On Tuesday 11th September 2001, the world watched in horror as the World Trade Centre Twin Towers crumbled after being struck by hijacked passenger jets. Twenty five years after 9/11 the pain, grief, shock and disbelief are more acute than ever.
On the anniversary of 9/11, family members of those who lost their lives will gather on the 9/11 Memorial plaza for a private ceremony. The names of the 2,983 men, women and children killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks and the February 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center will be read aloud in remembrance.
Six moments of silence will be observed throughout the ceremony, marking the times when the World Trade Center towers were struck and when they collapsed, as well as the attacks on the Pentagon and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
A seventh moment of silence will follow the reading of the names, honouring those who have since died as a result of health conditions linked to the 9/11 attacks.
In undoubtedly one of the most devastating events of the century, four planes were used as guided missiles to target landmark buildings in New York and Washington in a monumental terrorist attack.
The first hit the North Tower at 08:46 Eastern Time (13:46 GMT). The second crashed into the South Tower at 09:03. Buildings were on fire, people were trapped and many were caught up in toxic debris or unable to escape as the towers collapsed in clouds of dust.
At 09:37 the third plane destroyed the western face of the Pentagon and the fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania at 10:03 after passengers bravely fought back, the intended target believed to be the Capitol Building in Washington DC.
All 246 passengers and crew aboard the four planes, 2,606 people (either at the time or later from their injuries) at the Twin Towers and 125 at the Pentagon lost their lives. The youngest was just two years old. Thousands were injured.
I was cabin crew for British Airways at the time of 9/11 and watched in utter disbelief at home as the planes hit and the towers crumbled. We’d visited New York in March that year and stood at the very top of the Twin Towers. I can remember thinking what incredible structures they were and not imagining for one second that they could fall. Flying changed forever from that day with the flight deck a security vault, the terrifying new reality being that regardless of what went on in the cabin, it would not be opened.
Suspicion and fear clouded every trip and the heartbreaking sadness for all those lost cut deep. I still can’t believe it now and feel just physically sick that such an atrocity took place claiming so many lives and destroying others. The crew on those flights had started their duties just like any other trip and it hit hard knowing that what they experienced was something that could happen to any of us at any time.
Lorrie Leaver had made a last minute decision not to take a flight to New York that day and says it was ‘A day I can never forget. I’d been living in Boston & was booked on the early flight from Logan to NYC. I changed my mind the day before & flew back to London only to see the events of 9/11 unfold. My friends died & my phone didn’t stop as many thought I was on the flight……… It’s almost impossible for me to comprehend what made me change my plans. Friends told me that I was like a woman possessed as I rebooked my flight to LHR & didn’t know why. I felt guilty for a long time after 9/11 rather than relieved. I’d wondered if I could have done anything.’
Sarah Curle was Cabin Crew at LHR for her second airline and had ‘Flights scheduled that day (only a domestic destination thankfully) I remember arriving into the Crew Report Centre and seeing the horror unfold on the screen in the crew lounge. My flights were severely delayed due to the trans Atlantic traffic being turned back to LHR. I did my first sector and the passengers were watching the horror on the screens in the departure lounge. It was very unsettling to have to bring back 200 very worried passengers and re-assure them. Suffice to say the aviation world changed after this, no more flight deck visits for children, cameras on board etc. It was beyond comprehension and I can still see that day as if it was only yesterday….’
Sarah gave up flying shortly afterwards, as did I. She says ‘I wouldn’t even fly as a passenger as I developed panic attacks. It took me years to board an aircraft again but in time I did it and missed my aviation career. I went back to flying 12 years later as I was accepted into BA.’
Do you remember where you were when the Towers fell? What are your memories and reflections?
Photo Credit: Parade
