DCA writer

Re-read Putt4eagle 's post myself on yet another 9/11 morning that has me heading to an airport later in the day. I'm a little sad it's not United today, but they have had my business on five earlier anniversaries.

elitefreak

Still have not heard a pilot announcement like this since that horrible day.

jhayes_1780

Looks like the United's AFA is no longer changing their landing page, no judging that they do or don't, rather just pointing it out. However, they still are remarking the day with a special item under their news page:

https://unitedafa.org/news/2023/9/11...tember-11-2023

goodeats21

There was (is?) a small memorial set up in EWR terminal C near gate 120 or so, in the main walkway. Framed photos of all the crew members of flight 93.
It was there on Friday morning when I walked by.

bmwe92fan

We live in FiDi -- two blocks from Ground Zero. We visit the memorial every 9/11 -- it's an emotional evening for all...

CJ99

Thanks for bumping. I re-read the OP and marveled again at the miracle of landing thousands of flights quickly and safely.

DCA writer

I had a brief view from above of the Tribute in Light on my way to KEF last night--the first time I'd seen them from a plane.

BearX220

It's important that FTers keep tending this thread and bumping it on the anniversary. On Reddit, every year at this time, there is a flurry of requests for personal 9/11 accounts from people 25 or younger. "Never forget," we always say, but many young adults have nothing to remember. I"m thankful they're curious, however.

jackk763

For some reason, this year it felt like there was not a lot of coverage of the anniversary. Important to remember and reflect.

wrp96

The biggest university in my state held a stair climb in the athletic stadium yesterday. As they said most students at the university weren't alive at the time of 9/11, but the stair climb at least gave them an idea of what some people went through that day. A visible, tactile reminder of history. This thread is the same thing for me.

babystepper

TLDR Same here for the 6th Ave experience. Just reading this thread this year for the first time ever, couldn't do it all at once so have made it to the last page today. Tears come and go as the postings bring back memories.

The TL part of TLDR - I worked in Manhattan in those days, and was at a company presentation on Central Park South along with several hundred other people. Remember the infamous Dennis Kozlowski, CEO of doomed Tyco? They were doing a presentation to analysts that day, and most of the people I knew with offices in the Twin Towers were at this meeting - and so they lived. When the second plane hit, they interrupted the presentation and Kozlowski said "I have some concerning news". At first I thought they had some disappointing corporate news...no, that wasn't it.

They cut the powerpoint and connected to local news on the giant screen. We all stared at the newscast for quite a while in shock. Then folks started calling to check in on loved ones - except the cell signal was overwhelmed. Blackberries (yes, remember them?) worked fine, including mine. I lent it to many folks that day, everyone just wanted to hear their loved ones and know they were ok and tell them they loved them.

Eventually we realized we should go (perhaps this was after the Pentagon was hit?). I walked back to my office near 51st & 6th with my assistant. People were standing on the sidewalk watching the news on TVs in the windows of electronics stores. We were walking down 6th and could see the smoke coming from the burning towers. We looked away to cross the street and when we looked back up, there was a huge cloud of dust- the first tower had collapsed. At the time we assumed yet another plane had targeted the already burning towers. We were scared and also very, very focused. The first Trade Center bombing back in 1993, that one I felt from my office across the street in the World Financial Center. It won't surprise anyone that even from a greater distance 9/11 was much more intense.

When we got to our building, my assistant went up to her desk to grab a radio and some water. I didn't go inside at all, I didn't feel like entering a tall building if I didn't have to. I went to the deli across the street and grabbed sandwiches - ham, smoked salmon, purposefully things that wouldn't go bad in case these had to last for a long time. My assistant's sister and the sister's boyfriend joined us, we made our way up to Central Park (seemed like less of a target than other options). We found a bench in the shade near a restroom that was open and had toilet paper. We listened to the radio, and saw and heard and felt the military planes doing CAT runs over Manhattan. Thanks to the radio we knew what they were doing and didn't dive behind boulders, but I can see why folks did. We were scared but also grateful and united and resolute.

I lived in Connecticut at the time. When the trains started running again in the afternoon, I decided 125th St was much less a terrorist target than Grand Central Station, so headed uptown (I was more or less half way between them). We all parted ways (everyone else lived in Manhattan) and I set out. It was not your typical disaster traffic day, this was different than the time in the early 1990s that the substation failed downtown and everyone had to walk home. This time, grannies were at the sidewalk at public housing complexes offering everyone water or a bathroom. Salons were handing out flip-flops (used for pedicures) if you needed flats to walk in. Buses were running but were really, really packed, I just walked. Once on the train, we made every stop - and at each station, emergency personnel were there to meet us in case anyone needed medical aid. Only later did we realize most folks were either dead or were able to get home on their own, that there weren't too many people in between.

That night our church had a prayer service. Several people attended still covered in the dust from the collapsed towers. People were shaken that night, it was a comfort to come together in our broken-ness. Church attendance was pretty high for a while after that - random terrorism that kills people you know, it turns your mind to the big questions. I know my relationship with Jesus today is a lot livelier than it was on 9/10/2001 - I'm a big fan of redemption.

9/10 I'd been at a wine dinner and stayed overnight in Manhattan, my spouse drove home first thing 9/11 and stopped in the Bronx to get White Castle takeout (breakfast of champions?) when a lady behind him in line tapped him on the shoulder and said 'I think you should know this' and told him the news. He was wearing a suit, I guess she thought that meant Wall Street. He always says he was never happier to see me than that evening when I got home.

The first day the stock market was back open was a shortened trading day, I went in to work but most people didn't. It was empty and eery and for quite a while after that I switched to an open-top tote as a briefcase since most buildings in NYC searched your bags before entering. I think I wore red, white and blue for 2 months straight - and I wasn't alone.

When the planes started flying again the "noise" was welcome, the skies had been too quiet. I did fly quite a bit for business back then, at first it was a little like grabbing a city bus, if only for a few weeks. I remember being at LGA and not knowing which flights were going until they went. You'd have a ticket but many flights were cancelled and combined, the schedules weren't changed as much as the traffic had dropped, and many routes were a little like a shuttle. I always got where I was going on the expected day, but the timing wasn't always predictable.

Many surviving folks really struggled. One colleague from a prior company who died that day, his wife knew he'd made it to the ground floor and had gone back into the lobby to help someone out of the elevator - just when that tower collapsed. She took a very, very long time to accept he was actually gone. I still haven't gone to Ground Zero - maybe some day...

Whatever your particular politics are, I guarantee that I disagree with at least one of your views. And yet, life and love go on, our memories are vivid, we miss our loved ones who are gone and we reject terrorism. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories.

FlyingHoustonian

I was a much younger (and thinner) 2nd Lieutenant on 11 Sep 01 and my biggest takeaway was flying our AWACS missions and seeing empty scopes with just a few military dots we were tracking and controlling, nothin else. Odd memory but just seeing so much empty airspace was certainly memorable along with everything else going on. It has stuck in my mind all of these years.

I think 2026 for the 25th remembrance will probably be a bigger deal marking that milestone anniversary, then I think it will become more subdued. We still remember Pearl Harbor but it is normally just a small news article and news click of something from an event at the park in Honolulu. I suspect 50 years from now it will be similar, remembered but more subdued. I do feel old meeting "adults" born after 11 Sep 01.

physioprof

Thanks for this post. My wife & I were both at work--me in Greenwich Village & she in Times Square--that morning, and we were only able to communicate/coordinate meeting up because we both had Blackberrys.

eng3

It's not surprising, wouldn't it be inappropriate (to comment on the skyline during the "last moments of our taxi to take off") due to the sterile cockpit rule?
The only time I've ever heard this type of "non-essential" announcement during taxi is was on UX where the pilot pointed out the first A380 on its initial tour.