09/11/2025
As a passionate aviator, I will never forget the day our world and aviation changed drastically forever. The tremendous lives lost, and devastating events were broadcast as I was in my office at the airport experiencing the closing of the US airspace. "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officially shut down U.S. airspace at 9:45 a.m. (Eastern) on September 11, 2001, ordering all aircraft to land at the nearest airport. This landmark decision, made just over an hour after the first World Trade Center attack, was the first unplanned closure of civil airspace in U.S. history. Within the first four minutes of the order, 700 aircraft were guided to land, and over 4,500 flights were safely grounded within three hours. The rapid grounding of thousands of aircraft is considered the "single greatest feat in all of ATC history". The coordinated effort and the overall success of the operation, which ultimately cleared the sky of over a million passengers without incident, showcased an incredible feat of aviation coordination in a moment of national crisis." The first responders are unforgotten heroes, that worked tirelessly in the dangerous and overwhelming conditions.
