Remembering the crews, passengers and victims of September 11, 2001, 10 years later

Today, especially in the United States, we remember the innocent victims of the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

The September 11 attacks (also called 9/11), were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks against the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001. On that fateful clear and lightly-travelled Tuesday morning, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets, two from American Airlines and two from United Airlines. The hijackers took control and intentionally crashed two aircraft into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan in New York City. Both towers collapsed within two hours. Hijackers crashed a third aircraft into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth aircraft, United Airlines flight UA 93, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers fought back and attempted to take back control of the Boeing 757-200 before it could reach the hijacker’s intended target in Washington, D.C. (the Capitol or the White House). Nearly 3,000 people died in the one-day attacks. The innocent victims were from many countries.

We are also grateful to our friends in Canada for their unlimited hospitality in taking care of so many stranded trans-Atlantic passengers who were forced to the ground while en route across the Atlantic Ocean during the attacks.

The aviation industry has changed dramatically forever from that tragic day. According to this article by the New York Times, U.S. airlines have collectively lost $55 billion since those one-day events and also shed 160,000 airline jobs in the past 10 years. Passenger traffic in the United States has only grown from 719.1 million passengers in 2000 to 720.4 million in 2010.

Long-time airline employees certainly can attest to the changes in the industry and their own personal lives. Airline jobs are no longer the same as they were before 9/11.

Let us never forget that day and honor the people who are no longer with us.

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