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Memories and thoughts from our employees.
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Janice Adams
Herndon, Virginia
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I was about to leave at 1130 but decided to reenter the office. Calls were coming from co-workers' loved ones around the country and Canada to ensure their family members were OK. Also I was able to connect a scared (MORE...)
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Trish Autry
Fort Worth, Texas
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That morning my husband, an airport fire/rescue worker at the second busiest airport, telephoned me at my desk. He said there’d been an airplane crash broadcast on the news and asked me to find a TV. “It’s that (MORE...)
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Faith Awad
Washington,
District of Columbia
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My husband is an Egyptian Muslim and like so many of his friends, he is the most beautiful,caring, and gentle man that I know.
On September 11, he had just left me attending class at USDA across the street from my job at 7th & Independence Avenue, SW. Once he got outside to go to the Metro (MORE...)
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Baart Douglas
Atlantic City,
New Jersey
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I was at 35,000 feet En Route from PHL to ATL when I heard from the guy sitting to my left, who was connected to the internet, shout that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. For most of use who heard this, thought at first it was a hacker who had breached the CNN web site or possibly that (MORE...)
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Margie Baird
Atlantic City,
New Jersey
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On 9/11/01,We where in the auditorium ready to listen to a (of all things a Safety Speaker) when Bruce walked in and told us that we were just hit. He was telling us, has he was sobbing,thru his tears. Francine and I immediately got up (MORE...)
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Michael Bouyea
Washington,
District of Columbia
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On the very day, I was in New York City attending IONA College. I was trying to decide whether or not to evacuate from the city to my family in upstate NY to avoid further possible chaos. I ended up staying in NYC. There were clouds of smoke and the burning stench (MORE...)
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Ginger Cairnes
Atlantic City,
New Jersey
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Hosting 25 New York State visitors off-site, I watched in horror as events of 9-11 unfolded. I directed the guests onto the Tech Center bus back to the SOC and await further direction. The other half of the group had been in the R & D area and easily made their way back to the SOC into their bus. (MORE...)
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Karen V. Davis
Corapolis,
Pennsylvania
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When 9/11 accured I was at work, when the news came over the T.V. and I started to think. My family that were still in NY, I called and couldn't get threw and then I started praying all that I new. I cried and thougtht all those people that got hurt. I thought about the people that didn't have a chance (MORE...)
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Joan Devine
Washington,
District of Columbia
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Second plane hit the World Trade Center. Called my husband. "We're under attack!" Next thought - Get Home. My Metro broke down at Rosslyn. Just as I started to panic I was able to squeeze into a train. Called my daughter (MORE...)
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Terry Dransfield
Syracuse,
New York
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I was at the Syracuse, NY VORTAC having a project meeting concerning a commercial power upgrade. My supervisor received a cell phone concerning the first plane crashing into the WTC. A few minutes later he received the second call (MORE...)
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Barry Englander
Miami,
Florida
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I was in Kingston, Jamaica, conducting an insp. at Air Jamaica. American Airlines, canceled all flights, stranding me in KIN for 3 days. An Arrow Air DC-8 aircraft landed in KIN and I luckily, was at the airport. I spoke with (MORE...)
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Karl Fischer
Atlantic City,
New Jersey
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At the time, I was working for Prudential, just across the river in Woodbridge, NJ. I always wondered how closely the 2nd jet had flown just over my building on its way to WTC tower 2, and whether those smoking outside questioned its altitude so close to the city. Later that (MORE...)
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John Harrington
Burlington,
Massachusetts
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On 9/11, I was recovering from major surgery and working from home, a small community in Vermont. Vermont was one of the safest places to live in the world, and in all probabilty still is today, but has changed out of necessity. (MORE...)
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JJ Johnson
Atlantic City,
New Jersey
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Just another blue sky day here at Atlanta Hartsfield. I was sitting at my desk when a co-worker came by and said "Hey a plane hit the trade tower”! “I wonder if it was a student pilot?” “ Too big for a 172” When out of the corner of the TV screen the second plane hit and we knew. This was no accident (MORE...)
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Winsome Lenfert
Washington,
District of Columbia
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On September 11, 2002 I was in Kansas City performing an evaluation of the Central Region's Airport Certification Program. Once flights resumed our team attempted to head back to Washington, DC. While sitting in the airport terminal at MCI airport waiting for a flight to finally (MORE...)
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Sueanne
Liddle-Shaw
College Park,
Georgia
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As a career military family we know that duty calls often and that our soldiers sacrifice a great deal to defend our freedom. My husband and I were both in the Persian Gulf War but nothing prepares you for tragedies to come. I had just started my employment with the FAA in Aug 01. (MORE...)
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Bob Macchia
Jamaica,
New York
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Below is the URL to our nephew's page, Gone but not forgotten. He was a NY City firefighter and a volunteer in his own community. He lost his life at the WTC, cut and paste the URL, it is graphic intense. I wrote the poems, the graphics were done by a friend. God bless America (MORE...)
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Tanny
McMullin-Bivens
Jamaica,
New York
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I got up that morning to go to take a friend to the doctor. I got off the train in Long Island, NY. Walked inside the cab stand and people were looking at a plane that had hit the first World Trade Center Tower. I asked where did this happen (MORE...)
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Ava McNair
Washington,
District of Columbia
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I was working in the Public Affairs Office at FAA when the reports and calls came into the office. As I watched with cares and concerns for all that were touched by this I began to pray for everyone.
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Marie Miller
Ronkonkoma,
New York
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We were waiting for our flight to DCA at 9 am when a man approached, in tears. He advised that planes flew into the twin towers. We ran to a TV and watched the planes hitting the towers. LGA was evacuated, and turmoil ensued. Outside, (MORE...)
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Susan Naimo
Burlington,
Massachusetts
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At work all of a sudden, people starting running around, I said what is the matter, someone said a plane just went into the WTC, I thought, ok, a little plane accidentally hit the building. Then someone said the Pentagon was hit, you know how people take things differently in crisis (MORE...)
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Gary Neville
Burlington,
Massachusetts
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The events of September 11th, 2001was an event to mark in history. The tragedy of that day was felt by all that I saw in our New England Regional Office. The expressions of disbelief, shock, “what is happening?” as we see the 2nd aircraft crash, reports of a 3rd and other explosions. The (MORE...)
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Ralph Nicosia-Rusin
Burlington,
Massachusetts
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One of the strongest positive impressions I have taken from last year's trajedies, was how the greatest impact on reducing loss of life, was not from exotic equipment or highly skilled professionals, but from the instinctive and compassionate actions of many ordinary people caught in an (MORE...)
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Ed O'Connor
Washington,
District of Columbia
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I was in NJ and turned on the TV and saw the flames spewing from the WTC, where I had worked for 25 years. How many of my former Port Authority friends were dead? Knowing I couldn't help at the site headed back to DC. It was awful (MORE...)
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James Ostaszewski
Jamiaca,
New York
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My wife and I were in London, England. God Bless the British people who gave us moral support at this sad time. We were especially moved two days later when we joined the other Americans at Buckingham Palace to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" (MORE...)
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Marian Parrington
Atlantic City,
New Jersey
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On September 11, my husband Ray and I were vacationing in Germany. We had just come back to our hotel room from lunch and turned on the TV to catch the latest news on CNN. There was a reporter speaking with a view of a smoking skyscraper in (MORE...)
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Susan Reyes
Washington,
District of Columbia
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I have a first cousin in Newfoundland--Canada's poorest province--who is among the many Canadians who took such wonderful care of American travelers whose planes became "stranded" at Canada's Gander Airport Canada for a time following (MORE...)
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Tony Ringos
Kansas City,
Missouri
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I worked at the World Trade Center for US Customs. I got the job in FAA Security. I went to the WTC on Friday September the 7th to say goodbye to my friends. The next day I drove from NY to KC, it took me 2 days with a few stops. On monday Sept. 10th (MORE...)
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Sheila Robinson
Washington,
District of Columbia
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In my Florida hotel room, preparing to join thousands at the “happiest place in the world,” I received the news. The attacks on the World Trade Center were alarming enough, but when I heard that the Pentagon, a stones throw from the FAA headquarters building filled (MORE...)
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Richard A. Sena
Boston,
Massachusetts
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I worked at the Boston MCC. we were notified by Air Traffic that a hijacking was taking place. we turned on CNN, and saw the world trade center tragedy and wondered if in fact it was caused by the hijacking. Shortly after we were notified (MORE...)
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Michael Smith
Upland,
California
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Last September I was in Fairbanks, Alaska working at the airport. Alaska is 4 hours earlier than Eastern Time, 1 hour earlier than my home in California. On the 11th at 5 a.m. the phone woke me.I was going to jokingly chew out my wife for calling so early, just to wish me a Happy Birthday (MORE...)
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Paola Sogaro
San Jose,
California
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I will never forget September 11!
I still feel as sad and angry as I felt the moment I saw the second plane hit the tower. All I can say is that ignorance and hate are a very dangerous mixture. How could they justify killing thousand of (MORE...)
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Juan Soto
Ronkonkoma,
New York
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I was in Salt Lake City on Sept. 11, just arrived the day before to assist in an installation at SLC ARTCC. I turned on the T.V., I watched as the second plane hit, the towers dropped and my head spun. I wished I was home, I worked in the area (MORE...)
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Fred Stein
London
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Living in New York City on September 11, 2001, the first question running through my mind was what of my wife, my young son, of all my friends working near the World Trade Center. Phones were down, bridges were closed, no way to get home. (MORE...)
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Carmen Tedeschi
Atlantic City,
New Jersey
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At 8:45 the secretaries march by insisting that the TV be turned on. "It's too early for your soaps" I commented. "No" they replied, "the WTC was hit by an airplane"! "That's airplane shaped alright" was uttered when the 1st tower's (MORE...)
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Anthony Willett
Washington,
District of Columbia
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The guy who runs the Free Flight computer LAN, Steve Campbell, came to my office on September 11. He was white as a ghost. He said, “My father drives by the Pentagon every morning. He just called me on his cell phone and said, ‘An airliner (MORE...)
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Lee Williams
Atlantic City,
New Jersey
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I woke up a little after 9:00 a.m. the morning of 9/11. That day was my day off from work that week at Disney, but my roommate woke me and told me that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. I got out of bed immediately to see it (MORE...)
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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
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