FlyerTalk Remembers 9/11

At 8:46 a.m. Eastern Time on September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 was crashed into floors 93 through 99 of One World Trade Center, killing 82 crewmembers and passengers onboard. Seventeen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 was flown into floors 77 through 85 of 2 World Trade Center, ending the lives of 60 crewmembers and passengers.

In the hours to come, American Airlines Flight 77 would crash into the Pentagon, killing the 59 flyers aboard, while United Airlines Flight 93 would go down in a field in Southwest Pennsylvania, after the 40 aboard rallied against their hijackers.

The event would become the worst attack against the United States in history. 2,996 people were killed, the twin towers of the World Trade Center were demolished, and a portion of the Pentagon collapsed. In the immediate hours after the attack, the U.S. airspace was closed. Over 500 international flights were turned back, while every other flight was ordered to land immediately. When the dust settled, over 2,600 souls were lost in the tragedy.

There are no words we could write to accurately capture the sorrow and fear caused by that terrible day. Instead, on the anniversary of the worst tragedy in aviation history, we would like to use this space to share the stories of FlyerTalkers in honor of all those touched by September 11, 2001.

May we never forget.

• Plane Crashes into the World Trade Ctr – An archived FlyerTalk thread from Sept. 11, 2001
• Stranded FT Assistance Thread – FlyerTalkers lean on each other for support in the hours after the attacks
• 9/11 Experiences – A thread of first-hand experiences from FlyerTalkers on 9/11
• How I spent September 11, 2001 – A thread of FlyerTalkers recalling where they were as everything unfolded
• Listening to Channel 9 on September 11, 2001 – One FlyerTalker’s story about listening to United Airlines’ air traffic control channel while flying on 9/11
• Becoming a Flight Attendant Right After 9/11 – A flight attendant’s story about joining an airline immediately after the attacks

Feature image courtesy: Anthony Quintano via Flickr (CC-BY-2.0)