AircrewHealth.comOur Stress Study survey questionnaires have a blank space near the end where participants can say anything they want to say. Many have spontaneously used that space to tell of their experiences on September 11, 2001, and in the aftermath. Many others commented – sometimes at length – about how their jobs and their lives had changed since that tragic day.
The crews aboard those four ill-fated airplanes were among the very first victims that day, but the events of September 11, 2001 affected nearly everyone in some way or another. People working in the aviation industry were among the most immediately and acutely affected, a fact made clear in reading their first-person accounts.
On the day of the attack, air traffic in the U.S., and indeed most of the world, was immediately shut down or otherwise disrupted. In the days that followed, all that disrupted traffic had to be unscrambled. Passengers and freight had to be delivered to their intended destinations, and aircraft had to be repositioned. Aviation managers and ground crews worked heroically in the face of much confusion to make this happen.
The aircrews had to go back to work, even though no one could guarantee their safety. Some could not face the uncertainty. A few even left their flying jobs altogether. Those who did return to work immediately showed remarkable courage and resolve.
The effects are enduring. As more than one person has commented, "Nothing has been the same since, and nothing will ever be the same again."
The effects are global. The stories mentioned above have come not just from Americans, but from pilots and cabin crew in virtually every region of the world. Things are different now for everyone, it seems.
Considerable time has passed since September 11, 2001, however memories of that day obviously are still vivid – perhaps indelibly so.
The stories that crewmembers have volunteered are emotionally evocative and quite compelling. Yet there have been relatively few opportunities for people working in aviation to tell their stories, and to share their impressions of those events with the world.
The purpose of the Aviation Community 9/11 Project is to provide an opportunity for people in the aviation community to tell their personal stories of September 11, 2001 and its aftermath, in their own words.
Anyone who was working in any sector of aviation, in any capacity, anywhere in the world, who would like to contribute a story about September 11, 2001 or its aftermath is invited to participate.
Family members and friends of personnel who were working in the aviation industry in September of 2001 also are invited to participate to give their impressions.
We also would like to have the stories of people who were passengers on September 11, 2001 and in the early days afterward.
In other words, if you were involved in aviation in any context on September 11, 2001 -- or if you are connected in any way to someone who was -- we invite you to contribute your story to the Aviation Community 9/11 Project.
Participation is anonymous. All nationalities are welcome to contribute their stories.
This project, like all others described on this website, is completely independent and is not funded or directed by any company or union, nor by any agency of any government.
Please click here now to take the survey.
Please pass the word about this project to others you know who may be interested in in participating.
We will collect stories here, and then edit them together to produce a collective documentation of that time, from the point of view of aircrews, aviation ground personnel, and others with an interest in the aviation community.
That document may be one or more magazine articles, or it may be a free-standing book, depending upon the number of stories collected. In either case, portions also will be posted publicly on this website after data collection is complete.
For further information about our surveys, please visit About Our Research Projects. There you will learn about what we do with the information we collect in our surveys. A note about our research privacy policy also can be found on that page.
To view survey results already posted, please visit the Reports section of our website.
