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 |