The Only Plane in the Sky

by Garrett M Graff

  “An easy day”

  * * *

  Tuesday Begins

  Around the world, September 11th began as any other weekday. Congress was reengaging after its summer recess. In Herndon, Virginia, at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) national command center, Ben Sliney prepared for his first day running the nation’s airspace. Nearby, in Langley, Virginia, Gina Haspel began her first day at the CIA’s counterterrorism center. In Washington, D.C., FBI Director Robert Mueller—who had started in his new post just one week earlier, on September 4—was scheduled to appear at 8:00 a.m. for his first briefing on the FBI’s unfolding investigation of a terror group known as al-Qaeda and its bombing of the USS Cole the previous fall. Far from America’s shores, the captain of the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Enterprise was just finishing a long tour enforcing the no-fly zone over Iraq and looking forward to returning home.

  In New York City it was primary day; New Yorkers would choose the candidates vying to replace the man who had run their city for eight years, Rudy Giuliani. Millions of residents, workers, schoolchildren, and commuters awoke and began preparing for the day, many boarding trains, ferries, subways, and buses to make their way into Lower Manhattan. The FDNY’s director of fire education safety was particularly excited that Tuesday: he was set to launch a new toy, modeled on a New York firefighter, and had chosen the day carefully. The date, after all, seemed perfect for firefighters: 9-1-1.

  Lt. Joseph Torrillo, director of Fire Education Safety, FDNY: Fisher-Price had a line of children’s toys called “Rescue Heroes” that kids loved. They had a police officer called Jake Justice, a lifeguard called Wendy Waters, an ambulance attendant called Perry Medic. They wanted a New York City firefighter—they were going to call him Billy Blazes. They would give me one dollar for every Billy Blazes sold around the world, money I would use in my public education program. They wanted to do a big press conference and introduce this new Rescue Hero to the world. I was scratching my head with the executives, and I said, “9-1-1 is the emergency phone number in New York City. Why don’t we have a 9-1-1 Day in New York?” So on 9/11 at nine o’clock in the morning, every TV station in New York City was waiting for me at Rockefeller Center to introduce this new Rescue Hero.

  Herb Ouida, World Trade Centers Association, North Tower, 77th floor, and father of Todd Ouida, Cantor Fitzgerald, North Tower, 105th floor: As we did every morning, my son Todd and I left our home together to travel to work, because Todd was working at the World Trade Center for Cantor Fitzgerald. When we got down to Hoboken, I said to Todd, “Why don’t you take the ferry with me, it’s a beautiful day?” He said, “No, Dad, it’s too cold.” I told him, “Have a great day, sweetheart.” Those were my last words to Todd.

  Richard Eichen, consultant, Pass Consulting Group, North Tower, 90th floor: I used to take the train every day to the Trade Center. I was sitting next to a friend—we belonged to the same golf club—and we were talking about how bad the food was. That was my biggest care in the world that day.

  Ted Olson, solicitor general, U.S. Department of Justice: My wife, Barbara, was supposed to travel Monday, and my birthday was Tuesday. She decided that she was not going to go Monday. She did not want to be gone on the morning of my birthday, she wanted to be there when I woke up. I left for work very early in the morning—before 6:00—and she left shortly after to go to the airport. I heard from her before she boarded. This plane was scheduled to leave at 8:10 in the morning. We always called one another a lot during the day, sometimes very briefly. She called me at 7:30 or 7:40, before she got on the plane.

  Rosemary Dillard, base manager, American Airlines: My husband, Eddie, had just acquired a house in L.A. and was going out to work on the house to get it in order so he could rent or sell it. We were driving out to Dulles, because Flight 77 was nonstop to L.A., and we were laughing. I remember him getting out, and he reminded me, “Before you go to work, get gas.” He kissed me. My last words to him were, “Be home by Thursday.”

  Laura Bush, first lady of the United States, White House: I’d spent most of the morning going over the briefing that I was supposed to give that day to the Senate Education Committee. I was giving a briefing on the results from a summit that I’d had earlier in the summer on early childhood education. It was about nine months into George being president, and I was really hitting my stride as first lady.

  Ada Dolch, principal, High School for Leadership and Public Service (HSLPS), New York City: It was primary election day. Our school building was going to be used for the very first time as a voting site.

  Fernando Ferrer, Bronx borough president and candidate for New York City mayor: Hard primary campaign. My wife and I went to vote. It was all very nice, and our tracking polls gave me reason to be in a very good mood that day.

  Sunny Mindel, communications director for the mayor of the City of New York, Rudy Giuliani: On September 11th, I was facing what I thought would be an easy day.

  William Jimeno, officer, Port Authority Police Department (PAPD): I remember waking up and making a decision. I’m a big bowhunter—I like to deer hunt—and the weather was going to be great. I was going to possibly take a “P-day,” which is a personal day at the Port Authority Police. I said, “No, I’m going to save it for a later time.”

  The storm of September 10th that swept across the Northeast, marking the passage of a strong cold front, preceded a high-pressure system of dry Canadian air that gave rise to a unique—and memorable—meteorological phenomenon known as “severe clear,” cloudless skies that made an enduring impression on all who would witness what transpired in the hours ahead.

  Ben Sliney, national operations manager, FAA Command Center, Herndon, Virginia: That was my first day on the job as national operations manager. When I got up that morning and looked at the Weather Channel and saw that the entire East Coast was going to be severe clear, I anticipated it would be a pretty good first day.

  Melinda Murphy, traffic reporter, WPIX TV, New York City: We would fly for the morning show from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. I had 14 hits [TV appearances] a morning—people still remember me as the “Chopper Chick.” The sunrise that morning was incredible. We actually commented about how gorgeous the World Trade Center towers looked, reflecting this red sunrise—this crimson, gorgeous reflection like you’ve never seen ever.

  Vanessa Lawrence, artist, North Tower, 91st floor: I was getting to the World Trade Center at six o’clock. The sun started coming up. I remember a beautiful sunrise. Walking in, you could see the red coming up through the windows.

  Katie Couric, anchor, The Today Show: It was the perfect fall day, a little touch of autumn in the air. It was one of those back-to-school September days, full of possibilities, and, in its own way, a new beginning.

  Bruno Dellinger, principal, Quint Amasis North America, North Tower, 47th floor: The sky was so pure. The air was so crisp. Everything was perfect.

  Capt. Jay Jonas, Ladder 6, FDNY: It’s like the air was scrubbed clean.

  Richard Paden, trooper, Aviation Unit, Pennsylvania State Police: A really nice morning, weather-wise. As pilots we say “Clear Blue and 22” when it’s blue skies and not a cloud in the sky.

  Lt. Col. Tim Duffy, F-15 pilot, Otis Air Force Base, Cape Cod, Massachusetts: One of the prettiest days I’ve ever flown—literally there was not a cloud in the sky and visibility was probably better than a hundred miles. It was crystal clear.

  Sen. Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota), Senate Majority Leader: One of the most beautiful days of the year.

  Jeannine Ali, controller, Morgan Stanley, South Tower, 45th floor: There has never been as brilliant of a blue sky as there was that day.

  Hillary Howard, weather anchor, WUSA-TV, Washington, D.C.: The sky was extraordinarily blue.

  Lt. Jim Daly, Arlington County (Virginia) Police Department: A gorgeous blue.

  Joyce Dunn, teacher, Shanksville-Stonycreek School District, Pennsylvania: So blue.

  Brian Gunderson, chief of staff for House
Majority Leader Richard Armey (R-Texas): Deep blue.

  Michael Lomonaco, executive chef, Windows on the World, North Tower, 106th floor: Deep, deep blue.

  Eve Butler-Gee, chief journal clerk, U.S. House of Representatives: Cobalt blue.

  Katie Couric: Cerulean blue.

  Mike Tuohey, ticket agent, Portland International Jetport, Maine: The bluest of blues.

  Julia Rogers, page, U.S. House of Representatives: One of those days that you wish you could put in a bottle.

  President George W. Bush began his morning in Sarasota, Florida, where he was set to read to elementary school students as part of his push for the No Child Left Behind legislation. His new administration was still finding its legs after a rocky transition period shortened by the bitter Bush v. Gore Florida recount and the controversial Supreme Court decision that declared him the winner of the 2000 election—a decision many still disputed in September 2001.

  Gordon Johndroe, assistant press secretary, White House: The day started off very normally—the president went for a run, and I took the press pool out with the president. I remember I got stung by a bee, and I asked [White House physician] Dr. [Richard] Tubb if he had something he could give me for the swelling. He said, “Yeah, we’ll get you something when we get to the airplane.”

  Sonya Ross, reporter, Associated Press: It was a garden-variety trip. It was low-ranking staff, and a lot of the top journalists didn’t come. It was a scrub trip.

  Mike Morell, presidential briefer, Central Intelligence Agency: I walked into his suite for the president’s morning intelligence briefing; he was surrounded by breakfast foods and hadn’t touched any of it. The second intifada was well under way then, and the briefings at that time were very heavy on Israeli-Palestinian stuff. There was nothing in the briefing about terrorism. It was very routine.

  Andy Card, White House chief of staff: The president was in a great mood. He had that George W. Bush strut that morning.

  B. Alexander “Sandy” Kress, senior education adviser, White House: Those were probably the last carefree moments he had in his term.

  Andy Card: I remember literally telling him, “It should be an easy day.” Those were the words. “It should be an easy day.”

  “You’ll miss your plane”

  * * *

  Checking In

  As America’s day began, two men arrived for their early-morning connection to Boston at the Portland International Jetport in Portland, Maine. They checked in at 5:43 a.m. Over the course of the morning, seventeen men checked in to their flights at Boston’s Logan International, Washington’s Dulles International, and Newark International. While some were selected for extra screening or had their checked bags searched, no one gave the knives they carried onboard a second look—they were allowed under the security regulations at the time. The men made their way onto carefully selected cross-country flights, targeting four planes amid the nearly 40,000 domestic flights scheduled for that Tuesday.

  Mike Tuohey, ticket agent, Portland International Jetport: Everybody was in a good mood, it was a gorgeous day, and things were going like clockwork.

  Vaughn Allex, ticket agent, Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia: These two guys came running in the front door looking around and didn’t know which way to go.

  Mike Tuohey: I saw these two fellows standing there looking around. I looked at the tickets—I go, “Whoa, first-class tickets.” You don’t see $2,400 tickets anymore. There were less than 30 minutes prior to the flight [when they arrived]. The younger fellow was standing off to the right. I was asking the standard questions—has anybody given you anything to carry on board the plane, have your bags been out of your control since you packed them? He was shaking his head, smiling at me, so it’s OK.

  Vaughn Allex: We just finished the morning check-in. The counter was clear. I said to the other agent, “Here are the passengers that are running late, but I think that we can get them on.”

  Mike Tuohey: I said, “Mr. Atta, if you don’t go now, you will miss your plane.”

  “A really happy feeling”

  * * *

  8:00 a.m. in New York City

  The World Trade Center had the two tallest buildings in New York City, iconic fixtures on the skyline for nearly 40 years. Reaching more than 1,300 feet into the sky, the 110-story twin buildings—the North Tower, known as One World Trade, and the South Tower, known as Two World Trade—anchored a 16-acre complex of seven buildings in the heart of Lower Manhattan’s financial sector. Nestled between them was Three World Trade, which held a 22-story Marriott Hotel. Four other buildings surrounded the site: Four World Trade, a nine-story building occupied primarily by Deutsche Bank; Five World Trade, also a nine-story office building; Six World Trade, an eight-story building occupied by the U.S. Customs House for New York and other government agencies; and Seven World Trade, a 47-story building that included New York’s Office of Emergency Management. Beneath the complex was a shopping mall that housed eateries and about 80 retail stores.

  The World Trade Center site was owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a governmental agency created in 1921 that also oversees New York’s airports—LaGuardia, Kennedy, and Newark—the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, the PATH commuter train system, as well as the tunnels and bridges between the two states. It has its own Port Authority Police Department (PAPD), which in 2001 consisted of 1,331 officers, all of whom were cross-trained in basic firefighting. In July 2001, real estate mogul Larry Silverstein purchased the lease for World Trade Center buildings One, Two, Four, and Five.

  As Tuesday, September 11, 2001, began, the 50,000 people who worked across the World Trade Center complex began to arrive. Each floor of the North and South Towers represented a full acre of office space. On an average day, 70,000 visitors would pass through for meetings, shopping, a meal at the Windows on the World restaurant atop the North Tower, or to soak in views from the public observation deck atop the South Tower. For all of them, it was just another morning.

  Dan Potter, firefighter, Ladder 10, FDNY: My wife worked at One World Trade Center, and she had a business engagement with other bosses on the 81st floor. I made her an asparagus omelet for breakfast. Then she went to walk to work.

  Jean Potter, Bank of America, North Tower, 81st floor: I would leave the house every day and say to him the last line of this movie, The Story of Christ: “Just remember, Jesus said I am always with you.” That’s how I would leave him in the morning as I would go to work.

  Dan Potter: Then I would begin my day. I was studying for the lieutenant promotion exam coming up in October. I walked across to the Trade Center—I had a pickup parked at the bottom of Two World Trade Center. We had spaces down there, provided for the firefighters assigned to Ten House [the station near the Towers that housed Ladder 10 and Engine 10].

  Jared Kotz, Risk Waters Group, New York City: I was an employee of Risk Waters Group, which was holding the technology conference at Windows on the World on September 11th. My job that morning was to make sure all of our publications were unloaded and put on display racks.

  William Jimeno, officer, PAPD: It was a normal routine day. We got a little coffee, went out on post, and I remember standing, looking at the entrance of the bus terminal at 42nd and Eighth Avenue—what we call “the rush.” The rush is where everybody from New Jersey, Connecticut, other parts of New York take buses into the terminal. It’s a steady flow of thousands of people coming into Midtown Manhattan.

  Michael Lomonaco, executive chef, Windows on the World, North Tower, 106th floor: My usual hours were from 8:30 in the morning until 10:00, 10:30 at night. That morning my wife and I got up a little bit early because we were voting in the primaries. There was no one at the polls. It wasn’t that busy.

  My reading glasses were in need of repair. When I hit the street in front of Tower Two, I thought, Wow, it’s really early. It’s not even 8:15. I bet I can get the optometrist to see me, and I can have my glasses this afternoon. I mad
e a detour to the Trade Center Concourse level and I went straight for LensCrafters. A minute later, I was standing at the counter, asking, “I need new lenses for my glasses.”

  Judith Wein, senior vice president, Aon Corporation, South Tower, 103rd floor: My husband and I, we got off the bus right when it got to Pearl and Frankfort. We would walk up the block, following the Brooklyn Bridge coming down, and at City Hall Park we would say good-bye. He would go to his place, and I would walk down to the Trade Center. The weather was so nice. You had a really happy feeling. I turned and smiled to him. He said later that stuck in his mind, because for hours he didn’t know whether I was alive or not.

  Vanessa Lawrence, artist, North Tower, 91st floor: I was hesitant to go make this phone call to my friend Amelia, who was coming to see the studio. I thought, I need a break. About 8:30, I went down. You came down the elevator and then through a door to use the pay phone. I called her. I went and got a juice. Coming back, one of the security guards started chatting to me: “How are you doing?” I’m like, “Good. Good.” I was so anxious to get back up and paint. It’s like, “Got to go,” and walked on the elevator, went up.

  Richard Eichen, consultant, Pass Consulting Group, North Tower, 90th floor: You got in the elevators and went up to the 78th floor, the Sky Lobby. Then you had to go to another elevator bank, and then get up to the 90th floor. The elevator going up to 78 was so fast you could actually feel it, and your ears would pop.