Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 11 Digital Archive Stories Description An account of the resource This collection is the bulk of the archive, representing the reactions and experiences of thousands of individuals beginning in 2002. 911DA Story 911DA Story: Story Tell us about what you did, saw, or heard on September 11th. Feel free to write as much or as little as you like. Tell us your story: I was flying from YYZ-SFO when the captain called me into the cockpit. He received a fax stating that 2 planes flew into the WTC. We assumed that the planes were Cessnas since the fax did not state that the planes were airliners. The fax kept printing out information. Next, the next fax stated that a United plane was missing. My heart sunk. A few minutes after leaving the cockpit, I received a call from the captain explaining that a plane had crashed into the Pentagon. We would be landing the plane immediately as the nation was under a state of alert. I informed my crew while the captain announced that although our plane was fine; the company had wanted us to land. He gave no reason, other than that. Upon landing, the captain told everyone that they could turn on their cell phones while we were on the tarmac. People were telling other passengers what had occurred. I will never forget a man in First Class who turned pale. He said, "my son works in the WTC." I first called my mom, my dad, my brother, then my boyfriend. I told them that I was okay and had landed in Omaha, Nebraska. I quick turned off my phone and opened the door, as I was the Purser that day. The agent told the people to leave the plane as quickly as possible. "Leave your luggage and get out!" she said. She explained that there had been a bomb threat to the airport. After the commands, everyone had left the plane; we gathered our things and went to the ramp break room to receive further instructions. Other pilots and F/A's had their eyes glued to the screen crying. It was as if we were watching a movie. I couldn't believe what I had seen. It didn't seem real. It was just TV, right? Black smoke and planes crashing into the Twin Towers. It was horrifying. Did I know anyone on board? My heart sunk. I rushed to the computers, and tried to pull up flights #93 and #175. "Records Secured" appeared on the screen. I typed in friends names as fast as I could. I typed in Welsh, D and once again "Records Secured" appeared. I was sure there were problems with the system. A controller told everyone to get to an ATM machine and get out as much money as possible. "If we are at a time of war, the banks will be closed" he said. As we walked into the concourse, mayhem ensued. People were running in every direction. The lines at the car rental counters stretched outside. Flight Attendants were quitting on the spot. I overheard one group of Flight Attendants rent a minivan. They planned to drive home, first to Denver to drop half off then the others would proceed to Seattle. Despite this, my crew stayed together. Believe it or not, we wondered "how will the people fly home once this is all over?" We were the minimum crew, after all. As we walked outside, hotel vans were picking up anyone, just to get them out of the airport. Vans were overflowing with people. We stood outside for an hour until we hailed a cab to take us to the hotel, which was 45 minutes away. After check-in, we were glued to our TV. No names were listed at this point. I received calls left and right on my cell phone. My first call was from my friend in El Salvador. He said he was trying like crazy to call for hours, but the phone lines were down. A few hours later I got a hold of my friend in Washington D.C. The crew met for dinner, but didn't feel like drinking or partying. I didn't sleep that night. I had to keep the lights on that night and for many months afterward. A pilot friend called me to give me the names of the crews. I felt better that I did not know any listed. Unfortunately, they were incorrect. A few days later, I received a call at 5 AM. The captain wanted us to be downstairs in 30 minutes. We were finally cleared to leave!! Our plane did not take off until 9 hours later. So much red tape, so many procedures, documents, etc. It was then that I overheard a phone call. My flying partner recited the names of the crew. Debbie! My friend Debbie! The tall blonde who always wears her hat?! I ran to a payphone and called her sister, who is my neighbor. She sounded very tired and explained that she had tried to contact me. "Tell me it isn't true!" I said. It was. Debbie Welsh was the purser on Flight# 93. I yelled "NO!!!!!!!!" I really didn't want to get onto an airplane at that point. I was personally affected now. I was numb. My legs were numb. I had such a headache. I had no choice. We had to fly. There were no other flight attendants that could take my place. When we finally touched down at the SFO airport, a passenger told me to look out the window. As we pulled into the gate, there were HUNDREDS of mechanics and ramp workers waving American flags, holding signs, and clapping. The signs read "God Bless America," and "Welcome Home." As I opened the forward boarding door, there were people in business suits with roses, flags and bottles of water. They hugged us and welcomed us home. As we stepped into the terminal there were HUNDREDS more agents and airline workers with American flags and signs. They were clapping and crying. It seems that our plane was the first flight to successfully land in SFO after September 11th. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource story1797.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. story Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-06 IP Address The IP address of the device used to submit the item. 205.188.209.165