I am a Continental Airlines pilot. Back in 2001, I was an MD-80 first officer.

Continental was really on the upbeat with Gordon Bethune in the left seat. I planned that I’d bid the 757 as a first officer to get some experience with glass cockpit technology. My goal was to hold 737 captain in six months. In August 2001, I was awarded training on the 757.

On September 11 my simulation partner and I were doing a simulation training session. We stopped for a break and the entire building seemed to be in “chicken with its head cut off” mode. Asking a friend what happened, I was told an airliner hit the World Trade Center. Someone wired up one of the TVs used for briefings to receive outside reception.

There had to be 30 people squeezed into a tiny briefing room. Just as a picture came up, the first image was of the second plane hitting the second tower. We were all aghast. A few minutes later, my instructor said we had a session to finish, so back we went into the box. My thoughts during the entire second half were “was that a Continental plane?” After we came out of the box we were told about the plane hitting the Pentagon. We were told a plane from EWR has gone down in Pennsylvania. I thought since Continental was the biggest carrier in EWR that it had to be one of ours. After the order was given that all flying was suspended, I asked the fleet manager what he wanted us to do. He said to continue on our training schedule. While everyone else was grounded, I continued flying in a virtual world. When I was ready for IOE, the airlines were flying again, so I never lost a day. The thing that stands out most is when I was still in training my wife asked me: “Do you really want to fly the same kind of plane that was used in the attacks?” I said I’m looking forward to it.

Captain Roger Valentin, Continental