Opinion Let's take a moment and remember the events of 9-11 - what were you doing when it happened?

Only a few months before myself and my business partner had signed up for a new office lease on the 52nd Floor of Scotia Tower, the second tallest tower in downtown Toronto at the time.

We had about a dozen people in total in the office and had a lounge with a big screen TV so everyone was around the TV as the new unfolded. Just a few months earlier one of our prior colleagues had left us for a job on Wall Street working in World Trade 5 (I think) so we were worried about especially after the second tower was hit.

I recall having to make the call to shut the office and tell everyone to go home. You did not want to over react but reports were now in that this was intentional and plans across the US were being diverted mostly to Canadian airports, mainly Toronto.

My thought was 'what if a hijack team' was waiting to get to a target area and suddenly realized they had been diverted and the gig was up. Might then not seize the plane and want to smash it into any tall tower they saw, that being us or the tallest office tower next door, First Canadian Place? Again you don't want to be that panicky guy but certainly prudence made sense and so I ordered all our office staff to go home.

Later the next day one of our staffers touched base with our prior colleague who had went to work on Wall Street. He was actually heading to work that morning late. Had come out of the subway after the first tower was hit to the hullabaloo and mess but had no idea what was really going on and then saw the second plane fly over his head and hit the tower. He turned and went back home.
 
I was off work and sleeping in late, then my mother calls and tells me a plane crashed into one of the towers by accident, I asked myself what kind of dumbass flies into a building that tall by accident, who trains these damn pilots?. I turn on CNN and 5 minutes later the other plane crashes into the other tower, I then realize the planes were crashing into the towers on purpose.
I'm a history nerd, so I thought it was like in the 40s when some planes hit NYC buildings. I thought it was a small prop plane not a commercial airliner
 
Operation Yellow Ribbon



Operation Yellow Ribbon was commenced by Canada to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001 on the United States. Canada's goal was to ensure that potentially destructive air traffic be removed from United States airspace as quickly as possible, and away from potential U.S. targets, and instead place these aircraft on the ground in Canada, at military and civilian airports in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia (and also several in New Brunswick, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec) where any destructive potential could be better contained and neutralized. None of the aircraft proved to be a threat, and Canada and Canadians hosted thousands of passengers stranded in Canada until U.S. airspace was reopened.

Canada commenced the operation after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), implementing Security Control of Air Traffic and Air Navigation Aids (SCATANA), grounded all aircraft across the United States, an unprecedented action. The FAA then worked with Transport Canada to reroute incoming international flights to airports in Canada.

During the operation, departing flights—with the exception of police, military, and humanitarian flights—were cancelled, marking the first time that Canadian airspace had been shut down. In total, as a result of Operation Yellow Ribbon, 255 aircraft were diverted to 17 different airports across the country.
 
I was in my first week or two of college. I think it was a Tuesday? There was a message over the intercom that there was an "attack" in New York. Most of us didn't really think much of it other than it was odd there would be an announcment about somerhing happening in the US. My teacher left the class for 10 minutes or so and when he came back the look on his face told the story. He explained what he had witnessed on the television and said we should all go home and be safe. Stayed glued to the news all day in disbelief of what was happening.

Absolutely terrible day that most will never forget.
 
Canada's goal was to ensure that potentially destructive air traffic be removed from United States airspace as quickly as possible, and away from potential U.S. targets.

Canada is a threat to US National Security.
 
home from school sick, caught the second plane hitting as i turned off my playstation

watched that on tv the rest of the day i think
 
It'd be quite a celebration on Sherdog. I'm just saying, he should've made a standard anti-Muslim/Omar thread. Wrapping it around 9/11 is kind of weak and transparent given his commentary in the "India most racist country". This topic has little to do with 9/11 remembrance, dude.
It must be so hard to go throw life thinking there are people who would cheer your being shot based on your sexuality. I’m sorry you feel that way.
 
Canada's goal was to ensure that potentially destructive air traffic be removed from United States airspace as quickly as possible, and away from potential U.S. targets.

Canada is a threat to US National Security.
Think about that for a minute.

Some 265 planes which in terrorist hands are Missiles, and Canada says 'we'll take them all in, so you guys can be safe'.

Don't worry, we got this...

<{outtahere}>
 
Was on my way to like 8th grade jazz band practice that started before school started and heard it on the radio and looked at my dad and was like "didn't this happen already? Is it an anniversary or something?"
 
I was at work, I was 31 and my wife called to say it seemed a small plane accidentally hit one of the towers and it was on fire. I thought that's weird, she never calls me at work, so it was odd that she found that worthy. I said something like "that's crazy baby, I have to go because I'm in the middle of something but I'll call you back". A bit later she calls back, "another plane hit the other tower, it's not an accident, they're both jetliners".

Back then we weren't all "digital" on the TV and every older (my age now) guy in our towers here had an old B&W TV socked away in some drawer that only came out for March Madness each year. They were all out now and you would walk around and every 25 desks or so there was one with people crowded around a little 6", 10" or 12" screen. Surreal watching them come down. I was so pissed. My son was 1 and my wife pregnant with my daughter who is now 17. The youngest who is 16 in a couple months not even born, yet. So sad. So pissed.

I love how this was put together with actual people's footage from that day:
 
At work.

Due to security concerns they went to lock down and sent us home.
 
Where were you and what were you doing?

I was in Mumbai feeling rather sick from possible food poisoning earlier in the day. It was late in the evening and I was sweeping my Uncle's TV shop. He had many TVs and he liked to have them all on at once. Soon, the attack was on every television. The fact that there were so many TVs on the same channel as it happened made it very surreal.







9-11neverforget.jpg

Do you care to explain the point of your picture? It seems like you're just using 9/11 to score some political point.
 
It was my first year out of high school, and I was working at a factory. We were allowed to listen to CD players/radios while we worked, and I remember a lady near me saying "Oh my god! A plane hit the World Trade Center!". Like many we thought it had been an accident. I then remember being outside on our 9 am break with my friends who smoked, and a lady was talking to someone on her cellphone, finding out what had happened.

Then I'll never forget she said "Oh my god! A second plane just crashed into the building!". At that point, we all had our "oh fuck!" moment because we knew something big was going on. Then one of the guys Scott, started talking about Armageddon.

Other small details I remember are my friend freaking out, because his sister lived near where the Pennsylvania plane went down. Going to our boss's office throughout the shift, since it was the only internet access in the building, to see if he knew any updates. Listening to Howard Stern on our lunch break, and then going to the mall after work and it being a ghost town.
 
I was living with my mother at the time because she was terminally ill. I was working graveyard shift at the time too. I woke up just before the second plane hit the WTC towers. I remember waiting for more shit to happen.
 
Was on my way to class listening to Howard Stern. Originally thought it was an old episode or something, didn't seem real. When I got to campus I went to the rec center area and there was a big crowd watching what happened on TV. Classes were cancelled. Was just a weird feeling thinking anything like that could happen at anytime.

Was working at Disneyland at the time and I remember they'd always say that was a possible future target due to how iconic it was and how crowed it was. After 9/11 Disneyland was empty for the longest time. Like a complete ghost town during the week (which is so ridiculously rare).
 
Back
Top