story1506.xml

story1506.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-27

I had started the day as normal, checking in to work as an airport shuttle van driver at about 3am. I was expecting a fairly normal day as the late summer season tourists were winding down their vacations. I had picked up two couples in Kent, a suburb of Seattle, and had started for the airport. As I recall, both couples were headed to Europe for some vacation.

I had the radio on low, as I usually did, to listen for traffic reports from one of the local news-talk stations. Even though it was a quarter to six in the morning, traffic could get nasty even then. We were having a friendly discussion of vacation spots, when I heard the "Breaking News" sounder in the background. I quickly turned the radio a little higher, just in time to hear that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We were all quite taken aback by the news, and I related to my passengers that planes flying into buildings was, sadly, nothing new.

As we continued to listen through the top-of-the-hour news, we'd figured that somehow, someone made a wrong turn, and the whole thing was a terrible accident. The radio station was simulcasting a New York radio station, so we were hearing what the folks in New York were hearing. At about 10 past 6, we heard about another explosion on the other tower. I said that it probably was from debris from the first tower, and my guests agreed...for all of about 30 seconds...because the next thing we heard was the report of the second airplane.

When the story of the second aircraft broke, I felt a cold chill in my insides. I knew that this was a disaster, but I now also realized that it was deliberatly done. Surprisingly, my guests seemed unconcerned.

I was within 5 minutes of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac) when we heard news of the second plane. By this time, the sun was up, and it looked fairly normal as I drove into the airport's ticketing area. I wished them a safe journey, collected my fare, told them to make sure to check with their airlines, and pulled out. Not 30 seconds had passed when our dispatchers sent out the message that the airports were closing.

A driver called in "Which ones? JFK? LaGuardia?". The reply came back "No, ALL of them!".

Another driver: "All New York airports, right?"
"Negative...ALL airports, nationwide. We've just heard from the Port Authority that SeaTac is now closed."

Until that point, it was just a horrific news story. Now I was scared.

Dispatch had said to continue to our next runs until further instructions were received, so I headed north through Seattle proper, all the while listening to increasingly disturbing reports from New York. As I was approching downtown, what seemed like the hundredth "Breaking News" sounder fired off...

"It gets worse. We have reports that a plane has crashed into the Pentagon."

I screamed "Oh my God!!" to an empty van. I pulled off at the first exit where I knew a payphone was located close by. I called my wife to tell her what was happening, but she'd been awakened by the clock radio, and had simply kept listening to the horrible news. I told her that I wasn't sure how long I'd be working, but I'd let her know.

I continued north to the area of my next pickups. I stopped at another payphone and attempted to call my guests to ask if they still wanted to go to the airport. Some hadn't heard what had happened, and I told them. Not surprisingly, everyone cancelled. When I got back in my van, Dispatch made the call "If you've got people inbound to the airport, take 'em home." It was at this point that we heard the news of the first tower's collapse.

They then instructed all vans to return to the airport holding area to await further word, assuming the airpiort closings would be only for a few hours. I started back south towards SeaTac in a traffic jam that was unusual for that time of day. While listening to radio reports, creeping along in traffic, I looked out to Seattle's Space Needle. I wondered if I would witness a plane flying into it..or if the whole skyline would suddenly flash white as a hidden nuclear device went off. I had figured if two planes could fly into two skyscrapers, anything could happen.

I made two more trips from the airport, taking stranded flyers back home, before I was sent home early. I arrived at home around noon Pacific time, and my wife had the television on. It was then that I finally saw the horror that had transpired earlier that day. We spent the rest of the day watching TV, calling friends and family, and wondering what the next day would bring. When I finally got to bed late that evening, it was more from sheer exhaustion that from a desire to sleep.

And sleep I did...but it wasn't peaceful.