I work at a major airline in the In-flight Training Department. I was sitting at the desk on the computer, I kid you not… writing the Security (Hijacking) Curriculum for 2002, when someone came in and told me a plane flew into the WTC. We all thought it was one of our planes.
I missed the 2 nd plane flying into the second building. I was so distraught thinking about the people who were on the floors about the wreckage, wondering HOW were they going to get down! After seeing the first building collapse, I had to be escorted out of the room. I remember thinking this must be the start of the Great Trib. I felt an inner burning fear I had never felt before and have not since that day.
To give you an inside perspective of what happened behind the scenes that resulted in the sweeping changes of aviation security…it was a constant STRESSFUL change…almost something re-written every single day, for years. You have to understand that these terrorists rewrote the book on hijacking and what we practiced in the airline business prior to this event went flying out the door. We started from scratch. Emotionally charged in-flight employees, some scared, some airplane vigilantes, dealing with the introduction of the TSA, working with the FAA, writing/learning new procedures, folks wanting guns on the plane (they got that) or self defense courses, refitting of aircraft, looking at every passenger as a threat, crews kicking off people because they thought they were a threat…people walking away from the industry due to PTSD…it was a rollercoaster ride I will never forget. I ended up having a nice breakdown and was off work for 2 months.
But despite what we endured, my heart still bleeds for those who lost loved ones in this senseless act. I still find it hard at times to believe that 9/11 really happened, it’s still surreal and I can only image how it must be for family members. We can probably say that this day has affected each one of us in some way, directly or indirectly.
I will probably shed some tears today!
