I was ironing my clothes at my Denver apartment, getting ready for another full day of flight instructing. I had just talked to a briefer from the Automated Flight Service Station at Centennial Airport. The weather was looking very good for my flight with a student in N6270R ( a C172RG Cutlass ). I suppose the first Trade Center tower was hit while I was on the phone getting the weather briefing. As soon as I turned on the TV to CNN the story was already going on.
As is true with so many breaking news stories, the media was in high speculation mode. There were more questions then answers. One thing struck me as I watched smoke rise from the Trade Center, it was a beautiful day in New York City. I felt like something was amiss. Large aircraft don't just accidentally run into buildings like that, especially on a beautiful VFR day, especially in the busy northeast. Could a highly experienced airline pilot and his crew, operating in contact with highly experienced air traffic controllers accidentally steer his jet into a building? I suppose it could happen, but I didn't buy it. These were the things going through my mind as I dressed and grabbed my flight bag to head out the door. As I was reaching to switch the television off, I froze. The image of an airliner came into the picture. That was quickly followed by an explosion as the airliner smashed into the second tower. The sight of that aircraft hitting the World Trade Center literally put me on my knees. Shock, horror, grief and total disbelief all hit me at one time. I'm sure that this is what most people were experiencing when they saw that. I had felt that wave of terrible emotions just one other time that I could remember, the day that the space shuttle Challenger exploded.
After 10 minutes, I collected myself and started calling my family. I think it's natural to check on your loved ones when something like this happens, no matter how far away they are from the scene of the disaster. Called my wife, father and mother as I headed out the door. Had to get to the airport.
On the road to the Boulder Municipal Airport, the radio reported that the airspace over this country might be shut down. More shock. I arrived at the airport and my student was diligently pre-flighting the airplane. He hadn't talked to flight service yet. In fact, he hadn't seen the TV or listened to the radio that morning. He was just excited to go on his first instructional flight in the Cutlass. I informed him that something terrible had occurred that might affect his flight. We went in to call the FSS and we couldn't get through. We turned on the TV in the FBO. My student watched it for a few minutes and then said he didn't feel like flying and wanted to go be with his wife. I said go.
My co-workers began filtering in for the day. We watched as the news reported the Pentagon was hit by an aircraft. Frankly, when that plane hit the second tower, I knew we were under attack. The Pentagon strike just confirmed it. The President being flown to various locations in the US to protect him removed any doubt about the situation. Then started a period of confusion in the media as everyone began to panic. How many aircraft were up there with terrorists on board? I heard 5, 3, and 4 at various times that morning.
Then the towers fell. A new round of horror. After that we found out about the crash of Untied Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. The news all day long was bad, nothing good.
About 1 pm I went out to the ramp to check the tie-downs on all of our aircraft. The silence was eerie. Normally, the airspace around Denver is full of noise. But standing out there on the ramp, I didn't hear anything. It was surreal. How could this be happening to this country? I should have listened to the radios of one of our planes, I heard that ATC had an automated message playing on all frequencies explaining that the airspace above the United States was closed. I think at that point it would have put me over the edge. There was just too much information coming in and I couldn't take anymore.
Later that afternoon F-16's from nearby Buckley AFB began flying patrols over Denver. The patrols went on round the clock for nearly 2 days.
By the end of the day, there were nothing but questions. Who were these terrorists? Are we going to be hit again? What is going to happen to the aviation industry? Will I have to start a new career in a different field? Will the families of the victims ever have peace? So much to contemplate. Of course, all of these questions would be answered with time.
Today we should take time to remember all those feelings that we had that day so that those who died are honored.
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