Editor Carl Chance, Wings Over Kansas’ aviation & aerospace correspondent, former news consultant and producer for Wingspan Air & Space Channel.
"Remembering 9/11: A few Thoughts & Feelings, A Decade Later."
By Carl Chance, Editor
This morning I cried. As I reflected back on those horrendous events while watching a video production of Flight 93, feelings welled up in the very depths of my soul and my emotions virtually erupted in a sobbing cascade of tears.
It was as if I was there with them, facing the same trauma, fears and horror, living through that time with those many innocent souls that were suddenly taken from their families on that day.
Today, we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the cowardly orchestrated terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. along with Shanksville. The last plane to go down in Shanksville particularly had a lasting effect on my memories. It was the heroism of the people on board Flight 93 that was significant, who while rushing their captors to prevent others from dying, went to their own deaths, crashing into a field in Pennsylvania.
On that tragic day on Sept. 11, 2001, while I stood at a boarding gate at Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport, suddenly TV sets interrupted normal broadcasting with a Special News Bulletin graphic. The dramatic announcement soon brought everyone to a virtual standstill. The crowd stood mute at the news that was so unbelievable and shocking. I saw people sobbing, holding their faces in their hands, some actually grabbing on to others for emotional and physical support.
Within a short time flights within the Wichita Mid-Continent flight corridor were diverted to land immediately. The sky traffic ceased and all evidence of contrails dissolved in the upper atmosphere. The normalcy of the day had suddenly changed. It would be several days before commercial air traffic was allowed to resume and even longer for general aviation.
So many Americans were affected by the events of that day. Now we must ask ourselves the question: "What can we possibly do from now on in the war against terrorism and to make our country and the world a safer place?"