A pilot who narrowly avoided colliding with two of the planes involved in the events of September 11, 2001 is being remembered on the 22nd anniversary of the horrifying attacks.
The unknown pilot had taken off from New York’s JFK airport around the same time American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York.
The pilot, only known as George, then had to take evasive action to avoid colliding with United Flight 175, the second plane to hit the World Trade Center, and then United Flight 93, which crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
A flight attendant, who was working on the Boeing 767, told the New York Post: “There were two near-misses.”
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On the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the pilot is being remembered for averting further disaster and saving the lives of his passengers and crew.
Retired FDNY Lt. Charlie Hubbard, who was onboard the flight, recalled: “He saved our lives, without a doubt.”
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Hubbard remembers what unfolded on the morning of September 11.
He said: “On the flight with me was my brother Jim at a window seat. Jim witnessed the plane crashing into the north tower of the World Trade Center moments after we were airborne.”
The plane narrowly avoided crashing into Flight 175, and after learning it had crashed into the South Tower, flight attendants pushed trolleys against the cockpit door to hinder any potential hijackers on board.
The flight attendant recalled the pilot saying “he’d be standing behind the door with an axe.”
Once the flight had learned the Pentagon had been hit by American Airlines Flight 77, proximity alarms in the plane’s cockpit began to sound, warning there was another plane within 1,000 feet of them.
It turned out that Flight 93, another American Airlines plane, was close by, with the pilot having to take drastic action to avoid a mid-air collision.
Flight 93 later crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, killing everyone on board, after the passengers and crew battled with the hijackers. It has been suspected its target was either the US Capitol or the White House.
The pilot told ABC at the time: “Well, he was up there when we were coming from New York. So what we had to do was — they (flight control) were not talking to him, and he was changing his heading and his altitude, so they cleared us to deviate however we had to stay away from him.
“We had him in sight — it was a nice day in New York. We were out of the clouds, which helped a lot. We just, you know, dodged him.”
Mr Hubbard said: “After we landed in Dayton we discovered the reason for our dramatic maneuver while airborne was our pilot was avoiding a mid-air collision with flight 93, the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania that day. Flight 93 took off from Newark Airport following an east-to-west air corridor.
“Our flight fell in behind Flight 93 which turned back toward us after being hijacked. The ultimate irony here is I had just ended my 20 year career as a Firefighter and Lieutenant with the New York City Fire Department.
“I had been an officer in charge of Engine Company 5 in Manhattan’s East Village and September 11, 2001 would have been my next work day had I not chosen to retire. The officer that replaced me was among my 343 colleagues killed that day.”
