Jerry Harrott, a member of the Delta MEC Security Committee, was asleep at his house in Seattle when the attacks began. Because of the three-hour time difference, it was early when a phone call woke up him up, alerting him to the events that were unfolding.

“I knew right away it was a pretty major deal,” he remembered. “Shortly after I turned on the TV, the second aircraft hit. There was no doubt it was a terrorist event. It was not an accident.” Later, he learned the names of the pilots. He had gone to college with the captain of the second flight. “For airline flight crews, it changed our way of life,” he said. “I’ve been on the Security Committee ever since.”