I was in my office (SW corner of Liberty and West, Trade center is northeast corner of liberty and West) for the first plane crash. I heard the crash, but thought nothing of it. It sounded like a trash dumpster hitting the ground. Fred, next door, asked if I heard the crash and then said the Trade center was on fire. We were on the third floor so I had to crouch down, twist my head and look up to see the top floors of the trade center on fire. There were a dozen small fires up and down Liberty Street, people running south to Battery Park, away from the towers. Confetti was falling out of the tower, like a ticker tape parade.
I called Nora to tell her I was fine. I was leaving for an 11:00 meeting in Midtown, so maybe I’d leave early. She turned the TV on and said a plane crashed into the north side of the Trade Center. I thought it was odd to have a plane crash into a building, but hey, it's New York. Then I thought the report was wrong since I was looking at the south side of the tower and could clearly see the hole. It didn’t occur to me I was looking at the exit wound. Logged onto www.cnn.com and confirmed a plane had crashed into the building. Over the PA, the security person said, “Use common sense and stay calm.” I told Meg, “Use common sense and stay calm.” We both were thinking panic.
Went to other offices to see if I could get a better view. The marketing guys were all gone, view not better. Support office had one person, a TV on with a picture of the trade center, but view not any better.
Went to the trading room. Almost empty, but with us getting bought out, didn’t think it was any more empty than usual.
A couple of guys pointed out to me the tire from the plane, a dead body, body parts lying on West Street. The wheel of the plane was south of Liberty Street, so it had landed the distance of five or six blocks south of the impact. Police and fire were heading north.
Didn’t want to leave the building, after all I was supposed to use common sense and stay calm, plus didn’t want to interrupt the rescue efforts. Had no thought of this being a terrorist attack. Kept wondering how a pilot could get it so wrong.
I turned from the windows in the trading room when all of a sudden another BOOM and one of the traders yells, “ANOTHER FUCKING PLANE JUST CRASHED. I JUST SAW IT CRASH.” He said he was getting out of there. Me too.
Walked to my office. John, Meg and Fred were packing up. This time over the PA the security man was telling us to evacuate the building. Use the stairs, not the elevators. I began closing down my computer, saving and closing files, and debated whether I should just shut if off and leave or close it down methodically. Method won out. I forwarded my office phone to my cell phone and walked out. I caught up with Fred, and somehow got ahead of him in the stairwell. We came out on the east side of the building, between Liberty and Albany, walked to the south side of the building and headed west to the Hudson.
Looked back and saw two people falling from the tower. Both buildings are on fire, confetti is falling from both. There is a much bigger gash in the south tower than the north. Later I’d realize this is because the second plane entered from the south. Kevin K. calls me on my cell phone, or he called my office phone, which I had forwarded to the cell. I tell him I’m OK, out of the building, but had just seen some people falling from the Trade Center. The phone rings again, but the call is dropped almost immediately.
Fred asked how I was going to get home. I had no idea. There aren’t many options. Certainly someone was deliberately attacking New York. Were there more attack planes on their way? Were there bombs at Grand Central? If I headed north along the Hudson I’d have to pass the World Financial Center buildings and they could be next. Walking east towards the East River would put me in the middle of the Financial District with more tall buildings, and more plane attacks? The only place without buildings nearby was Battery Park. Besides, possibly I could catch the subway from Battery Park to Grand Central. Or maybe I could wait out whatever it was that was happening and then make my way east to the East River and then north from there.
Fred started to go north to the ferry to New Jersey. Should I go with him? How would I get home from New Jersey? Wasn’t it better just to hang around Battery Park until whatever was happening stopped? Plus I didn’t want to go anywhere close to tall buildings, so I headed south towards Battery Park.
Kathy and other Tucker employees were milling near the end of Albany and the Hudson. Walked south along the Hudson. Saw a man walking north with an EMT. The man’s face was horribly burned.
Turned east at the Jewish Holocaust museum and sat down at a bench looking north. I had a perfect view of the towers. Both were still on fire, with smoke billowing out and confetti falling. I was worried there would be more attacks. Trying to guess if they would hit other buildings in lower Manhattan, or Grand Central, or the UN, or the Statue of Liberty. Lots of people were heading south towards me. One man yells to his colleagues (friends? Relatives?) “it is safe to go back” and gestures for them to follow. I can’t imagine where he thinks it is safe. Some people start to follow him.