A Year Ago - Remembering Flying on 09/11

[BRA]

Bump

 

[BRA]

Bump!

 

[bafanguy]

Lots of stories associated with this day and most of them won't get told.

My wife was a F/A working a FRA-ATL flight that ended up in Stephenville, Newfoundland. They were there several days along with about a dozen other wide body airplanes while the company figured out who was where and got them home.

The town opened itself up to the unanticipated visitors with a heartwarming reception. This town and its citizens did Canada proud in a trying time.

 

[POWDERFINGER]

Yeah, that was a turning point. I was a jumpseater that morning, riding back to base while my colleagues were doing the flying. After takeoff, the FAs said something was going on - that a commuter plane hit one of the WTC towers. Being a former CFI and commuter pilot who thew around there on a daily basis, it was disconcerting. A Saab doing a Vmc roll into a tower? Nope, word then came from the cockpit that another plane hit the WTC and hijackings were going on.

Last time in my career that I simply walked up to the flight deck and let myself in. First thing I heard was, "Dude - put on a headset and listen to this. We're going to turn back, everyone has to land."

By the time we landed and got everyone deplaned and the aircraft secured, it was all over. WTC towers down, reports that United 93 was down, the Pentagon burning. The next question was, "Who was behind this, and where do we go to f*ck them up?" It was quite satisfying to stand on a tarmac on Diego Garcia several weeks later and watch B-1s taking off to go and bomb Tora Bora.

Considering the situation in 2024, the U.S. continues to have a problem with Abrahamic religious fanatics trying to destroy democracy. This time it is the christofascist next door.

 

[bafanguy]

Considering the situation in 2024, the U.S. continues to have a problem with Abrahamic religious fanatics trying to destroy democracy.

Yes, the problem hasn't gone away but merely gone silent or dropped below the purview of the mass media.

They call Afghanistan The Graveyard of Empires for a reason.