9-11-2001-What were YOU doing when the news broke (spin-off of JFK topic)

[imhomerjay]

I was in an early meeting that day, and remembered someone I knew who had stepped out coming back in looking like she'd sudenly seen a ghost. When the meeting ended, I walked to the lobby on that floor, where there was a large video wall; a large crowd was there (highly unusual), and I heard something about a plane crashing into the Pentagon. I hurried back up to my usual floor, to find our department assistants in a semi-panicky state, giving me the rest of the scoop of what was known. Shortly thereafter, the building was ordered closed, and no one hesitated for a moment in getting out of Dodge. Mass transit was jam packed with people trying to get home, but at least the lines I needed were running (not so for some other lines that were already shut down). Being fairly new in our house, I hadn't yet bought a flag for the front of the home, but stopped at a hardware store on my way to pick one up, without really thinking about it; it just seemed right to do it at the time.

 

[Kelly Watts]

At the time I ran my own small business selling to municipalities and school districts. I was at the Sullivan County High School in Laporte, Pa there to check a problem with a school bus radio. I had been listening to Imus when i got out of my truck and worked on the radio. When I got back a few minutes later, I and turned started to listen again I could not figure out what Imus and Charles were talking about. I was headed to a customer about 2 miles away when I got there he came out and said "come in you've got to see this." I will never forget the total shock of what I was seeing and thinking back to my high school days when President Kennedy was killed, to the Challenger explosion, learning that people I knew died on flight 800 and knowing that I would always remember exactly where I was.

 

[danderson4411]

i know i am bumping this thread but...
i was at home sick watching “On Scene: Emergency Response” on CBS Eye On People when on my other TV (had two TVs at the time) when ABC and Charles Gibson were saying that a plane had hit the World Trad Center i thought of nothing about it at the tame until a couple of minutes later the second plane hit i knew right then we were under attack the "On Scene" episode i was watching at the time was about the helicopter rescues at a multicar accident in Huntington Beach, Cal., and at the Gunpowder River in Maryland where rescuers were trying to save two children from drowning a couple of hours later both towers collapsed and pretty much every channel stayed with the story expect for two: CBS Eye On People and Game Show Network i had seen the "On Scene" episode i am talking about the previous day but it is kind of ironic i was watching that episode when the first bulletins broke on ABC

 

[davideduardo]

I was onboard an American Airlines flight going to Mexico City to do a presentation for Arbitron, leaving LAX early the morning of 9/11. The plane was far enough into the takeoff that I though we were right at the rotation point when we were jolted by what felt like reverse thrust as well as the brakes. As soon as the plane had slowed down, it went onto a service runway and went faster than I had ever felt a plane taxi back to the gate. We were just told to we were returning to the gate and to be ready to deplane quickly.

I had a radio in my briefcase and got it out, and immediately heard bits of the coverage of the New York City attack before we got to the gate. As we deplaned, airline staff told us to get out of the terminal and, if possible, out of the airport. I quickly got to my car and found the exit gates were open and they were not charging anyone but, rather, waving them out of the area.

 

[danderson4411]

funny thing i had wcqs on which was our npr station and i heard Bob Edwards break in i knew it was really bad talking about 9/11

 

[JeeperOne]

That's not true. The Naudet brothers released that small piece of footage almost immediately, long before putting together their documentary.

In fact, all the networks put the footage on the air that day & aired over & over again as if that was the entire documentary

Not sure what the Naudet brothers did with the documentary itself (Which I believe was profiling the FDNY itself if I'm not mistaken)

Cheers & 73

 

[danderson4411]

what i also remember about September 11 was that night we went out to eat and the eating places were not as packed as normal it was like a bomb had went off

 

[blackgold]

I'd just gotten off the bus to work in Burlington and was walking towards my office on B Street(where we were at the time). I went over to pick up a water from the canteen trucks at a place called Goodway Graphics when I heard the radio blaring on News Radio 1030. I heard the news that a 2nd. plane had hit the North Tower of the WTC. Just then, Gary Lapierre broke in from the CBS Radio feed to speak to someone in New York who'd watch the whole thing. It didn't strike me until about 10:30 a.m. when Jay McQuaid on WBZ was welcoming the listeners of their 4 FM sister stations. We listened to the news as we continued our jobs, but we went home at 4 p.m. that afternoon. I picked up several newspapers discussing the tragedy in New York. Except for going to a service at the church, I was watching the coverage until I went to bed at 11 p.m. that night.

 

[crainbebo]

It has been 14 years since 9/11/2001. Bumping this thread up.
I talked with a staff member today in Yakima who was sent to Washington, DC on 9/12/2001. He got to see the Pentagon damage for himself. Another co-worker told me that her uncle was at the Pentagon when it was hit. Thankfully he was on the side that didn't get hit by the plane. It is amazing that 2200 miles away from Washington DC, and 2300 miles away from NYC, people remember the event for themselves (and I don't mean from TV coverage, I mean from seeing it themselves in person).

 

[seatownmedia]

I was onboard an American Airlines flight going to Mexico City to do a presentation for Arbitron, leaving LAX early the morning of 9/11. The plane was far enough into the takeoff that I though we were right at the rotation point when we were jolted by what felt like reverse thrust as well as the brakes. As soon as the plane had slowed down, it went onto a service runway and went faster than I had ever felt a plane taxi back to the gate. We were just told to we were returning to the gate and to be ready to deplane quickly.

I had a radio in my briefcase and got it out, and immediately heard bits of the coverage of the New York City attack before we got to the gate. As we deplaned, airline staff told us to get out of the terminal and, if possible, out of the airport. I quickly got to my car and found the exit gates were open and they were not charging anyone but, rather, waving them out of the area.

That is a great story, David. To be on perhaps the last flight to be rolling, then stopped at LAX.

I was in Boise, and my APD called and woke me up at 6:58 AM mountain...my alarm would have gone off just a few minutes later. I of course immediately turned on my tv only to be met by the local CBS affiliate updating how this was impacting the 2-3 flights out that morning from BOI. I thought, really? You are interrupting CBS coverage for how this is effecting Boise airport? I guess they were trying to do the "local" thing, but some editorial judgement should have been in place. But I digress. All the networks, including cable did a commendable job that day and beyond. Anyone remember Aaron Brown on CNN? It was his first day on the job for CNN. What a welcome!

 

[crainbebo]

Aaron Brown + 9/11 = Excellent reporting. I have 8 hours of CNN from that day on a TDK T-160 HS VHS tape, in SLP mode. And I will NEVER throw that tape away. It starts at 9:48AM ET however, the first tower was close to falling. However, you have to remember that time zone barrier - not as many people up at 6AM local time than 8AM local time. I have seen the NYC coverage many times online anyways.
If you had WPIX on satellite or on a superstation feed, you may remember the still image that aired for several hours of the 2nd plane crashing into the North Tower. It immediately knocked WPIX and most of the NYC locals off the air completely. Only WCBS and WXTV remained - WCBS main destroyed, aux on Empire State Building; WXTV was on ESB and never on WTC.

-crainbebo

 

[Darth_vader]

Something else that occurred to me. I remember thinking, maybe saying out loud (I do that sometimes) dismissively as NPR made the announcement, "huh; oh, wow, that sucks" before hitting the snoozer. Well, really, how would you expect a high-school kid to react to news like that, literally the first thing in the morning?

Crazy thing is, had it happened yesterday, as the old fart that I am these days I'd probably have reacted the same.

 

[seatownmedia]

Aaron Brown + 9/11 = Excellent reporting. I have 8 hours of CNN from that day on a TDK T-160 HS VHS tape, in SLP mode. And I will NEVER throw that tape away. It starts at 9:48AM ET however, the first tower was close to falling. However, you have to remember that time zone barrier - not as many people up at 6AM local time than 8AM local time. I have seen the NYC coverage many times online anyways.
If you had WPIX on satellite or on a superstation feed, you may remember the still image that aired for several hours of the 2nd plane crashing into the North Tower. It immediately knocked WPIX and most of the NYC locals off the air completely. Only WCBS and WXTV remained - WCBS main destroyed, aux on Empire State Building; WXTV was on ESB and never on WTC.

-crainbebo

Crainbebo, just make sure you transfer that video over to a DVD or digital process or it will be lost. VHS will not last. In fact, some of my my video cassette tapes have lasted longer than those. Hang on to history, my friend.

I have kept a lot of 9/11 coverage, but have moved it all to DVD. Even that is scary, as these discs can and will decay with age. Digital is the best answer, but even that tech can be deleted either intentionally, or by mistake.

 

[danderson6500]

Aaron Brown + 9/11 = Excellent reporting. I have 8 hours of CNN from that day on a TDK T-160 HS VHS tape, in SLP mode. And I will NEVER throw that tape away. It starts at 9:48AM ET however, the first tower was close to falling. However, you have to remember that time zone barrier - not as many people up at 6AM local time than 8AM local time. I have seen the NYC coverage many times online anyways.
If you had WPIX on satellite or on a superstation feed, you may remember the still image that aired for several hours of the 2nd plane crashing into the North Tower. It immediately knocked WPIX and most of the NYC locals off the air completely. Only WCBS and WXTV remained - WCBS main destroyed, aux on Empire State Building; WXTV was on ESB and never on WTC.

-crainbebo

I have that downloaded off Youtube, and you're right, Aaron Brown did a awesome job. He, and Peter Jennings did the best jobs on that day, not to mention Jon Scott on FOX News.

 

[NoDakObserver]

At work on a conference call with our office in another state. In the middle of the discussion, the main supervisor of the project came in the room at that other office and told us what happened, and we'd reschedule the meeting so we could go back to our desks and get caught up on the news. I spent the day at work, listening to the radio and getting updates from the internet. Our main news station (KFYR AM) carried ABC news on the hour, so they went with the ABC radio broadcast the whole day. Our CEO and a few managers were in the air at the time and landed in Minneapolis, and with all air travel grounded had to rent a vehicle to drive back home.

 

[MarcB]

I was 19. My Mom and I were out for our morning walk. We stopped at ShopRite on Route 6 in Bristol, Connecticut. A group of people were gathered around a TV at the Customer Service Desk. I could see The Today Show was talking about a plane crashing into The World Trade Center. I assumed it was a small plane. Many of the elderly customers were comparing it to The Hindenburg Disaster. I bought some stamps and a newspaper at the Customer Service Desk. As the lady rang up my newspaper she commented that the plane crash would be on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper.

I went back outside to the car and told my Mom about the plane crash. She told me they briefly mentioned something on Lite 100.5 about a plane crash in NYC.

Mom had to run a few more errands. And I stayed in the car. Tuning the radio to NewsRadio 88 WCBS. I heard about the plane hitting the other time and I still didn't think terrorist attack. I thought the plane crashing into the other tower was a rescue plane that crashed because of the thick smoke. It was around 9:20AM when we got home. Turned on the TV and saw the coverage. Then I went down stairs to office went on the computer and turned on the stereo. When I heard about the plane crashing into The Pentagon I realized what was happening was the USA being attacked by another country. I didn't think Bin Laden. (I never heard of the guy). I thought Saddam Hussein. My Mom and I both cried as we watched the first tower fall down. We cried again when the second tower fell.

WTIC-FM 96.5 was simulcasting WTIC AM 1080 which in turn was simulcasting WCBS 880 from NYC.
WDRC-FM 102.9 was simulcasting WDRC AM 1360 which in turn was simulcasting WOR 710 from NYC. (Their then sister station)
WMRD 1150/1420 an independently owned station was simulcasting WOR 710 as they were an affiliate of the WOR Radio Network.
WHCN 105.9 was simulcasting Clear Channel sister station WPOP AM 1410 which was running coverage from ESPN Radio.
Other Clear Channel stations in the market Country 92.5 WWYZ and KISS 95.7 were simulcasting NBC 30. I believe WMRQ 104.1 (then owned by Clear Channel) stayed with their normal Modern Rock format.
LITE 100.5 WRCH may have simulcasted sister station WINS 1010 from NYC. I don't remember what coverage WZMX HOT 93.7 I do know later on HOT 93.7 had dumped the hip-hop format and had morning show hosts JD Houston and Nancy Barrow talking about what was going on and taking calls.
La Mega 910 (Spanish CHR) was simulcasting sister station WNEZ 1230 from Manchester, CT. At that time WNEZ's format was Spanish News simulcasting sister station their NYC sister station WNNY 1380. (La Mega would again switch to a simulcast of WNEZ 2 months later when that plane crashed off the coast of NYC).
Not a fan of H. Stern I didn't check to hear what WCCC-FM 106.9 was doing.
WJMJ 88.9 a Religious station that ran ABC News at the top of the hour stuck with their regular Religious programming and blew out the ABC News.
WNTY AM 990 in Southington, CT was a small Hip-Hop station. They had the unique distinction of being the first Connecticut radio station with someone in NYC. His name was Jonathen Donker and he was BLAZE 990's PM Drive DJ. He was in NYC covering the Michael Jackson concert held the night before. He stayed at his mother's apartment. BLAZE 990's temporary morning man and General Manager Charlie Profit put Jonathen on the air and he talked about what he could see from his mother's apartment. Sometime later BLAZE 990 switched to a simulcast of The FOX News Channel thanks to Metro Network.

Last year I became good friends with a 22 year old co-worker. I asked him what he remembered about 9-11. It was interesting to get a perspective of the days' events from someone who was 7 years old. His brother was only 4!

The other thing I remember about the events of 16 years ago is how quiet it was. Our house in Bristol, Connecticut is under the route that airplanes landing at Bradley International Airport use.

 

[CTListener]

I was half-watching "Good Morning America" but I had a doctor's appointment at 9:15 so I turned off the TV at 8:30 to shower and shampoo and otherwise get ready for the appointment. Got in the car around 8:55 and heard the morning guys on WPLR New Haven and one or two other people in the studio basically commenting on what they were watching on TV there in the studio. WPLR, being a rock station, had no news department, nor did it have any corporate connection with any local TV stations (or radio stations in NY), so the coverage was strictly amateur hour. After about five minutes of that embarrassing crap, I switched to WDRC-FM, which was carrying WOR's coverage.

 

[danderson6500]

I was 19. My Mom and I were out for our morning walk. We stopped at ShopRite on Route 6 in Bristol, Connecticut. A group of people were gathered around a TV at the Customer Service Desk. I could see The Today Show was talking about a plane crashing into The World Trade Center. I assumed it was a small plane. Many of the elderly customers were comparing it to The Hindenburg Disaster. I bought some stamps and a newspaper at the Customer Service Desk. As the lady rang up my newspaper she commented that the plane crash would be on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper.

I went back outside to the car and told my Mom about the plane crash. She told me they briefly mentioned something on Lite 100.5 about a plane crash in NYC.

Mom had to run a few more errands. And I stayed in the car. Tuning the radio to NewsRadio 88 WCBS. I heard about the plane hitting the other time and I still didn't think terrorist attack. I thought the plane crashing into the other tower was a rescue plane that crashed because of the thick smoke. It was around 9:20AM when we got home. Turned on the TV and saw the coverage. Then I went down stairs to office went on the computer and turned on the stereo. When I heard about the plane crashing into The Pentagon I realized what was happening was the USA being attacked by another country. I didn't think Bin Laden. (I never heard of the guy). I thought Saddam Hussein. My Mom and I both cried as we watched the first tower fall down. We cried again when the second tower fell.

WTIC-FM 96.5 was simulcasting WTIC AM 1080 which in turn was simulcasting WCBS 880 from NYC.
WDRC-FM 102.9 was simulcasting WDRC AM 1360 which in turn was simulcasting WOR 710 from NYC. (Their then sister station)
WMRD 1150/1420 an independently owned station was simulcasting WOR 710 as they were an affiliate of the WOR Radio Network.
WHCN 105.9 was simulcasting Clear Channel sister station WPOP AM 1410 which was running coverage from ESPN Radio.
Other Clear Channel stations in the market Country 92.5 WWYZ and KISS 95.7 were simulcasting NBC 30. I believe WMRQ 104.1 (then owned by Clear Channel) stayed with their normal Modern Rock format.
LITE 100.5 WRCH may have simulcasted sister station WINS 1010 from NYC. I don't remember what coverage WZMX HOT 93.7 I do know later on HOT 93.7 had dumped the hip-hop format and had morning show hosts JD Houston and Nancy Barrow talking about what was going on and taking calls.
La Mega 910 (Spanish CHR) was simulcasting sister station WNEZ 1230 from Manchester, CT. At that time WNEZ's format was Spanish News simulcasting sister station their NYC sister station WNNY 1380. (La Mega would again switch to a simulcast of WNEZ 2 months later when that plane crashed off the coast of NYC).
Not a fan of H. Stern I didn't check to hear what WCCC-FM 106.9 was doing.
WJMJ 88.9 a Religious station that ran ABC News at the top of the hour stuck with their regular Religious programming and blew out the ABC News.
WNTY AM 990 in Southington, CT was a small Hip-Hop station. They had the unique distinction of being the first Connecticut radio station with someone in NYC. His name was Jonathen Donker and he was BLAZE 990's PM Drive DJ. He was in NYC covering the Michael Jackson concert held the night before. He stayed at his mother's apartment. BLAZE 990's temporary morning man and General Manager Charlie Profit put Jonathen on the air and he talked about what he could see from his mother's apartment. Sometime later BLAZE 990 switched to a simulcast of The FOX News Channel thanks to Metro Network.

Last year I became good friends with a 22 year old co-worker. I asked him what he remembered about 9-11. It was interesting to get a perspective of the days' events from someone who was 7 years old. His brother was only 4!

The other thing I remember about the events of 16 years ago is how quiet it was. Our house in Bristol, Connecticut is under the route that airplanes landing at Bradley International Airport use.

Same with me. I was in the school library, doing a project, and we had ABC on. Once they gave the notice that there was going to be a special report, i knew it was bad. Once Peter Jennings took over, i knew it was going to be a long day.

 

[KML0224]

I was at Union Station in Hartford, CT. I was about to begin a day trip up to Brattleboro, VT. I had heard the early mentions of the first plane via WTIC-AM 1080 of Hartford. Our bus headed north as scheduled. I only saw the first images of what happened when I went into the bus terminal in Springfield, MA. It was on CNN. As I continued on to Vermont, I had my old Sony Walkman tuned to the TV band portion, listening to the audio of WFSB-TV (CBS) channel 3 of Hartford until it completely faded out. (I heard Dan Rather's silence as the first tower collapsed.) The Mobil off of Exit 3 of I-91 in Vermont had it on WTSA-FM 96.7 of Brattleboro, which was more or less simulcasting CNN by then. I later travel south to Springfield as planned. I ended up being on the last southbound bus of the evening to Hartford. For some reason, that bus went past Six Flags and down CT Route 75, going right past a deserted Bradley International Airport (BDL). Safe to say than my heart sank at that point. I had to cab it back from downtown Hartford to New Britain (roughly 10 miles), as all CT Transit busses stopped running that evening.

 

[danderson6500]

I was in the library of my high school, and they had GMA on. I can't remember how late into the show it was, but at one point, Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer briefly talked about what was going on in New York. At first, i thought it was a small plane, but when the "ABC News Special Report" slide came up, i knew something was wrong. When the second plane hit, all hell broke loose. Then Charles Gibson said it- it was a terrorist attack. I went to my classroom, and they had NPR on with Bob Edwards, and he he mentioned the same thing. When i went home, i knew that it was bad, because every channel had the story, and it preempted everything on TV.