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Where were you on 9/11?
- Thread starter Andrew
- Start date
Barrel of Fun
Abort, retry, fail
Woah. Sorry to hear that.
I had just come back from Cuba, a couple of days beforehand, and was catching up on Neighbours. The transmission was cut short and switched to the news. I was a little peeved until I realised what had happened. I think I must have watched the TV for at least five hours straight after that. I had Southampton tickets, but didn't feel like heading down there.
Gritt23
New member
I was in a meeting at one of our warehouses at work. One of the guys took a call from his missus to say a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers. In my football obsessed mind, I immediately thought it was Wembley.
As the story came through, and we realised how serious it was, we went down to the cateen where everyone was crowded round a little TV. Just after we got there, we thought we were seeing a replay when the other plane hit.
Shocking day, truly shocking. That night, our night controller - we also ran a 24/7 courier business - had been held at gunpoint and the offices completely raided. Went into work on 9/12, already in a state of shock, to find the offices had been virtuially stripped bare of any electrical goods, with furniture, cabinets and papers strewn everywhere.
As the story came through, and we realised how serious it was, we went down to the cateen where everyone was crowded round a little TV. Just after we got there, we thought we were seeing a replay when the other plane hit.
Shocking day, truly shocking. That night, our night controller - we also ran a 24/7 courier business - had been held at gunpoint and the offices completely raided. Went into work on 9/12, already in a state of shock, to find the offices had been virtuially stripped bare of any electrical goods, with furniture, cabinets and papers strewn everywhere.
kevo
Well-known member
- Mar 8, 2008
- 9,239
I was in Berlin to see Radiohead. The first place I found out about the attacks was on... North Stand Chat!
We had popped into an internet caff to check emails and I went on NSC and Warren Chrismas (I think) had posted a thread saying 'Planes fly into World Trade Center - Now that's what I call terrorism!'.
We then went back to the hotel and saw it all unfolding live on CNN. Didn't feel much like going to the gig but did in the end. It was in a huge outdoor ampitheatre in a park, it was raining and freezing cold. Evidently a lot of people there (including a lot of Americans) seemed to have no idea what had happened. So it was up to Thom Yorke to announce it to the audience, which he did just before they played 'Lucky' ('Pull me out of the air crash...')... Not the most cheery gig I've ever been to!
Next day, Sep 12, had to catch the flight home. For some unspecified security reason, our flight had to be diverted. As our replacement plane was taxi-ing down the runway, ready for take off, it ground to a halt because there was thought to be a 'suspect package' in the luggage hold. Within seconds, we were surrounded by police cars and security vehicles. It later turned out it was just an incorrectly labelled piece of baggage. But sitting on that plane for those few minutes you could hear a pin drop...
We had popped into an internet caff to check emails and I went on NSC and Warren Chrismas (I think) had posted a thread saying 'Planes fly into World Trade Center - Now that's what I call terrorism!'.
We then went back to the hotel and saw it all unfolding live on CNN. Didn't feel much like going to the gig but did in the end. It was in a huge outdoor ampitheatre in a park, it was raining and freezing cold. Evidently a lot of people there (including a lot of Americans) seemed to have no idea what had happened. So it was up to Thom Yorke to announce it to the audience, which he did just before they played 'Lucky' ('Pull me out of the air crash...')... Not the most cheery gig I've ever been to!
Next day, Sep 12, had to catch the flight home. For some unspecified security reason, our flight had to be diverted. As our replacement plane was taxi-ing down the runway, ready for take off, it ground to a halt because there was thought to be a 'suspect package' in the luggage hold. Within seconds, we were surrounded by police cars and security vehicles. It later turned out it was just an incorrectly labelled piece of baggage. But sitting on that plane for those few minutes you could hear a pin drop...
Lord Bracknell
On fire
SeagullinExile
Well-known member
High on acid, wondering WTF was going on....very very weird. And no...i don't still induldge...just telling an honest answer to the OP's question.
slimes
Active member
was in los angeles at the time when my dads new york girlfriend came in and shouted to me that one of the twin towers had been hit by a plane,(i hadnt a clue what the twin towers were) and then watched the 2nd plane hit,every channel in the u.s was showing it ,mtv stopped till 12 in the evening and the first song they played was coldplay 'yellow'
The Camel
Well-known member
I was flying to Los Angeles on September 11th then supposed to get a connecting flight to Las Vegas for a poker tournament.
We were apparently one of the last flights from Europe not to turn back.
I was taking my nephew, who had just turned 21, to Vegas for the first time.
He spotted on the skymap thing about 3 hours before we were due to land that our destination had changed from LA to Calgary.
When he asked a stewardess what was happening she said "don't take any notice of that, it's broken"
None of the crew said anything until we started our descent.
Then the captain said something like this:
"I'm afraid to say all US airspace has been closed, and we are landing at Calgary airport. I cannot tell you anything else at this juncture"
Well, as you can imagine everyone absolutely freaked out. All that anyone could think was there had been a nuclear attack. LA airport being shut was explainable, but noone could believe all US airspace was closed.
So, we landed. We were held on the runway for a couple of hours. We later found out there was a rumour that another aircraft flying from Europe either had a bomb on it or was due to be hijacked.
Security checks took forever. They unloaded the luggage onto the tarmac and one by one by one each passenger group had to identify their luggage and then be walked by 2 security officials to a room where they went through the bags, unpacking everything and checking every garment. It took maybe 5 hours from landing to finally get through. (we weren't allowed to use phones)
And only when all the checks were complete and we were allowed into the airport proper did we finally find out what had happened. This was by now maybe 12 hours after the planes hit the WTC.
As we were one of the last planes to land, all the hotel rooms in Calgary had been sold so we were put up in a school gymnasium. The locals residents were amazing, cooking us hot food and offering beds to families and elderly people.
We ended up in Calgary for 3 nights, 2 in the gymnasium and the last in a hotel as the backlog of stranded passengers started to ease.
A totally surreal day.
We were apparently one of the last flights from Europe not to turn back.
I was taking my nephew, who had just turned 21, to Vegas for the first time.
He spotted on the skymap thing about 3 hours before we were due to land that our destination had changed from LA to Calgary.
When he asked a stewardess what was happening she said "don't take any notice of that, it's broken"
None of the crew said anything until we started our descent.
Then the captain said something like this:
"I'm afraid to say all US airspace has been closed, and we are landing at Calgary airport. I cannot tell you anything else at this juncture"
Well, as you can imagine everyone absolutely freaked out. All that anyone could think was there had been a nuclear attack. LA airport being shut was explainable, but noone could believe all US airspace was closed.
So, we landed. We were held on the runway for a couple of hours. We later found out there was a rumour that another aircraft flying from Europe either had a bomb on it or was due to be hijacked.
Security checks took forever. They unloaded the luggage onto the tarmac and one by one by one each passenger group had to identify their luggage and then be walked by 2 security officials to a room where they went through the bags, unpacking everything and checking every garment. It took maybe 5 hours from landing to finally get through. (we weren't allowed to use phones)
And only when all the checks were complete and we were allowed into the airport proper did we finally find out what had happened. This was by now maybe 12 hours after the planes hit the WTC.
As we were one of the last planes to land, all the hotel rooms in Calgary had been sold so we were put up in a school gymnasium. The locals residents were amazing, cooking us hot food and offering beds to families and elderly people.
We ended up in Calgary for 3 nights, 2 in the gymnasium and the last in a hotel as the backlog of stranded passengers started to ease.
A totally surreal day.
I was working for BAA security in the South Terminal at Gatwick.
It was my day off and I was kicking myself that I'd agreed to do a shift swap and work that day, not realising that it was the Southampton game. I walked in to the staff crew room about 20 mins before my shift started, about 30 people in there and you could have heard a pin drop, everyone was watching the tv, initially I thought that they were watching a film, 30 seconds later the second plane hit the South Tower. I still remember standing there open mouthed.
I'm sure most of you will have travelled through Gatwick and will know the Central Search area (where you have your bags x-rayed and go through the metal detectors), that's where I worked for about the next 4 hours. There's normally a constant din in there, the x-ray machines, the beeping of metal detectors, shouting and screaming of passengers and staff, you can't hear yourself think. Of course for the first hour or so, very few people coming through knew what had happened, but as time went on the atmosphere got more eerie. By about 4 o'clock all the passengers knew what had happened, and the search area was deathly quiet.
Later in the evening I assisted with a few of the US bound flights that had left Gatwick in the morning, they'd all been turned round after US airspace had been closed. Some had been 3/4 of the way there before returning.
Back in Central Search for the last couple of hours of my shift. Later in the evening was when the more 18-30, bucket and spade type of flights left and astonishingly we had 3 instances of pissed up morons making cracks about having bombs/knives/guns in their bags. Made you ashamed to be British.
It was my day off and I was kicking myself that I'd agreed to do a shift swap and work that day, not realising that it was the Southampton game. I walked in to the staff crew room about 20 mins before my shift started, about 30 people in there and you could have heard a pin drop, everyone was watching the tv, initially I thought that they were watching a film, 30 seconds later the second plane hit the South Tower. I still remember standing there open mouthed.
I'm sure most of you will have travelled through Gatwick and will know the Central Search area (where you have your bags x-rayed and go through the metal detectors), that's where I worked for about the next 4 hours. There's normally a constant din in there, the x-ray machines, the beeping of metal detectors, shouting and screaming of passengers and staff, you can't hear yourself think. Of course for the first hour or so, very few people coming through knew what had happened, but as time went on the atmosphere got more eerie. By about 4 o'clock all the passengers knew what had happened, and the search area was deathly quiet.
Later in the evening I assisted with a few of the US bound flights that had left Gatwick in the morning, they'd all been turned round after US airspace had been closed. Some had been 3/4 of the way there before returning.
Back in Central Search for the last couple of hours of my shift. Later in the evening was when the more 18-30, bucket and spade type of flights left and astonishingly we had 3 instances of pissed up morons making cracks about having bombs/knives/guns in their bags. Made you ashamed to be British.
brighton terra
Well-known member
I was working for the Environment Agency in Worthing. When the news came through most of the office was crammed into one of the meeting rooms watching the story evolve on the TV. Even the most ebullient were stunned into silence!
wunt be druv
Oh bugger..!
At work,heard the news on the car radio,took a "sickie" and went home to watch it on Sky news,stunned and desperately saddened.
smudge
Up the Albion!
I was serving on HMS Ark Royal; I was just nipping down the gym when one of the lads told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I assumed it must be a light aircraft. When I got back to the mess after the gym, it was full & everyone was crowded around the tv, watching events unfold. We all knew that life had just changed that day & probably selfishly were wondering what it would mean for us.
otk
~(.)(.)~
Driving with some friends over the Beddingham crossroads towards Lewes, and heard it as a newsflash on the radio saying a plane had accidently crashed into the WTC. Then it all began to unfold...
Return of the Rev
Well-known member
Coming home from a 26 hour shift and popped in into the bookies in george street hove and watched strange things on the tv monitors,not taking it all in till i got home!
footychick
Nicola
I was at home watching tv when it came on.
I was 7 months pregnant with my first child - 10 years on, I'm 7 months pregnant with my 3rd.
I was 7 months pregnant with my first child - 10 years on, I'm 7 months pregnant with my 3rd.
de la zouch
Active member
- Jul 12, 2007
- 418
Working for a newspaper at Canary Wharf, had to pull all the Airline ads from the next days edition and then we were told to get the hell out of there as Canada Sq had been identified as a potential target, quite scary.
Since1982
Well-known member
At work in RSA in Horsham. Just come out of an "important" meeting with my boss and colleagues and we planted ourselves in front of the TV in the canteen to review how it had gone. Couldn't work out why loads of people were coming by wanting to switch the TV on. When we eventually did it was about 5 mins later that we saw one of the towers collapse - I kept thinking this isn't real.
