The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

Father Mychal Judge, a chaplain for the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), offered a homily to a newly opened firehouse. He commented on the hardships of firefighting and how first responders prioritize the lives of others in doing God’s work. In the media, numerous journalists reflected on the slow news season. A recession was taking place, and political concerns centered on Russian-American relations as well as the rising power of China.

That afternoon and evening, artists-in-residence Vanessa Lawrence and Monika Bravo painted and took photos from the 91st and 92nd floors of the WTC’s North Tower, capturing an amazing storm as it rolled over New York City.

Congress reengaged after the summer hiatus. The FBI’s new director received a briefing on the threat of the terrorist group al-Qaeda. In New York, many New Yorkers voted in the primary election to decide whether to replace Mayor Rudy Giuliani. A new “firefighter” toy, Billy Blazes, was to be released that day.

Father and son Herb and Todd Ouida, who worked for different companies in the WTC’s North Tower, bade each other farewell and went to their respective floors. Meanwhile, Barbara Olsen boarded American Airlines Flight 77 toward Los Angeles, as did Rosemary Dillard’s husband, Eddie.

Numerous New Yorkers commented on the exceptionally clear, blue sky. The White House chief of staff assured President George W. Bush that it would likely be an easy day.

Seventeen men boarded four flights from the international airports in Boston, Washington, and Newark. The knives in their carry-on bags raised no security concerns. Two of the men almost missed their flight, but helpful airport staff hurry them through.

Dan and Jean Potter bade each other farewell; Jean went to her job on the 81st floor of the WTC’s North Tower, while Dan went to Staten Island for a lieutenant's exam. Michael Lomonaco, a chef who worked at Windows on the World on the 106th floor of the North Tower, went to the WTC’s Concourse level to get his glasses lens changed before heading up to work. Vanessa Lawrence arrived and went up to the 91st floor of the North Tower; Richard Eichen went to his job on the 90th floor.

Jared Kotz received assistance in setting up a magazine display on the 106th floor, which speeds up the task. However, he realized that something was forgotten and left the tower to retrieve it. David Kravette left his office on the 105th floor to sign in guests for a meeting, since one guest forgot his wallet containing his ID.

Joseph Lott had breakfast with his colleague, Ellaine Greenberg, at the Marriott between the WTC towers. Ellaine presented Joseph with a tie; he remained at the Marriott to iron his white shirt so that he could wear it with the new tie at their presentation scheduled to take place at Windows on the World, located on one of the North Tower’s highest floors.

American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, both scheduled to fly from Boston to Los Angeles, each had five hijackers aboard. Both planes initially made routine transmissions but then veered off their assigned courses and ceased responding. Betty Ong, a flight attendant onboard Flight 11, called the airline’s reservation line, conveying that hijackers had taken over the plane. The reservation line employee connected the call to American Airlines operations, and air traffic control began to move air traffic from the flight’s path.

Mohammad Atta, one of the hijackers, meaning to speak to the passengers, accidentally used the traffic control frequency; Boston Sector flight control received a confusing message in which Atta told passengers to stay calm and not move.

Local fighter aircrafts were requested to reach and escort the plane; they initially wondered whether the communication was part of a drill. The pilot of Flight 175 saw Flight 11; Flight 175 was advised to avoid Flight 11’s path.

Madeline “Amy” Sweeny, a flight attendant onboard Flight 11, spoke to the American Airlines Services Office, sounding panicked, and said that the plane was very low and that she could see buildings.

Fighter jets were scrambled (quickly deployed) from Massachusetts and Virginia; an attack within US borders was unexpected. Peter Zaleweski, an air traffic controller at Boston International Airport, initially continued trying to contact Flight 11. Hearing the garbled message from Mohammad Atta, he realized that a hijacking was taking place. Collin Hoggins, an airspace and military specialist at Boston International, noted that Atta referred to multiple “planes.”

The US military struggled to find the hijacked flight among thousands of other commercial flights on radar. Jets sped toward Long Island to escort the hijacked Flight 11, although they had no weapons. A commander at a Louisiana military facility, wrapping up a training exercise, instructed a student, who told him that a plane had hit one of the WTC towers, to say, “I have an exercise input” (69), before volunteering a fictional scenario.

On the 67th floor of the WTC’s North Tower, Cathy Pavalec watched in disbelief as a plane sped toward and into the building. Flight 11, traveling at 465 mph, collided with the North Tower at 8:46 am.

People on Ellis Island and the Brooklyn Bridge heard a massive noise and saw glass filling the sky. Although shocked, most people continued on with their day, assuming that the collision was an accident.

The plane entered the building between the 93rd and 99th floors, immediately killing hundreds of people. Those in the floors above were trapped with no exit and engulfed in fire and smoke. A fireball exploded down an elevator shaft and into the West street lobby, incinerating multiple people.

On the 85th floor, Robert Leder watched the plane enter the building. The walls and ceiling imploded. Office workers were thrown from chairs and across rooms from the force of the impact.

In an elevator in the North Tower, Harry Waizer was hit in the face with a fireball that came through the cracks of the closed elevator door. When the plane hit, Pasquale Buzzelli was in an elevator; it lurched violently. He reached his office and called his very pregnant wife, Louise, at home; she turned on the television and, panicked, told him that a plane had hit the building.

On the Concourse shopping level beneath the tower, no one felt the impact. Many in the towers remembered the terrorist attack in 1993, when a car bomb was detonated in the North Tower’s parking garage. The plane’s collision felt similar to the explosion. Many decided to leave the building, but others were not worried. Herb Ouida left but immediately thought of his son, Todd, on the 105th floor.

Those in the South Tower and the Marriott were reassured that their buildings are not at risk, although many workers in the South Tower ignored the directive and start to descend the stairs. As Judith Wein descended down the South Tower stairs, she saw people passing her going back up to retrieve items they left at their work stations. Later, she wondered whether they got back down in time.

Robert Small, watching from the 72nd floor of the South Tower, watched as people started to jump from the North Tower. He felt shocked and upset but didn’t feel unsafe in the South Tower. Michael Lomonaco saw the fire from the ground as he exited the Concourse beneath the North Tower and wondered about his colleagues at Windows on the World but reasoned that they would come down the fire stairs.

Rudy Giuliani, New York’s mayor, drove past Saint Vincent’s Hospital on the way to the WTC and saw gurneys being set up outside the hospital. Fire departments and police departments rushed to the scene as “10-13” and “10-60” codes were radioed.

People continued evacuating from both WTC towers. In the North Tower, many doors had jammed; some people were trapped in elevators. Some, including Pablo “Paul” Ortiz, used crowbars to jimmy open doors and free people. The fire stairs in the North Tower were dark, and water was coming down from fire sprinklers. Occasionally, a call came from above to move to the left as a burned person was rushed down. Colleagues helped John Abruzzo, a quadriplegic man who worked on the 69th floor, into his evacuation chair. Genelle Guzman and colleagues evacuated from the 64th floor. Firefighters and police, including special rescue and emergency units, arrived and began to rush up the stairs of the North Tower, heavily laden with rescue equipment.

Outside, people ran, terrified, as debris rained down from above and people jumped from the flame- and smoke-engulfed floors of the North Tower above the crash site. People emerging from the building were triaged according to a color coding system of green, yellow, and red. Pete Hayden, the deputy chief running the response, ruled that it was a rescue mission; they would not be able to put out the fire.

Minutes before Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower, Flight 175 was hijacked. Just before this, the pilot of Flight 175 spoke to air traffic control after overhearing the hijacker Mohammad Atta on Flight 11 telling passengers to remain calm. Flight 175 did not make contact again. Passengers called family members or left messages of love on voice machines. Aviation administrators at various air traffic control towers struggled to understand the situation.

Air traffic control and the Air Force mistakenly thought that Flight 11 was in the air and headed toward Washington, DC. Meanwhile, air traffic control began to realize that Flight 175 had also been hijacked. Commercial pilots were ordered to take immediate evasive action to avoid colliding with Flight 175, which was now heading toward Manhattan.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, the military, and civilians were stunned to see Flight 175 enter the frame of their television screens, which were broadcasting the unfolding disaster at the North Tower, and collide with the South Tower. The tone immediately shifted: Many people thought that Flight 11’s collision was an awful mistake but now realized that the country was under attack. New York closed its airports; air traffic was redirected.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) took control of the airspace. Fighters at Langley Airforce Base were scrambled (quickly deployed) and ordered to fly toward Washington, DC.