Remembering 9/11, In Your Own Words

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, AIN asked you–our readers–to write the narrative by sharing your own personal stories of that day, and share you certainly did. While some 3,650 days have passed since then, the accounts still include minute detail and raw emotion, evidence that 9/11 is indelibly etched in each of our minds forever. Some were in the New York City metro area on that fateful day, while others were across the country or even on the other side of the world. Your stories are varied, yet at the same time similar. Many watched the tragedy unfold on a television in an FBO or hotel lobby, and some–flying in the NYC area–saw the smoke from the blazing World Trade Center towers with their own eyes. One corporate pilot, who was on an overnight trip in New York City, even witnessed the towers’ collapse firsthand while he was standing on the banks of the Hudson River in Manhattan. He had also planned to visit Windows on the World at the top of the North Tower that day when it opened, which fortunately for him wasn’t until 10 a.m.–about an hour after the towers were hit by airliners. The submitted stories are captivating. Separately, a large special section in the September 2011 issue of AIN recalls 9/11 as it was chronicled in our October 2001 issue and from the perspective of 10 years later; and AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter blogs about that day. Also, three FAA controllers tell their side of the story on YouTube.