Where were you on September 11th 2001?

Beaver Driver · Post by **Beaver Driver** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 1:31 pm

I had slept in a little that morning, so instead of watching the news with a cup of coffee I headed straight for the airplane. Spent the rest of the day flying around the north only hearing tidbits of what happened from other people. Only found out the next day that the flight ban was for ALL of Canada and U.S. It sure was quite on the radio that day

low n over · Post by **low n over** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 3:47 pm

I was in CYEV filming CF-18 scramble for the Korean 747. Later that day I flew a Navajo to Old Crow with a northwest-tel tech to fix the phones. On the way I had arctic radio tell me that Cheyenne Mountain wanted to know exactly what I was doing, heading straight for US airspace. Told them I was cleared for a 'humanitarian flight' by Edmonton. They left it at that. Probably ruined some F-15 pilots day.

Mitch Cronin · Post by **Mitch Cronin** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 4:24 pm

I was in YYZ, working on a '67 in the hangar... as the news came, someone brought a tv into our ready room and when we could steal some moments, we watched in horror as the events unfolded... Sat on the hangar floor staring at our bird wondering how in hell someone could turn it into a weapon... then after the closure of everything, spent the day in a stunned stupour, helping to park aircraft making room for all that were coming in...

I remember seeing a car in a ditch on the way to work that morning, thinking "that guy will remember this day... what a bummer"... little did I know!

Hz2p: I think you've seriously misread "most Canadians".

aileron · Post by **aileron** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 4:37 pm

While grabbing a coffee at work and my coworker says "Did you hear that terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Centre and made em collapse?"... "NO?!" I saised.

Amazing that I spent 45 minutes driving to work, listening to Larry & Willy on "99.3 the Fox" and all they were rambling on about was their "Toughest Contest Ever, part 2"... geesh.

Got some photos around the airport, unbelievable. Lived in a house on the approach end of 26R and it was eerie not hearing the aircraft anymore. Recall seeing many, many, many contrails in the sky in the shape of holding patterns for YVR...

V3-BZE · Post by **V3-BZE** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 4:44 pm

Sleeping in a hotel in Houston on the morning of 9-11. I was jumpseating my way from YYC to Belize on Continental Airlines on sept. 10th, but didn't catch the last flight from IAH to BZE that day. Needless to stay I was stuck in Houston for the next 6 days, and when planes finaly began to fly again, I wasn't able to get the jumpseat anymore...
Very sad day for all!

harveymushman · Post by **harveymushman** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 5:05 pm

I was working a contract in Pickle Lake it was a nice morning until I turned on the T.V.

it was a terrible thing to see, but it wont be the last I dont think

Guido · Post by **Guido** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 5:36 pm

High school physics class... needless to say we didn't do much of anything for the rest of the day.

Apache64_ · Post by **Apache64_** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 5:48 pm

I was on my way to work when the first plane hit, watched the second plane hit at work, and sat around work for the rest of the day watching the tv. One of the dispatchers mom was on a AC flight to New York that day and we all sat around wondering if it was one of Air Canadas.

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 6:25 pm

In Inuvik, and a passerby mentioned it to me. No one cared too much, when your that far north, nothing really seems to matter. The Inuvik airport got closed down and cops had the road blocked off because of a "suspicious package". Turns out it was a electrical toolbox. The electrician was having a pee break.

FamilyGuy · Post by **FamilyGuy** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 8:46 pm

May Allah or whomever they worship

not have mercy on their souls...burn in hell.

BirdDog · Post by **BirdDog** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 8:53 pm

I was working out in the East Coast (YQM) at the time. I remember being told what had happened and the feeling of disbelief that overcame me… shortly after as we all know the Pentagon was hit and then the Pennsylvania crash. Then the word that all airspace was closed… I still have a copy of the NOTAM:

010008 CYHQ OPS
CYHQ EMERGENCY SECURITY CONTROL OF AIR TRAFFIC (ESCAT) (PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS SCATANA) LEVEL 2 HAS BEEN INVOKED BY MINISTER OF NATIONAL DEFENCE (MND). ESCAT LEVEL 2 REQUIRES THAT ALL AUTHORIZED FLIGHTS INTO OR OUT OF CANADA FILE AN IFR OR DVFR FLIGHT PLAN.
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 5.1 OF THE AERONAUTICS ACT, THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT RESTRICTS ALL TAKE-OFFS AND LANDINGS BY ANY AIRCRAFT IN CANADIAN AIRSPACE OR ENTRY INTO CANADIAN AIRSPACE, WITH THE FOLLOWING EXCEPTIONS:
- HUMANITARIAN FLIGHTS (TO INCLUDE MEDIVAC/ORGAN FLIGHTS, NORTHERN RESUPPLY FLIGHTS, AIRCRAFT PROCEEDING TO PICK UP PERSONS STRANDED IN THE BUSH WITHOUT THE NECESSARY MEANS OF SURVIVAL, ALL AIRCRAFT INVOLVED IN FOREST FIGHT OPS)
- SEARCH AND RESCUE FLIGHTS
- OPERATIONAL POLICE FLIGHTS
- MILITARY FLIGHTS
- FEDERAL/PROVINCIAL/ TERRRITORIAL GOVERNMENT AIRCRAFT ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS
- AIRCRAFT OPERATING IN ACCORDANCE WITH AN AUTHORIZATION ISSUED BY THE MINISTER
NAV CANADA ACC SHIFT MANAGERS AUTHORIZED TO PERMIT FLIGHTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ABOVE CONDITIONS, IF ESCAT LEVEL 3 IS INVOKED BY MND ALL AIRCRAFT MUST OPERATE IN ACCORDANCE WITH A WARTIME AIR TRAFFIC PRIORITY LIST (WATPL) NUMBER ASSIGNED BY CANADIAN NORAD REGION HQ.

YQM was one of the airports to receive USA destined aircraft as the airspace was closed. In the hours that followed the attacks …to sit and watch these diverted aircraft land and the feeling of helplessness and not knowing what was going happen next was a very surreal experience that I will never forget. Our Hornets loaded with armament doing low and overs to make their presence known in the hours, days and weeks that followed the attacks brought into sharp focus that the wars we read about and watched on the nightly news have made their way to our door step. Sadly this war is far from over.

Tubthumper · Post by **Tubthumper** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 9:02 pm

...on my way to Tim Horton's to meet a friend, then back home listening to the radio on the way, and finally the TV footage. Very erie (sp?) to say the least.

FamilyGuy · Post by **FamilyGuy** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 9:02 pm

Bird Dog thanks for that, I'd forgotten all about ESCAT and the NOTAM's. Scary heavy duty stuff... Armed fighters on CAP, AWACS on patrol. Hate to have been out in the boonies and try to "sneak" across the border VFR that day.....

2bornot2b · Post by **2bornot2b** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 9:08 pm

I was packing my suitcase for my dream job. I had been accepted into the British Airways Trainee Pilot Sponsorship program and I was to leave the morning of the 12th to start my year long training at Western Michigan University.

Needless to say it never happened. Got a call from BA within two hours of the attack saying that the training had been delayed for 48 hours. Got a call the next day saying that the training had been delayed indefinitely. Remained on contract with them until March 31st, 2003 - which just meant that if they restarted the Trainee Program before then that I would have first right of refusal. They only just started hiring experienced pilots again as of this past March.

That was the end of my professional pilot career. In fact I haven't flown a plane since even though I am (was!) a licensed commercial pilot - haven't even flown privately since. I made the decision that the industry wasn't going to be healthy for a long time and I packed it in. No regrets as I now own my own business making heaps of cash (though its been hard work for the past couple of years) and I am finally looking into renewing my private license and buying a plane with a buddy of mine.

Funny how things work out. At the time it was the worst day of my life, but now I look at how everything has worked out (still married for one!) and I truly believe things happen for a reason.

Hope to see you all in the skies very soon:)

BirdDog · Post by **BirdDog** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 9:19 pm

Heavy Duty stuff for sure, I forgot to mention... that in the days following the attacks, I felt like I had to do something... but what? Then it struck me, I left work (couldn't fly anyway) and went down to the city arena and volunteered with the Red Cross to help provide assistance to our stranded guests....nothing big ...organizing supplies, just handing out toiletries, blankets...very simple tasks but it made it real. The fear and uncertainty that the passengers conveyed was sobering to say the least. They were very grateful and were happy just to have someone to listen to them.... remarkable yet sad experience.

mcrit · Post by **mcrit** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 10:15 pm

I had just finished teaching my first class of the day, (grade 10 computer engineering), and was walking to teach my grade 12 physics when I passed by the student newspaper office and saw that the Pentagon had gotten hit. I remembered thinking, "Weird that out of all the places to crash in Washington a plane manages to land there". As I continued on to class, one of the other teachers said,"Did you hear that a plane hit the WTC". I corrected him that it was the Pentagon and went on my way. I passed another TV and saw the WTC burning. It was at this point that I got a very surreal feeling. I tried to get the physics class going, but the kids were too keyed up so I ended up letting them listen to the news radio.
My third recommend was doing his flight test that day, so I called the flight school to see if he had gotten out. I was told at that point that he hadn't, and wouldn't. I spent another 2 months as a class 4 becuase of that. A harbinger of things to come for all of us.
I can say, with no word of a lie, that my first and strongest impulse was to pick up a rifle. And if there had been someone handy and appropriate to use it on I pretty sure that I would have.
As an aside I had flown into NY less than a week prior to 9/11. One of my students wanted to do some x-country practice down there and meet with some of his friends. I am glad that Al-Queda didn't pick that day, because my student was of an ethnic background that would have had me answering a lot of question to US customs.

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 10:22 pm

Was teaching EX # 5 actually.....That came to a stop quickly as word spread. Noone could keep thier minds on anything...Then our ramp filled up within 1 hour, was on the roof of the hanger 4 overlooking rwy 22 at CYQX, got some awsome pictures if i could find them....

Check Pilot · Post by **Check Pilot** » Fri Sep 10, 2004 10:33 pm

We sat in shock that day. Some of our folks were in Wichita and we needed them to get home as soon as we could because we needed them here in Canada to help out.

At 04:30 tne next morning we filed out of Winnipeg and wound up on one of the eeriest flights I've ever had in the little jet.

We had exactly two communications with ATC that day when we were airbourne. The first was "Cleared direct Wichita".

The second was "Cleared for the approach -- cleared to land-- cleared to taxi to the ramp".

We were 200 miles back!

When we left Wichita we were cleared to taxi to the ramp in Winnipeg.

I NEVER want to go through that again. Far too spooky. Silence is usually treasured in the headsets but total silence in that case meant EVERYONE was looking at you. I knew that every sattelite, RADAR, LASER, "eye in the sky" or telescope in the USA was probably looking at us as we went North that day. All I knew was that I was still just some dumbass pilot flying a little aeroplane - hoping that nobody was going to shoot us out of the sky. There were lots of F-15's and F-16's that flew by us, and not calling on 121.5 or any other kind of com.

Once they found out who we were they buggerd off.

Finally we crosssed 49 north and landed in Winnipeg. We all got out but spent the next three days in hell trying to figure out just exactly what happened and how we could get the FIC's, ATC's and airspace back in operation and get the system back up and running again.

I went home really tired once the system got going again and slept for two days. I guess I'm a bit of a wimp because I can't take those 60 hour days any more.

Shotgun Chuck McCoy · Fri Sep 10, 2004 10:34 pm

Timmy Ho's near the Aviation Museum at the YYC airport. The morning I was setting out in the big city, looking for that first job. I heard something over the speakers in the joint about terrorists, New York, and plane crashes, and I went out to the Jetta to listen on the CBC as I drove over to the airport, and decided to head on up north that day. I new instantly that I was in for the long haul.

I ended up being hired on Sept 18th, believe it or not, up north, on the ramp.

Despite that, it took me quitting there (due to downsizing) working three shit jobs and three years of looking until I landed my current job.

It was a sad day for an already sad industry.

I mourned for all of us that day.

Bleed Air · Post by **Bleed Air** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 1:19 am

I was on the golf course, when my wife called me franticly.
At that point in time I worked for a company that flew to JFK twice a night, on Cargo, but it was my day offf.
Our aircraft was actually sitting on the runway in JFK, next for takeoff when the first plane hit.
The FO took a snap with his camera of the smoke plumb going up.
The tower basically said, the tower is closing(evacuating) can't remember which and that everyone was to taxi back to the stand from which they came.
They were stuck there for about 3 days, and within a week we were back flying to JFK, but the routing was via Boston, which added like an hour to the trip. Around 2 weeks later it was back to normal routing.
However security, was pretty tight. It pretty much was a joke before that.

Panama Jack · Post by **Panama Jack** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 4:40 am

I was a relatively new hire pilot at one of Canada's airlines on September 11th, 2001. Fortunately, it was also my day off. Had planned to take my wife and daughter to visit Ottawa. . . it was a beautiful late summer's day in Montreal, not a cloud in the sky. Called my friend SplitS, and he told me that he was watching the news and that a plane had just hit the WTC.

My initial question to him was "what's the weather like in New York?" I assumed that maybe a Cessna or even a Boeing got misvectored and ran into one of the sky scrapers on his way into or out of La Guardia. He told me it was sky clear "just like here" and I was stupified. He said something about terrorism, and I thought to myself "No, it can't be terrorism!!!" While I was on the phone with him, the second aircraft hit the twin towers. I had no TV those days.

My wife, daughter and I left our apartment and went for a drive. Radio was turned on all day. We decided it was a bad enough start for a pleasant day in Ottawa, and spent the days driving around the West Island and Ile Perrot. It was depressing and spooky. In the afternoon, started receiving phone calls from concerned relatives overseas asking whether I was flying or whether we were travelling. Later that day, we went to Dorval airport to see airplanes that never visit YUL neatly parked wherever they could find space for them. It was one of the saddest days of my life, and I knew that our world had changed forever, although nobody could fathom in what manner. An important project that I was working on at the airline went straight to the bottom, and within two years, my airline was in Bankruptcy protection, I was out of work. The industry remains in shambles.

We are now living in a more uncertain world than ever before, and terrorism has become a daily phrase. The US went from being a very sympathised nation, to one of the most hated nations in the world, and we are wrapped up in new conflicts with no end in sight. Ironically, and on my own personal level, Osama bin Laden's actions on September 11th, 2001, have played a significant role in me flying an airplane on the evening of September 11th, 2004 in his own backyard-- Saudi Arabia. The strange twists and turns that fate takes.

link

Katmando · Post by **Katmando** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 5:34 am

Pushing back at YWG, told to park it and spent the next 48hrs.

Wibble · Post by **Wibble** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:43 am

Cant remember if we were Nova, Transcan (Trashcan), or Jazz at the time, but I was on my way to Deer Lake from St. Johns in the Dash 8. Heard centre tell a jet on its way to New York that the airspace was closed. Asked the captain what that might be about. He had no idea. Kind of forgot about it after that until we landed in Deer Lake. Watched the rest unfold on FSS television. Needless to say we were stuck in Deer Lake for 3 days. What else could we do. We drank!

NiGhTwItCh · Post by **NiGhTwItCh** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 12:11 pm

Was flying that day. Medevacs. Arrived in YSB, was told by medcom that one tower had been hit. Took off, landed in YTS, was told both bulidings were hit, but to continue with the flying, as no one knew what was going on yet. Took off again, arrived in YKX and heard about the towers collapsing and that they had scrambled Air Force One, and that the pentagon had also been attacked. I stood on the ramp there and just cried (ok, yes, I am a girl

) I just didnt' know what to think...finally saw the images once we got to the hotel in YKX.......unbelievably, we did fly back home that night around 6.....was so creepy, there was no one in the air, just us and centre....not I day I can forget.....

Louis · Post by **Louis** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 1:56 pm

I was in high school when it happened.

Only learned about the strikes at about 10:30 when our physics class resumed. We were all back from break and the teacher walked in the class, his expression showing devastation. He told about the three strikes (WTC and Pentagon) and left the class. Problem was, that teacher had made up quite a few stories in the past and we weren't all quite sure if that one was made up as well.

And out of the thirty-something in the class, I'm the one who came up with a way to find out...

While some were wondering what was going to happen next with the world (one of the ideas I remember hearing involved an american nuclear retaliatory strike against a then-unknown attacker...), and many not believing in the possibility that such a thing could have happened, I started asking if anyone had a walkman with a radio receiver. No one did, and then it struck me:

The adjacent teacher's office had a computer with internet access!

After reminding this fact to my classmates, everyone rushed in the office/chemistry prep room, anxious to know what was going on. Someone sitting at the keyboard tried cnn and yahoo.com, both offline at the time (swamped by people trying to do just like us), then infinit.net (videotron's portal) that had a blank page with a short press feed text and pictures of the first tower with a large hole instead of the usual search page layout...

Sadness, pain, disbelief and worry were the main reactions that transpired.

Most of lunch time was spent watching news channels, and afternoon classes were "suspended" as we talked about what happened.

The next few days were eerie to say the least. I had a habit of looking up, daydreaming and gazing at airplanes approaching the 24s in Dorval, hearing the distant engines' rumble.

I was expecting to see airplanes as I had done all my life, at home and at school, but they were gone. The sky was quiet...

The world was changed forever. Not a day that I will forget.