story1032.xml

story1032.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-16

My name is Linda Shepley and I live near Stoystown. We live up high and we can see over the ridge. We live about 4 miles from the crash site. On Sept.11 about 10:AM I was hanging the laundry on the clothes line when the plane came over . It was flying lower than normal and it was flying on a flight path that I hadn't seen before. It's wings tilted back and fourth . I looked over my shoulder to see it comming over. I watched it not knowing that it was hijacked thinking that maybe something was wrong with it, or because of the airports closing it may be looking for an airport . As it was going out the ridge it was loosing altitude. It's right wing dipped to the right and it looked like it was headed south. No sooner did it turn when it nose dived into the ground. I saw the flames and the mushroom cloud of smoke rise up above the trees. I stood for a moment in disbelief. I then started yelling and running toward the house my husband came running out to see the smoke rise above the trees he then called 911. I called my sister because she lives in the vicinity where the plane crashed. She was ok but she said that it crashed where my son Michael works. My husband and I got into the car and drove as fast as we could to the crash site. The happiest thing that happened that day was to see my son standing there directing traffic. He was shooken up but he was alright. He works at the scrap yard and he was about 250 to 300 yards from where the plane went down. He said it was comming in so fast and loud the noise was terrible. If anyone thinks this was something horrible to wittness it truly was. What my eyes missed seeing when it hit the ground,my sons eyes picked up and he saw it hit the ground. Also I would like to say that as the plane came over and as it crashed it was all intact,there was no smoke or flames or debrie falling from the plane. So that tells all of us that it was not shot down. There were true HEROES on that plane that day.