"Flight 93" - Comments by Commercial Pilot Who Flew on 9/11

Via E mail | 06/05/06 | vanity

[thirst4truth]

I took my 21 year old, college student, daughter to it. She hardly knew any thing about this flight, just the ones that crashed into the towers. It was so good for her to see it, to give her a better perspective on our war.
So sad, we both cried.

[teletech]

If the flight crew had been armed, I wonder if things might have been different on that day. As a pilot myself, I can only imagine the horror that flight crew felt as these murderers burst into the cockpit. I will NEVER forget the heroic attempt by those brave passengers to regain control of the airplane. I too can understand how ATC was confused as these events unfolded. I have the utmost respect for the ATC folks and their professionalism. Providing safe aircraft separation is one thing but dealing with crazed cockpit intruders bent on using an airplane as a weapon is another.

[IncPen]

ping

[Tammy8]

The amazing thing was that in the midst of the confusion and chaos, many people in authority made decisions that may have made a real difference that day. The confusion and chaos turned into action and determination very soon considering the shock that everyone felt.

I was amazed at how rapidly things were brought under control, and would probably be more impressed if I knew more about what happened behind the scenes. Instead of widespread panic it seemed most reacted with a strong will to do something to help or restore order.

I have friends in LE that were off duty and just went to work as soon as they heard, not knowing what else might happen or what they might be needed for. Many in the medical community did the same.

I saw the best of America that day and in the days after, it seemed we were all going to pull together to fight for our country and our way of life. I know many have let us down since then with words and deeds- but I am still impressed with the initial reaction of many Americans.

[ASA Vet]

The first FR thread about the attack

[No Blue States]

I took my 13 yeard old daughter last week also.
We both left speechless.

She (and I) now have a better understanding of why we are at war and what happened that day.

I thought it sad that there were only 6 people viewing it including us, even at matineee.
Other foolish movies had plenty of viewers.

[skr]

Thank you for another perspective.

[steveyp]

ping

[AxelPaulsenJr]

This email had been around for a few weeks now. However, it would be interesting to hear the comments of any Freeper commercial pilots about their experiences on that horrible day.

[Dazedcat]

"I turned to my Co-Pilot and said "I don't know what has happened, but I do know that things will never be the same","

I might just be too jaded for my own good, but I cannot imagine a pilot, in all that confusion and unknown saying that at that moment. It sounds like a line from a movie.

Sorry.

[BIGLOOK]

Bump

[buffyt]

Thanks for the link. It was sad going back and re-reading that thread.

God bless Barbara Olson. Great Freeper and great gal! Sweet, smart, wonderful woman!

[AxelPaulsenJr]

It sounds like a line from a movie.

Nothing to be sorry about, I had the same reaction when I read that email.

[NCC-1701]

Thank you for posting your comments. As a pilot, it had to be a surreal experience for all of you. To get a message that has never, ever been sent to land ALL aircraft over the US must have required some suspension of disbelief. I hope and pray that message is never issued again. What got me for the days aircraft were grounded was how utterly quiet it was and how clear of contrails the skies were. My wife and I was going to our car and the parking lot afforded us a grand panorama of the sky. It was very beautiful, except no contrails. I told my wife, as well as myself, to let this soak in. This was a singularly unique time. And that was an understatement. My only regret was not having gone over to Memphis International Airport. It would have been interesting to see how many different tail logos were there that's normally not there.

I haven't seen United 93 yet I hate to say. I need to go see it. It will be in the dvd collection. The passengers on that flight were the first victors in the GWoT. They are true heroes along with all those on the other three flights and the people that worked on The Pile that was once the World Trade Center Towers 1 & 2.

Frank Culbertson, who was the ONLY American off the planet during that time wrote a very moving e-mail from the International Space Station. He knew one of the pilots killed on 9-11. He was one of his fellow graduates. The ISS was coming over Canada at the time and was coming up on New York very soon. They got some good video of it from orbit.

[workerbee]

Wow, you're right! It really is all George Bush's fault! Thank goodness you signed up yesterday to clue us in.

[Jonah Hex]

I'll never forget that Tuesday...

I'd heard about the first plane hitting the WTC from a coworker, and we tried to figure out what happened. (It was a clear day with no precip in the NYC area so WTF?, etc.)

I was standing with a few of my coworkers watching the WTC converage in our Director's office, when we saw the second plane hit. We turned to each other in shock, each one recognizing simultaneously what was going on. We were under attack.

Me, being me, made a joke under the stress: "This ain't no boating accident" (referencing Jaws). With a few nervous laughs, we all moved out to secure the building, cancel meetings, and tracking down our folks on TDY. A few minutes later, my mom called me in a panic, wondering if I was at work or in DC. That's when I learned about the attack on the Pentagon.

I watched the collapse of both Towers on television. I managed to grab a few minutes to call my wife and alert her. (She seldom watches the tube during the day.) I remember I was both shocked and pissed. Shock, because I'd seldom dreamed I'd witness anything like that outside of a Soviet attack on CONUS. Anger, because some bastards (we didn't know who yet, although I had a good idea of "the usual suspects") dared attack my country, my people, my home. I just kept muttering "sonuvbitches must pay" to myself.

That night, I sat down with my 8-year old kids and tried to explain what happened. They were frightened, because they could see the fright in their teachers and other adults. Their teachers couldn't tell them a lot about what happened or what was going to happen. I did the best I could to explain what happened and the meaning. Trying to explain war, terrorism, and the murder of innocent civilians to children raised in innocence...

I remember the quiet of the next couple of days. The lack of aircraft noise and the subdued murmuring of my coworkers. I remember seeing the oval contrails of fighter patrols to the east, the only evidence of anything flying.

I remember the shock of discovering the names of two of my friends on the rolls of the Pentagon dead.

I remember the fear in my children's eyes when I told them goodbye when I left for extended TDY to DC.

I remember... and I will never forget.

Sonuvabitches must pay...

Sorry, I've needed to get that off my chest for some time. Hang tight, all... and never forget.

[Chili Girl]

bump

[oldtimer2]

That was a crazy time. I was driving an 18 wheeler at that time. A month or two later I was on the Cross Bronx expressway in New York and suddenly saw a plane at a very low altitude making a turn just ahead of me. I immediately thought, another attack.

I turned on my am radio and got WABC and then realized that Pres. Bush was throwing out the first ball at the World Series.

Adrenalin high for about an hour. The plane was a F16 flying CAP.

[1Old Pro]

The lack of planes in the sky that day was beyond creepy. I still remember sitting out on my back porch and seeing a clear blue sky, completely void of the contrails usually seen streaming across the sky.

Yea, I remember the same. I wanted to go see this last weekend but the movie was already out of ALL the local theaters.