DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Mike McCormick is now teaching the future of air traffic controllers at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, but 23 years ago, he was leading a team of 500 controllers during the hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001.
“When I think back, 23 years ago today, it was a gorgeous midsummer day,” said McCormick, “I had a text page at 8:42 in the morning and it read possible hijack, American 11 — this is Albany, NY.”
McCormick was among the first to hear about the first plane’s hijacking in the United States.
“We knew this was the real thing and we needed to act quickly,” he said. “Air traffic controllers are the first line of defense against an attack like this.”
McCormick was the head of Air Traffic Control for the Federal Aviation Administration’s New York Center.
He said when the news came of the first plane being hijacked, he hoped to get it an emergency landing.
“I explained to them through the control at Newark ‘Look out the window, look up the Hudson River and look for an American 767. It may try to land at your airport.’ A moment later he said, it hit the North Tower,” said McCormick. “At the same time, a controller behind me said ‘I have another one’.”
With other FAA officials working on the first hijacked plane, McCormick said he couldn’t get ahold of anyone to warn them of the second.
“That was a pretty frustrating 13 minutes for me to actually watch, second by second, minute by minute, and 175 towards the World Trade Center, knowing what the conclusion would be,” he said.
McCormick grounded all flights in and out of New York Air Space.
Ten days later, he personally visited Ground Zero.
“Every building was covered in American flags. They were not going to let the attack destroy New York. They bounced back, and that’s amazing,” he said.
Today, McCormick is a professor of Air Traffic Management at Embry Riddle, teaching the next generation of air traffic controllers, many of whom weren’t even alive yet during 9/11.
“What happened on Sept. 11, 2001, is history now and you can watch all of the YouTube videos and read about it in aviation books. But what I try to ensure that my students get is that there are people. There are real people involved and our entire country was impacted because of it. If you were alive on that day, you’ll forever remember it. So I try to impart that upon them — that this is more than just a video and more than just words on paper, there are real people involved,” he said.
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