Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
  • Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
  • Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
  • Share the passion for aviation
  • Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun

A Year Ago - Remembering Flying on 09/11

Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
  • Invite your friends
  • Share the passion of aviation
  • Friendliest aviation community on the web

FurloughedAgain

Cabin Heating & Air Tech.
Joined
Jun 5, 2002
Posts
1,657
One year ago at this very moment the cockpit door clicked shut. I took another sip of my coffee before setting it down.

"Turn Two" the captain called and I complied, turning the start selector of engine number two. The familiar vibration and soft whirring reverberated through the airplane from 70 feet behind my seat.

We were in Allentown, Pennsylvania and the Captain and I were frustrated with -- of all things -- security. We had just "beeped" when we went through security and were forced to suffer the indignity of being "scanned" in front of our customers. When I climbed into the cockpit I noticed ground-support workers, many in civilian clothes, walking across the ramp -- they had never gone through security. "Look at that!", I quipped, "Those guys have been in the country for about 2 weeks and they dont have to go through security -- we FLY the planes and we get molested!"

But the time for anger and frustration had passed. We started the left engine as the tug pushed us away from the terminal building. The 120,000 pound Boeing slowly lumbered across the apron and towards the runway. The ACARS flashed "W/B" and I ran my finger across the touchscreen, transcribing the weight and balance data from the ACARS to the FMS. I programmed weights and speeds until the familiar "Preflight Complete" message was displayed.

Its my leg and the captain relinquished the controls of the 737 to this "newhire" -- at US Airways if you worked there less than 15 years you were a newhire. For me after two and a half years in the right seat of Douglas and Boeing jetliners, I still loved the feeling of pushing the throttles forward. I'd "stand them up" and wait...god I loved that sound...the engines slowly spooling up from somewhere behind me. I pushed them up to within 10% of the calculated takeoff thrust and clicked the TOGA buttons, the Boeing autothrottles precisely setting the power for me.

"80 Knots....V1....Rotate...Positive Rate...Gear Up." The airplane roared skyward just as the rising sun flashed across the eastern horizon. "1000 feet", called the Captain, "N1, Bug-me-up, flaps 1" I replied. I hand-flew to 10,000 feet and then selected the autopilot. Now coupled to both Lateral and Vertical Nav the airplane settled in to its preprogrammed course towards North Carolina.

Out of ten-thousand feet we grumbled a time or two about security again, but soon settled into our own thoughts. For me, I stared out the window. I had 3 weeks remaining before I was to be married. There was still quite a bit to be done when I came home from this trip. The sky was so smooth... not a cloud to be seen anywhere.

An hour later we descended towards Charlotte with no idea that our nation was under attack. We were vectored towards runway 36-Right and, as I often did, I disconnected the autopilot, flightdirector, and autothrottles below 10,000 feet. The captain chuckled and mumbled something about how I'd be happier in a twin-Cessna.

We saw the airport from 50 miles northeast on the arrival. We were vectored over Lake Norman, and then directly over Charlotte and past the airport on a right downwind. The Captain had pulled his seat up and was peering over me towards the airport below. "What the hell?" he muttered... directing my attention to the airport over my right shoulder.

"They're all going back to the gate...", I commented. We turned base, and then final. Sure enough the airplanes on the ground were turning around. Runway 5/23 was nearly filled with parked airplanes. The frequency filled with chatter, dozens of airplanes asking what was going on.

"We're out of business", the Captain whispered, his voice cracking. "This is exactly what happened at Braniff". The captain, obviously, recalling a memory from his own troubled past, had determined that our airline was being shut down -- we still had no idea.

The main gear brushed the ground and, holding the nose from the pavement, I pulled the thrust-reverse levers to the first detent, the cascade-type reversers sliding backwards. I did not pull them any further, not interested in applying reverse thrust. We would not exit the runway until after we had passed the intersection of 5/23 on the north side of the field. I held the nose off and allowed the autobrakes to apply their soft pressure. I tapped them off with my feet and we taxied clear of the runway.

The ramp control frequency was nightmarish. Dozens of airplanes returning to the gates, demanding information. "Silvertop Boeing just off 36R -- proceed to the gate, deplane your passengers and flight attendants, then call me to push back, we're going to put you on 5/23"

I never had the opportunity to respond. The captain was already on his cellphone, calling his wife. He clicked off his phone and looked at me -- "There has been a terrorist attack in New York", he told me "an airplane just hit the World-Trade Center".

"An Airliner??? I gasped. We were marshelled into the gate and the jetway quickly attached. The captain got on the PA, with a final announcement for our customers who would now, for at least a week, be stuck in Charlotte with us.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Look at your watch. Today we are witnessing history in the making. The United States has been attacked by terrorists. The government has, for the first time in history, elected to shut-down all of the airspace over our country. Hopefully there will be more information when you get into the terminal. God bless us all."

The flight attendants - supposedly trained to be calm during emergencies - were in tears, desperate for information. Already it became difficult for our cell-phones to connect. Cellular traffic was high. I managed to get a call to my fiance's voicemail... to my brother, and to my parents.

We taxied the airplane to runway 5 and were marshelled to a stop, parked close to the string of airplanes that lined the runway. As the engines shut down airstairs pulled to the airplane a van awaited the captain and I. We boarded the van with other flight crews and it quickly drove to the crew-room where a supervisor was handing out hotel information.

"Remove your stripes, jackets, hats and ID. Go to your hotel and dont call us -- we'll call you."

5 days laters the phone rang in my hotel room...scheduling asking us to ferry an airplane to Buffalo. The sky was silent that night...very few airplanes in the air. Neither the captain, nor I, said anything -- save our checklists.

He was the first to break the silence. "The world has changed," he sighed. "You know, there are going to be furloughs", he said matter of factly.

It is now a year later and as I type this I am in a hotel in Philadelphia. After I was furloughed I was invited to several regional airline interviews. I was fortunate enough to find a job as a turboprop F/O. I've been here several months now and have settled in to my new lifestyle, pleased to be flying again a year after these attacks.

That memory is burned into my mind. I can picture the look on the Captains face. I can feel the wheels touching the ground in Charlotte that morning. I remember the relief I felt when I finally spoke with my then-fiance'.

It seems like it was yesterday.

God Bless America
 
Last edited:
Furloughed Again

Well said. I too recall today the happiest day of my life when I did my 1st takeoff in the A-320 from PHL-LAX on my IOE.

After 20 in the Regionals, I realized my dream to fly for US Air (I still call it US Air out of nostalga). The only airline I wanted to work for.

This is my 5th furlough.

I had had a few interview opportunities all requiring me to resign from my beloved airline. I would rather pump gas.

I will standby and continue to Instruct in the Sim.

I will be ready to help my company grow and prosper.

I will proudly go back and call myself a Regional pilot again.

I will be back in the Airbus again.

Good Luck to all on this sad day.
 
Just got back from a ceremony at the AA flight academy, now going to the airport to a sit as a pax on one of our silverbirds in remembrance.

Thanks for writing guys, furloughedAgain, that was exceptional, I think in many ways each of us experienced our own FLIGHT that day. It touched us all.

Thanks to all the guys and gals who are manning our cockpits today during this anniversary that has changed the industry and the world forever.

God Bless all the crew, passengers and victims on the ground. We will not forget.

AAflyer
 
AA Museum

I had the opportunity to visit the CR Smith museum last time I was in Dallas.

I have to say it is tremendously impressive. That "Imax" movie has to be the most inspirational thing I've ever watched -- I never had any aspirations to work for AA and it even made ME feel proud (for you <laugh>)

The DC3 is truly awe-inspiring. The restoration was phenominal and to this day I cant believe they let you climb inside.

For those of you who havent been I would strongly recommend a visit. It will renew your faith in the industry and in American in particular.

American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum
 
Re: AA Museum

FurloughedAgain said:
That "Imax" movie has to be the most inspirational thing I've ever watched -- I never had any aspirations to work for AA and it even made ME feel proud (for you <laugh>)

/QUOTE]

That is a pretty cool movie, with a lot of good flying shots. My favorite is the B757, F-100, and DC-6 flying in formation over the desert.
The movie they used to show a couple years ago was even more of a 20min long commercial for AA. The best shot was two rampers putting a suitcase on a conveyer, then high five-ing eachother! Give me a break.
 
i remember seeing the pictures of the airplanes lined up in greenland, iceland, etc-as the sun set over them. interesting combination of beauty and intense feelings.
 
on my cargo route, i'd fly from san juan PR to my outstation and sit there for ten hours. for the first time in months i got paged to return to san juan and pick up a VIP, who's mom had died.

so, coincidentally i was in the air enroute back to san juan when the air space shut down. i was the only plane in the air. i didn't know how permanent the grounding would be.

i'd just read a book about pan am's very last flight, and how choked up the capt. was to be making the last radio calls as a pan am plane, etc.

coming into san juan in an empty sky, i understood what he was saying.

it seemed like san juan int'l turned into a military only airport over night - it was kinda like something out of orson wells or the twilight zone.
 
As you should every day, tomorrow don't forget to tell a loved one you love them, give your wife/girlfriend a kiss and your kids a big hug because tomorrow will be a day that many are no longer with us to do any of those things...never forget
 
Remembering 9/11

I, too, will never forget where I was that fateful morning. Being a Junior Captain, I work weekends and had just gotten home from a trip the day before. I got a call from my ex saying turn on the news, an airplane just hit the World Trade Center. Stunned, I turned on the TV. I had my son with me as it was early where I live. I searched my mind trying to conceive how it was possible for an airplane to hit the WTC. I thought it must have been a small plane. Then I thought, maybe someone was trying to make an emergency landing at EWR. As my son and I sat and watched the television, out of the corner of my eye I saw the 2nd plane. Thought it was a helicopter or something going to rescue people. Then I watched in disbelief as it hit the south tower. Nothing I could do - my son saw it all! His comment to me later was, "It looks like something out of the movies - like Independence Day". Seeing that has affected him ever since and he is very nervous now when I go on a trip, thinking he will never see me again.

Then when I heard they had grounded all the airplanes, I felt helpless as I had friends out on the road with no way to get ahold of them. It was so hard not knowing if they were alright or if any our planes had been affected.

Being with an airline that had recently emerged from bankruptcy, my thoughts then went to - there is no way we will survive this. The cash onhand situation was bleak at best. The next day, the unions (ALPA & AFA) called a meeting - not the company! The company management attended and were very honest with us. If the industry remained shut down, we would not survive. Then they told us that all of our planes were accounted for, and a moment of relief was coupled with the grief felt for my fellow aviators and flight attendants who had perished.

I remember flying my first flight a week later. To go from greeting passengers as they stepped on the plane a week before, to looking at every person as a suspect, was stressful to say the least. As we were locked in the cockpit, I worried about my flight attendants. Nothing between them and some maniac. Thank goodness we had passengers that vowed they would step in the way in the event of any incident.

I have seen many flight attendants leave this industry because of the stress after 9/11. So, for those of you who fly passenger jets, I know you have a great respect for those individuals who stand now as "mall cops without a gun" to protect us and the flying public by constantly watching the flight deck door. They are truly our eyes and ears.

God bless those who perished. We will never forget!!
 

Latest resources

Back
Top