posted 09-11-2011 06:19 PM         

Ted

By George Maschke | Published: 11 September 2011

On 11 September 2001, as 19 men hijacked four passenger planes and crashed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field near Shankstown, Pennsylvania, I was completely oblivious, cut off from news of the world aboard an American Airlines flight bound from Amsterdam to Washington, DC. I was going to Washington to be interviewed by CBS 60 Minutes II for a report on the US government’s reliance on polygraph screening. At the time, the top news story in the United States was the disappearance of Chandra Levy, 24-year-old intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, DC, who had been having an extra-marital affair with US Representative Gary Condit. There was open speculation that Condit was responsible for Levy’s disappearance, and Condit had taken a polygraph test administered by a former FBI agent in an attempt to clear his name.

The aircraft had just passed Iceland when the pilot came over the intercom with an announcement: the aircraft was leaking fuel, and the best option was to turn around and return to Amsterdam. I recall thinking two things: 1) if we’re leaking fuel, isn’t the best option to land at the nearest airfield (that is, in Iceland)? and 2) how am I going to make it to the interview in DC? I figured the fuel leak couldn’t be too serious if the plane was capable of reaching Amsterdam. After all, Amsterdam was almost as far away as Washington by that time. I passed the time watching part of the in-flight movie, Bridget Jones’ Diary, but it didn’t keep my interest.

Arriving back in Amsterdam, I and the other passengers exited the aircraft. The pilot requested that everyone remain near the gate, and that he would make an announcement. I expected that he would be announcing alternative flights to DC, and thus I waited with great anticipation. But what the pilot announced was that two passenger aircraft had been hijacked and flown into the towers of the World Trade Center, which had been destroyed. Another passenger aircraft had been hijacked and flown into the Pentagon, which was in flames. Another aircraft had been hijacked and crashed in Pennsylvania. United States airspace was indefinitely closed to all commercial aviation. Our luggage would be offloaded and we could collect it in the baggage hall.

It became clear that the story about the plane leaking fuel was an expedient lie. The airline must not have wanted to alert any potential hijackers who might yet be aboard flights in the air, or to unduly cause panic. Televisions in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport were all tuned to CNN International, and I watched for a long time before proceeding to the baggage hall. The pilot had said that the World Trade Center was destroyed. Some of the people being interviewed also spoke of the towers having collapsed. But the only video CNN International was showing was of the towers on fire, yet still standing. I’m not certain, but I think CNN may have deliberately delayed international broadcasting of the collapse of the towers.

Upon collecting my luggage, I went to buy a train ticket for the ride back home to The Hague. But there was a problem: the trains were not running, allegedly due to mechanical problems. I suspected that the trains had been halted as a security measure. Alternative bus service had been made available, and I got on a bus for The Hague. A stranger lent me his cell phone (I did not own one at the time) to call home.

Arriving back home in The Hague, I spent the rest of the day glued to the television and the Internet (I had a dial-up connection then), following news of the attacks (and wondering whether any more attacks would be forthcoming). I contacted the producer at CBS 60 Minutes II, who informed me that the interview would be rescheduled. It eventually took place in early December 2001, in midtown Manhattan. After the interview, another interviewee and I took a taxi down to the site of the World Trade Center. It had a special meaning for me, because I had worked with the FBI’s counterterrorism task force during the investigation of the 1993 bombing that killed six and injured hundreds of people. We got as close as we could, and I recall that nearly three months after the collapse of the towers, the air still had an acrid smell. Standing on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street, I got an uncomfortable tickle in the back of my throat. I can only begin to imagine how unhealthful the air was for emergency workers and residents.