On 9\/11 I was flying between DC and New York and had a controller say this to me \u201cthere are fighters in the area and\u00a0 we have scrambled US fighters\u201d.\u00a0 He also told me to land or risk being shot down.\u00a0 Read the full story below.<\/p>\n
My 9\/11 story.\u00a0 At the time I was chief pilot for a Part 91 flight department flying a Pilatus PC12 and Piper Saratoga.\u00a0 I was also a contributing editor for a magazine called Avionics News. I wrote \u201cpilot reports\u201d for Avionics News. I flew new cockpit systems and\/or avionics and wrote about them from a pilot\u2019s perspective.\u00a0 The morning of Sept 11 I took off on an IFR flight plan heading towards New York City.\u00a0 I was to meet with some folks from Honeywell and fly a new terrain awareness system designed for helicopters.\u00a0 The take-off and initial cruise was normal.\u00a0 It was on one of the early handoffs to another sector that the first sign of trouble surfaced. I was told by the controller that there was an incident in New York and they may not take any IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) traffic.\u00a0 I said that was not a problem, I could cancel IFR and just get flight following.\u00a0 As I got closer to New York there was more discussion with the controllers as to whether I could proceed towards New York.\u00a0 By this time there was chatter on the radio about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. My first thought was how could this happen on such a clear day.\u00a0 More and more chatter about maybe a second plane hitting one of the towers.\u00a0 And soon there was talk about one or both of the towers falling.\u00a0 By this time I could hear the airliners trying to find places to divert.\u00a0 But all of this did not make sense to me.\u00a0 I still did not know what was going on.\u00a0 Soon I could see the smoke from the towers.\u00a0 Shortly after seeing smoke I was told by one of the New York controllers to turn around and \u201cget out\u201d of New York\u2019s airspace. So I did.\u00a0 I was able to contact the folks from Honeywell via the radio and told them that I had to turn around. They told me to contact them later and we may reschedule.\u00a0 I decided to head home to Gaithersburg (KGAI) and use flight following with ATC. Some of the controllers seemed kind of surprised that I was flying from New York to DC.\u00a0 One controller asked me \u201cWho are you? Where did you come from?\u201d This controller also asked me if I had been ordered to land.\u00a0 I replied no. He said you are hereby ordered to land or risk being shot down. He added that there are fighters in the area and that we have scrambled US fighters. The way he said this implied that there were enemy aircraft in the area with US fighters.\u00a0 Well this really shook me up.\u00a0 By this time I was still east of the Carroll County Airport. When the controller told me to land asap I asked if I could continue to Gaithersburg.\u00a0 I was told not to go anywhere near DC and was vectored to Carroll County Airport.\u00a0 It was not until I got on the ground that I learned what was happening. I will never forget these words \u201cthere are fighters in the area and we have scrambled US fighters\u201d \u2013 they were the controller\u2019s exact words to me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On 9\/11 I was flying between DC and New York and had a controller say this to me \u201cthere are fighters in the area and\u00a0 we have scrambled US fighters\u201d.\u00a0 He also told me to land or risk being shot down.\u00a0 Read the full story below. My 9\/11 story.\u00a0 At the time I was chief […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p95FsX-fc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":304,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2011\/03\/garmin-announces-the-future-of-avionics\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":0},"title":"Garmin Announces ‘The Future Of Avionics’","date":"March 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"For the full story click here","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1303,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2016\/07\/n736le-appraisal-draft-july-28-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":1},"title":"N736LE Appraisal Draft July 28 2016","date":"July 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Kraemer Aviation Services \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Aircraft Appraisal Report \u00a0 Client: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 LADY EDITH HAWKER FLIGHT CO LLC\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Phone: (561) XXX-XXXX Address: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bethesda, Maryland \u00a0 \u00a0 This report is intended to be used by: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 LADY EDITH HAWKER FLIGHT CO LLC & XXXXXXX \u00a0 This report should not be distributed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":426,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2011\/07\/182-appraisal-n33zt\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":2},"title":"182 Appraisal N33ZT","date":"July 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A search of the FAA database shows N33ZT registered as a 1977 182Q however by serial number it is considered a 1978.\u00a0 This appraisal was complete using the computer program Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest (current edition).\u00a0\u00a0 The average retail sale price of a 1977 182Q is $63,000 USD and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1187,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2015\/07\/aircraft-appraisal-n-5-6-2-7-7-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":3},"title":"Aircraft Appraisal N 5 6 2 7 7","date":"July 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Aircraft Identification Make: PIPER\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Model: PA-32-260 Serial No: 32-73XXXXX Reg. No.: NXXXXX\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yr. Mfg.: 1973 Type of Aircraft: Single Engine Piston Airframe Total Time: 4193.65 Hrs.\u00a0\u00a0 No. Landings: N\/A\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cycles: N\/A Airframe Condition: \u00a0Above average Log Books in Aircraft Appear: Original and complete Comments: The aircraft is stored in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1335,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2016\/09\/ads-b-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":4},"title":"ADS-B Update","date":"September 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta announced today that the FAA is delivering on its commitment to incentivize general aviation aircraft owners to equip their aircraft with required NextGen avionics technology before the January 1, 2020 deadline. On September 19, 2016, the FAA\u2019s Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) rebate website\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1213,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/private-pilot-checkride-fdk-oct-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":5},"title":"Private Pilot Checkride Oct 2015","date":"October 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"October 2015 Checkride: Oral - Very few straight knowledge questions, though quick, direct, simple answers were appreciated for those. Offered reasonable use of FAR\/AIM, AFD, kneeboard, etc. if needed though I did not use it. Most of the exam was scenario-based with topics pulled from blue book. In general he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":944,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942\/revisions\/944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}