Remembering 9/11: Twenty years on | ‘We could not allow terrorists to win’
Pilot recalls journey back to skies after terrorist attack
Published:Saturday | September 11, 2021 | 12:12 AMTameka Gordon - Senior Staff Reporter
Despite the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the obvious emotional and mental impact on members of the aviation industry, for retired American Airlines (AA) pilot Basil Lowe, getting back up in the sky as quickly as possible meant more than just continuing with the business of aviation, it meant showing the attackers they did not win.
“For us, not to go back and fly and get the system up and running again would have meant a victory for the terrorists, and that’s not the way it should go,” Lowe told The Gleaner in a special interview to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States in which citizens of 78 countries died.
“As crew members, we could not allow the terrorists to win, so all the staff had to go out there and give some confidence to the public to let them know that we were confident that it was safe again to come fly,” he said.
Lowe said he was without fear as “I felt that there was no way that could happen again.”
“The hijackers caught us off guard. I could not see that happening again from a pilot or passenger point of view,” he said.
The attacks changed the global approach to aviation security and marked a seminal point in the operations of the international aviation protocols which, even today, see rigid an often time-consuming checks for passengers and crew the world over. Nothing is taken for granted any more.
“At the time, we probably had our guard down, but it is not something that we would have anticipated. It is just not something that the pilots would have anticipated happening if they happened to open the flight deck,” Lowe opined.
“Before, just about anyone could come to the gates of some of the aircraft. Whether you were travelling or not, you could easily go through security and see your loved ones off at the gate at some airports,” he said.
REMOVAL OF WAVING GALLERY
Jamaica’s own Norman Manley International Airport, at its expansion and improvement post 9/11, saw the removal of the famed waving gallery which previously allowed for passengers to pretty much have unrestricted access to several sections of the airport while seeing off their loved ones.
Sangster International has also scrapped its waving gallery.
“As crew members, we had a lot of liberty by just wearing the uniform or the ID, but the authorities made it stricter even for us. We were scrutinised a lot more and a lot of restrictions were placed on who could get through security,” Lowe said of the slew of changes that emanated from the attacks.
The tragedy further heralded an increase in airport security by December 2001, certainly in the US, when Richard Reid, the so-called Shoe Bomber – attempted to set off explosives in his shoes on a flight from Paris to Miami. Removing one’s shoes during security checks then became a requirement. Similarly, passengers are no longer allowed to take more than three ounces of liquids on board a flight.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), an agency of the US Department of Homeland Security, was also formed.
“It was disturbing that that could happen. I could not imagine that that would be possible – that terrorists would have been able to get to the flight deck and take over the aircraft and be able to carry out such an act. That was disturbing, not just for myself, but for the other pilots as well,” Lowe said of how shaken industry players were by the attacks.
They were, however, confident that new protocols would serve to deter any other such strike.
“Initially, the entire industry was grounded. During that time, I had to process what it would be like going back to work. But I knew that the authorities would make sure better security was put in place. I just had to have faith in the system,” he said. “Of course, when you go back out to work, you would be suspicious of everyone, but you had to make sure you were not discriminating in any way.”
THE MENTAL AFTERMATH
Facing the aftermath of the attacks was, therefore, an act of gripping one’s mental resolve, he said.
“Pilots are very tough mentally. Some of us have had to go out and perform after some pretty serious incidents. It might have been an airplane crash where we lost loved ones or where you lost other pilot friends in aircraft accidents, but if you are going to be a pilot, there is a certain level of confidence and resilience that you have to have to do the job. It’s just the way we are made up,” Lowe told The Gleaner.
Returning to the skies after such acts is also “a part of the burden we put on ourselves, to be able to recover after tragedies”, he said, noting an airplane crash that occurred shortly after the September 11 event.
“People forget that within weeks of 9/11, an AA airbus crashed while taking off out of New York and we had another big tragedy. As it turned out, it was more a mechanical failure, but we still had to go out there after that and perform. That’s just the nature of our business. We are able to compartmentalise these incidents and keep going,” said the 41-year Barbadian veteran pilot, who worked with AA for 22 years before retiring in July.
It was a clear Tuesday morning at 8:45 when an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Eighteen minutes later, a second Boeing 767 – United Airlines Flight 175 – smashed into the South Tower near the 60th floor.
For Lowe, it is “very possible” that he would have flown one of the aircraft or worked with the crew members.
“It is something that I have always said I’m going to trace, but having flown out of New York and the 767 at the time, I often wondered if I had flown any of those aircraft.”