We opened the call at 8:30 am, my new client was a New York Healthcare System. We were planning the infrastructure update.
About 15 minutes into the call we heard the explosion. One of the guys shouted "A plane hit the towers"
I split my monitor screen and got the New york news on my screen, as well as my work. And watched as the second plane hit. I was horrified, people were jumping out of the towers, one of the guys on new york team was shouting "Those are bodies falling, Oh My God". This was sickening, so I stood up and turned toward the windows in my office. People in the office were still quiet, I will guess we were in shock, but as I looked toward DC, I got a glint of sunlight off the the third plane as it careened toward the pentagon, then the explosion and plume of smoke. That was when I yelled..
All hell broke loose in our office at that point, being one of the big three government contractors we had people in every agency. We heard there were more planes. And one Jet liner still missing from the system.
All I could think was that my husband was only 2 blocks away from the White house.
I turned back to the monitors to tell the New Yorkers what had happened, and some of them were crying. We all watched in horror as the burning continued and the people coming out had such a look of terror on their faces.
By now other people from the floor was gathered around my desk, no one else could get a line out, either phone or internet.
It was an open conference call with unlimited lines, so those that could dialed in, and began reporting back to our Division president, now in my space, what was happening, the FCC was taking over communications, the Air was being emptied of all planes. landing faster than flies could land on shit. Landing anywhere that the plane fit, all overseas diverted to Canada or back to point of origin.
Then came the News about Pennsylvania and the plane that crashed, the missing plane.
But no one stood down, could there be more? the ATC was feverishly rechecking their records to insure they had all planes accounted for. There have been planes out of Boston, New York and DC, but what about PHL and BWI, ATL, MIA or any other major East Coast Hub, like Montreal. Speculation ran a-muck. One guy went down to his truck and got his shotgun, as if troops were landing in Alexandria to invade.
then they collapsed, now mind you the call was with one of the largest Health care providers in NY, all that was left on that conference call was those of us who seemed to HAVE to stay on and listen to the people shouting directions, Get all the gurneys down to the front doors, Every available person to the ER STAT. Someone make sure we have blood....
Like I said, we were a defense contractor, and so were all of our neighbors in the buildings around us. On the top of one building, were guys dressed in black with what looked like huge guns on their shoulders, my friend with the shotgun, told me that they were SAM's surface to air missiles. Good God, there is no invading army!
Then at 10:10 the pentagon collapsed too. Minutes later, at 10:10, the upper floors of the damaged area of the Pentagon collapsed.[62] The collapse area was about 95 feet (29 m) at its widest point and 50 feet (15 m) at its deepest.[62] This amount of time between impact and collapse allowed everyone on the fourth and fifth levels to evacuate safely before the structure collapsed.[63] After the collapse, the interior fires intensified, spreading through all five floors.[64] After 11:00, firefighters mounted a two-pronged attack against the fires. Officials estimated temperatures of up to 2,000 °F (1,090 °C).[64] While progress was made against the interior fires by late afternoon, firefighters realized a flammable layer of wood under the Pentagon's slate roof had caught fire and begun to spread.[65] Typical firefighting tactics were rendered useless by the reinforced structure as firefighters were unable to reach the fire to extinguish it.[65] Firefighters instead made firebreaks in the roof on September 12 to prevent any further spreading. At 18:00 on the 12th, Arlington County issued a press release stating the fire was "controlled" but not fully "extinguished". Firefighters continued to put out smaller fires that ignited in the succeeding days.[65]
I just wanted to go home, find my husband and hide. My boss told me I could not leave, but I did, and sat on 395 for 5 hours next to the pentagon, watching it burn.
Now I am dying of lung disease, I think I will go watch a movie, I don't want to remember anymore than I already do.