Of course, the film of the 9/11 attacks was seen live by the world. But the avalanche of shocking images and dizzying numbers sometimes overshadows human stories. Here are five, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary.
An American was in space
On September 11, 2001, astronaut Frank Culbertson was the only American who was not on Earth. In the International Space Station, which entered service a year earlier, he received a call from the control center, which informed him that two planes had just struck the Twin towers. As the ISS passes over New England, at an altitude of 400 km, it photographs this plume of smoke that stretches southeast from Manhattan. The two Russian astronauts at his side try to support him. The next day he wrote these words: “Besides the emotional impact of our attacked country and our citizens – and perhaps friends – killed, I feel an overwhelming sense of isolation. His Naval Academy classmate Charles Burlingame was the American Airlines Flight 77 pilot hijacked by terrorists. All 59 people on board have died, along with 125 in the Pentagon.
On September 11, 2001, astronaut Frank Culbertson was the only American who was not present on earth. From the ISS, he took this photo of a plume of smoke over New York City. The next day he writes these words in a letter (1/2) pic.twitter.com/Rbiwio3o51
– Philippe Berry (@ptiberry) September 9, 2021
The person in charge who gave the order to nail all planes to the ground was starting his first day at this post
About 4,000 planes are in the air when the World Trade Center is attacked. Intelligence does not know how many devices have been hijacked. Ben Sliney, who is starting his very first day as air traffic operations manager at the FAA in Virginia, doesn’t hesitate for a moment. Without consulting the bureaucracy above him, he orders all planes to land at the nearest airport and nails the rest to the ground. In the early afternoon, Air Force One, with George Bush on board, was the only plane in the air in the United States. Ben Sliney plays his own role in the film United 93, by Paul Greengrass.
9-11 was Ben Sliney’s first day on the job as National Operations Manager for the FAA. He and his air-traffic controllers performed brilliantly under tremendous pressure to safely bring down roughly 4,200 aircraft after the attacks. https://t.co/PosKyQ270V pic.twitter.com/JoZJ7eD790
– Tom Kilgannon (@ TomKilgannon3) September 11, 2021
Dick Cheney authorized a kamikaze mission against United Flight 93
While George Bush is in the air, his Vice President Dick Cheney is in the White House bunker alongside Condoleezza Rice. Shortly after 9:30 a.m., air traffic controllers learned that United Airlines Flight 93 had just been hijacked. At 9:34 am, he changed course at Cleveland and headed for Washington. White House, Capitol, State Department, Camp David… The target will never be established with certainty. Dick Cheney calls George Bush, who gives the green light to shoot down the device.
This is one of the most powerful picture I have ever seen. Former President of the US, George W. Bush and Former WH Chief of Staff, Andy Card, having an argument during 9/11. Bush was adamant to reach Washington while Card didn’t want him to because of the threat. pic.twitter.com/T8d6rjcq2i
– Aayush Sharma (@AayushJourno) September 4, 2021
Except that the nearby F16s aren’t armed. Dick Cheney then authorizes a kamikaze mission entrusted to two pilots, Colonel Marc Sasseville and Lieutenant Heather Penney, in charge of hitting the Boeing 757. They take off, expecting to carry out a mission from which they will not return. But the 33 passengers and seven heroic crew members revolt and try to regain control of the aircraft against the four terrorists. The plane finally crashed in a field in Pennsylvania at 10:03 a.m.
More people died from 9/11-related illnesses than in the attacks
A total of 2,977 people were killed in the attacks: 2,606 at the World Trade Center, including 658 employees of the Cantor Fitzgerald investment bank and around 400 firefighters, police and rescue workers, 125 in the Pentagon and 245 passengers and crew members in the four hijacked planes. But a report from the Victims’ Compensation Fund, which reports to the Justice Department, released this week, estimates that “more people died of 9/11-related illnesses than in 9/11”. 67,000 compensation claims have been made to this fund since it opened in 2011, half of them for cancer. 3,900 claims have been filed on behalf of deceased persons. The face of rescuer Luis Alvarez has become the emblem of this fight. Suffering from cancer linked to the three months he spent in the middle of the toxic ruins, he testified on June 11, 2019 before Congress, unrecognizable with his emaciated face. He begs the elected officials to extend the payments of the compensation fund. He died 18 days late, a month before Congress approved an extension to 2090.
We remember Detective Luis Alvarez and all those who lost their lives to illness due to exposure in the days and weeks following the terror attack on 9/11. pic.twitter.com/mBqILHyrK0
– NYCPBA Legal (@NYCPBA_GC) September 11, 2020
23 people survived under the rubble
“I felt like I was gonna give up. And I could hear the noises coming up. ‘I see someone!'”
Genelle Guzman-McMillan was trapped in the rubble of Ground Zero for 27 hours and was the last survivor to be pulled out alive. She tells @RobinRoberts her story. pic.twitter.com/QvH14GLIHH
– ABC News (@ABC) September 9, 2021
They are the miracles of September 11. 23 people survived the collapse of the two towers. 14 firefighters, who had been ordered to evacuate after the collapse of the south tower, continue to help a woman on the 8th floor. For some unexplained reason, part of the B staircase resists there, and they are rescued four hours later.
“I felt like I was gonna give up. And I could hear the noises coming up. ‘I see someone!'”
Genelle Guzman-McMillan was trapped in the rubble of Ground Zero for 27 hours and was the last survivor to be pulled out alive. She tells @RobinRoberts her story. pic.twitter.com/QvH14GLIHH
– ABC News (@ABC) September 9, 2021
Genelle Guzman-McMillan is on the 64th floor of the North Tower. In heels, she descends to the 13th floor when the ceiling, floor and walls around her are reduced to dust. She wakes up the next day, in the dark, trapped, stuck under the rubble, only her hand sticking out. After an indefinite period of time, she hears a voice and manages to call for help. The firefighters manage to free it. After 27 hours under the rubble.