The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

Ben Sliney made the unprecedented decision to ground all air traffic across the US. Every plane in the air was considered a threat; air traffic controllers continued to check in with pilots, and pilots were told to land at the nearest airport regardless of their destination.

Jackie Pinto, expecting to land in Newark from Milan, instead found herself in Gander, Newfoundland. Rick Greyson, a passenger on a flight bound for Orlando, learned that they were instead landing in Louisville due to a “national emergency” that had led to “all airspace in the U.S. being shut down” (267). He shut his daughter’s window shade, expecting to experience the flash of a nuclear bomb.

Harry Ramos, an investment banker from the 87th floor of the WTC’s South Tower, insisted on staying to help an obese man on the stairs; both men died. Those escaping the towers were shocked to see the scene at the base of the towers; bodies and debris filled the streets.

John Cartier rode his motorcycle from the Lower East Side toward the WTC, hoping to find his siblings: Michele, who worked in the North Tower, and James, who worked in the South Tower. He found Michele. James perished in the South Tower.