On this day, Sept. 11th, 2001, I boarded a private charter 747, (for oil field workers), In Atlanta Ga. It was a one way direct flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. After several hours into our 17 hour flight, The pilot and cabin crew informed us that we were to be putting down and making an unscheduled stop at Horta in the Azores. They would not tell us why but said it was an emergency landing, remain seated and be prepared to exit the plane in a lively fashion upon landing!. We touched down, the doors swung open and we rapidly herded off the plane into the terminal where, upon seeing a tv monitor with CNN on it, my bottom jaw hit the floor followed by waves of tears rolling down my cheeks. We had no cell phones and no way to communicate to our loved ones that we were ok. We were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a tiny island feeling shut off from the world as the world itself was tumbling down on the monitors in front of us. Our plane was checked out as was our luggage, by US Military personnel and after some 10 long gruelling hours of being on the ground and watching this tragedy unfold on tv monitors, we were allowed to take off and continue our trip to Johannesburg and then onto Luanda, Angola. Once we landed in Angola, we herded off into school buses and driven; under military escort, to Cabinda Angola - our final destination. Along with my fellow co-workers, were told to get to work immediately. But we didnt! We had to contact our familys etc and catch up on much needed rest! I will never forget this tragic day for as long as I shall live!
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 13:19:56 +0000