John Kline

I was in work when a colleague who was on leave phoned me to say that a plane had flew into the WTC, I immediately imagined a Cessna light aircraft type, which I think had happened a few years before in Florida? Then as he’s telling me he watches the 2nd plane hit. I couldn’t get to grips with what he was describing. For some unknown I also got it into my head the building was the UN building. A place I didn’t go to see when I went to NYC. When I got to my car to come home the BBC Radio reporter said “and now the tower with the aerial mast on is collapsing” then it hit me it was the WTC.

As a caveat to the story, I went up the WTC in 97 and the screws in my knee-a result of an ACL reconstruction operation, set the security scanner off and I was taken to one side by the guard to explain.
I flew to Greece with Virgin the next day from Manchester and believe or not a child got into the gallery and got access to the PA system, saying “this is god” in a demonic voice. The colour drained out of every passengers face as the cries and shrieks were let out. They even flew with the cockpit door open, was very strange.

My thoughts are always with the bereaved, survivors and those still suffering from that appalling day.

mvoight

The thousands who died in Iraq have nothing to do with Sept 11.
Iraq was invaded to search for WMD. There has been no valid evidence of a link between Iraq and Sept 11. The people involved on 9/11/01 were Saudi nationals.

Swanhunter

I was in Riyadh. And On Sept 12th I was back in London after a wild over-reaction from our internal security team who ordered everyone home. Flight home (G-ZZZA with cradle seats) was sombre affair.

Was it world changing? Much like Mao on the French revolutiuon, I think it is too soon to tell. It certainly has resulted in air travel becoming a much more fraught experience.

Flying Flis

I imagine that the OP was referring to Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban and the search for Osama Bin Laden.

where next

I was at home packing my bags watching it all unfold on the TV.

I was flying LHR-JNB-LLW that evening, T4 was earily quiet with all the transatlantic traffic being halted. JNB flight was delayed a couple of hours resulting in missing my connection in Joburg the next morning. Got put up in the Holiday Inn with many US passengers trying to leave JNB who did not know when they might get home. All very surreal.

Travel was never the same afterwards, but would never stop me travelling.

CatchThePigeon

I wasn't talking about Iraq. If you feel the need to get into a politicised debate about 9/11 I'm sure there's plenty of sites you can join the discussion. Not having a go, but lets try and keep this OT.

rcgosling

Flying over New York in early October on the way to IAD from LHR and seeing the smoke still rising from Ground Zero.

buckeyefanflyer

God Bless all those affected.

With the internet, you can go back and watch all the coverage as it happened. I was at work that day so I did not see the live coverage. I was on the computer last night, they have recording of people calling 911 who were on the upper floors with the smoke and the heat as they were dying. Very Chilling. It;s ahrd to imagine they were in nice offices like I am in doing normal business and a few minuntes latter the planes struck.

Swanhunter

Yes please, otherwise this thread will head OMNI PR-wards quite quickly.

Swanhunter
Moderator, BAEC

buckeyefanflyer

Do you remememer that on 9-11-2002 which was a Wednesday, alot of flights were no operating as I guess they fiqured alot of people would not want to be in a plane on 9-11. The OAG had alot of EX 9-11.

halfcape

I was at work when I heard and we had a small TV that we could watch. I knew a AA Flight Attendant who flew the AA 11 route and I was so hoping that she wasn't on that day. Unfortunately she was on the plane.

QF Lad

One of the things that really personalised the tragedy was a recording of a voicemessage a woman who had died in one of hte WTC Towers had left on her home phone.

In the voicemail, the woman referred to her young son, tells her husband to "Tell the boy I'll always be with him."

For some reason I've never forgotton those words. It really captures the thoughts of someone who knew they were about to die....

NA-Flyer

I was on a commuter train from my house in Pointe Claire (Montreal Suburbs) to my office in down town Montreal. Nothing special happened during that ride. After getting into the office I heard the news.

estate

I flew BNE-AKL on QF that day (actually Sept 12 due to time difference). Despite a few cancellations due to the events of that morning the flight was packed as Ansett had just folded and QF were picking up all their offloads.

None of us were particularly bothered until about 50minutes out from AKL one male passenger started having an argument with a crew member a few rows behind our family. It got heated, and then physical. My sister burst into tears as two male crew members ran past us carrying handcuffs. She calmed down a bit when my father said "don't worry, it's the quiet ones you've got to worry about".

Needless to say the gent in question was uncermoniously plonked in a seat at the back (a bit of shuffling needed) and cuffed until being met by NZ police on arrival.

After the lack of sleep, the security, and if I'm honest the slight paranoia of the preceeding 16 hours, that incident shook me a fair bit.

Fruitcake

I was at work and watched it on TV, after the strikes happened; then later organised a prayer meeting for my staff, which was quite unique but what they wanted to do to respond.

The following weekend Mrs Fruitcake was booked to travel to Northern Ireland. She went and, when I picked her up at LGW, it was incredibly quiet.

When watching the pictures that day, I couldn't help reflect that it hadn't been too long before that Mrs Fruitcake and I had been to the viewing deck at the top of WTC and, in that sense, how shockingly random this all was.

Finally, I've been to or past Ground Zero a few times since and am always much moved by the stories of courage and personal sacrifice displayed there.