened to the reporters announce the event. I was thinking I’d be stopped pretty soon and pressed North as far as I could. The next thing I know I’m paying the toll on the Westchester Bridge just as the second tower went down.
It was about 10:00 am. I crossed over into Westchester County and realized I was home free. I pulled into the driveway around 10:30 where my wife greeted me in disbelief. I was the first employee accounted for and until we could confirm the disaster recovery site was up and running, my phone was ringing off the hook from London, Hong Kong and Singapore looking for information about the day’s events and status of the office etc..
I watched the news all day wondering how I was going to get to work the next day. At 6:00 in the evening, I watched our building collapse on TV and knew that getting to work the next day wasn’t going to happen.
Over the course of the next 24 hours, a contingency plan began to develop. We learned that all staff were alive and well. My assistant, who never got to Ireland, had her own amazing story of survival witnessing the events from directly below the impact sites.
The front office staff were told to create home offices if possible and given a $5,000 electronic allowance to buy PCs, printers, faxes, phones etc…
Oh..and the parking lot? Completely demolished when the North Tower fell. Every car melted beyond identification. Sometimes I think I should have stayed in the Porsche.
To this day I look for things that were in my office never to be seen again. Luckily for me, they are only things…so many others will never see loved ones again."

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) said:

A nice link about Gander Newfoundland. A small town that took in thousands of road weary travelers who couldn't land due to the US airports being shut down due to 9/11.

My buddy ended  in Gander, he left London  and  was inflight when they grounded everyone.

My flight out of London was the next day and was   grounded like all the  others until Saturday ,