September 11, 2001 – FAA Responds

On Aug. 12 and 13, USA Today ran a series of articles about how
FAA safely brought 4,500 planes to land on Sept. 11, 200l.

With Ingenuity, Skill And Guts:

"It was an unprecedented accomplishment handled with ingenuity, skill and guts." That's the way an editorial in the August 14, 2001, USA Today described what FAA controllers did on September 11 to clear the skies.

"USA Today Special Series on Clearing Skies"
"Amid Terror, Clear the Skies" - H. Barr Beiser
"Key Times"
"Part II - No One Was Sure Hijackers Were Aboard" - Marilyn Adams, Alan Levin, Blake Morrison
"Much Maligned Air Traffic System Came Through on Sept. 11" - Alan Levin
"Korean Air Jet May Have Narrowly Missed Disaster" -- Alan Levin
"People of Halifax Mobilized to Comfort, Aid Refugees" - Marilyn Adams
"Voices from the Air Traffic World"
"For air traffic controllers, a historic achievement"

From the takeoff of Flight 11 at 8:00 a.m. to U.S. airspace clear of civil
aviation flights at 12:15 p.m., read the times of key Sept. 11, 2001, events.

Hundreds of FAA people worked to improve security and restore civil aviation after the skies were closed on Sept. 11, 2001. Here are some of their portraits.
Week of September 2
Week of September 9

Memories and thoughts from our employees.

Week of September 2
Week of September 9
September 11
Week of September 16
September 18

Landing so many planes so quickly was an outstanding achievement. A series of articles in USA Today explains the behind-the-scenes decisions and actions.