Boston Planes Involved In Attack
Logan Flights Crash Into World Trade Center
Acting Gov. Jane Swift said that she would return to the Statehouse on Wednesday
and asked all state employees to report to work. Most of the
state's 55,000 state employees were sent home Tuesday, and the
1,500 state-owned buildings around the state were locked and
secured with extra police.
"What I'm asking is we try to start getting our lives back to
normal so we don't allow ourselves to be revictimized by the
terrorists," Swift said.
Swift urged Bay State residents not to give in to fear or panic following the attack on New York's World Trade Center which involved two planes that took off from Boston Tuesday morning.
"The way terrorists operate is to create havoc and fear. We cannot allow terrorists to victimize us twice by paralyzing us with fear," Swift said, saying that the state has offered 100 state troopers to the FBI to try to determine who's responsible for the hijackings that took place out of Boston's Logan Airport. (See Related Logan story)
Swift also urged all residents to continue to give blood, as much would be needed to maintain supplies in light of the disasters in New York and Washington.
Even as the governor sent nonessential state workers home early on Tuesday, Boston's downtown
streets were filled with people fleeing high-rise buildings after the
attacks in New York and Washington.
One of two planes that crashed into the twin towers was American
Airlines Flight 11, which had been hijacked after takeoff from
Boston en route to Los Angeles. Ninety-two people were on board.
United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston to
Los Angeles also crashed into the World Trade Center.
The pilot of the American flight was John Ogonowski, 52, of Dracut, Mass. He leaves behind a wife and three daughters.
The American Airlines pilot's brother, Jim Ogonowski, said that the family was trying to deal with the tragedy.
"We're all in shock. I'm not sure if the correct term is shock or denial," he said. "This is -- I don't know how else to explain it."
In the press conference at the family's farm in Dracut, a reporter asked Jim Ogonowski if he considered his brother to be a war hero.
"I consider my brother a hero for many reasons," he said. "It's hard to explain losing your big brother."
The pilot's daughters are 16, 14 and 11.
United Flight 175, another Boeing 767 that left Boston around
the same time for Los Angeles, is reported to have been the second
airplane to crash into the towers. That plane had 65 people on
board.
The pilot was Victor Saracini of suburban Philadelphia.
Frank Lyons, identified as a fellow United pilot, said family
members were in "total shock."
"I think at this point prayers are the only thing that can be
offered," he said.
Another United Pilot, Joseph Claffey, told WCAU that Saracini
was "a good family man" and "a good pilot." Saracini had been a
captain with United since 1985.
Police blocked off the cul-de-sac leading to the family home
Tuesday night.
Jeffrey Peisach of Boston was at LaGuardia airport as the towers were collapsing.
"One guy was just clawing his eyes out. He must have known someone there," Peisach said. "Other people were just weeping, weeping."
Peisach said that he went outside the airport and saw the New York skyline just as the second tower collapsed.
"There were these huge black clouds, just eclipsing everything," he said. "And then the towers were just gone, gone."
Cambridge-based Akamai Technologies announced that co-founder Daniel Lewin, 31, was on American Flight 11 and was killed.
Grief counselors were on hand Tuesday at Logan Airport as officials brought in bomb sniffing dogs to search the terminals.
MassPort officials said that flights will be suspended at least through midnight and possibly longer.
"Now I appreciate the feeling people had at Pearl Harbor, the
outrage," Rep. Frank Hynes, D-Marshfield, said as his staff was
evacuating the Statehouse.
"We have taken all prudent steps in Massachusetts to make sure that the families of the Commonwealth are protected and are safe," Swift said at an afternoon news conference from the
Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency bunker in Framingham, Mass., a
Cold War-era relic that serves as an operations center in a crisis.
"We feel confident and comfortable that the citizens of Massachusetts are secure," Swift said.
Primary elections in the 9th Congressional District were
proceeding as scheduled, according to the Secretary of State's
office. Swift urged voters to head to the polls and cast their ballots.
"The best thing for the citizens of our great county is to send a message," Swift said. "The election will continue. People should go out and vote. I am confident that the people will be safe."
Boston police deployed officers to high-profile areas in Boston
such as City Hall, which was evacuated. Barricades were set up
around the USS Constitution in Boston Harbor, and security was
tightened.
All state courts and federal buildings were closed. Hanscom Air
Force Base in Bedford and Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee
were put on alert. In Springfield, the federal building was
evacuated.
"The message for today is prayers," Springfield Mayor
Michael Albano said, urging residents to pray for the victims and their
families.
The Red Cross in Boston has been overwhelmed with people wanting to donate blood to help victims of the attacks. The agency is asking people to be patient and hold off until Thursday.
A flood of emergency calls after the crashes overwhelmed the
state's cellular 911 system, according to State Police Lt. Paul
Maloney.
"We are asking people not to use cellular 911," he said.
"Emergency calls may be lost as a result of these people using
cellular 911."
Both confusion and an eerie calm were evident in the terminals
at Logan International Airport.
Mark Pratt, an Associated Press reporter, was on the taxiway in
an American Airlines plane headed for London on Tuesday morning
when the pilot announced the plane was returning to the gate
because of a security issue. Passengers later discovered what
happened.
"A few people started crying when they heard what happened,"
Pratt said. "Most people were just in shock, basically saying,
"Thank God it wasn't our plane."
Two of Boston's tallest buildings, the Hancock and Prudential
towers, were evacuated.
The streets of Boston's financial district were filled with
workers leaving their offices. Some workers said they were being
sent home because trading had shut down in New York. Others said
they evacuated because of fear over similar attacks.
"I was concerned for everyone's safety," said Jeff Leerink,
president and chief executive of Leerink Swann & Co., an investment
banking company.
Ben Wigren, a trading assistant at Fleet Investment advisers,
was standing on a street corner in Boston, calling his mother to
assure her that he was safe. He said he tried to call a friend who
works at the World Trade Center in New York, but couldn't reach
him.
"I didn't feel all that safe being in an office building," he
said.
In downtown Boston, residents were transfixed by the reports of
the tragedy.
"We've never lived through anything like this, our
generation," said a teary-eyed Jennifer Blaise, 23, a graduate
student at Boston University. "I think everybody here has shed
some tears."
One of two planes that crashed into the twin towers was American
Airlines Flight 11, which had been hijacked after takeoff from
Boston en route to Los Angeles. Ninety-two people were on board.
United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston to
Los Angeles also crashed into the World Trade Center.
The pilot of the American flight was John Ogonowski, 52, of Dracut, Mass. He leaves behind a wife and three daughters.
The American Airlines pilot's brother, Jim Ogonowski, said that the family was trying to deal with the tragedy.
"We're all in shock. I'm not sure if the correct term is shock or denial," he said. "This is -- I don't know how else to explain it."
In the press conference at the family's farm in Dracut, a reporter asked Jim Ogonowski if he considered his brother to be a war hero.
"I consider my brother a hero for many reasons," he said. "It's hard to explain losing your big brother."
The pilot's daughters are 16, 14 and 11.
United Flight 175, another Boeing 767 that left Boston around
the same time for Los Angeles, is reported to have been the second
airplane to crash into the towers. That plane had 65 people on
board.
The pilot was Victor Saracini of suburban Philadelphia.
Frank Lyons, identified as a fellow United pilot, said family
members were in "total shock."
"I think at this point prayers are the only thing that can be
offered," he said.
Another United Pilot, Joseph Claffey, told WCAU that Saracini
was "a good family man" and "a good pilot." Saracini had been a
captain with United since 1985.
Police blocked off the cul-de-sac leading to the family home
Tuesday night.
Jeffrey Peisach of Boston was at LaGuardia airport as the towers were collapsing.
"One guy was just clawing his eyes out. He must have known someone there," Peisach said. "Other people were just weeping, weeping."
Peisach said that he went outside the airport and saw the New York skyline just as the second tower collapsed.
"There were these huge black clouds, just eclipsing everything," he said. "And then the towers were just gone, gone."
Cambridge-based Akamai Technologies announced that co-founder Daniel Lewin, 31, was on American Flight 11 and was killed.
Grief counselors were on hand Tuesday at Logan Airport as officials brought in bomb sniffing dogs to search the terminals.
MassPort officials said that flights will be suspended at least through midnight and possibly longer.
"Now I appreciate the feeling people had at Pearl Harbor, the
outrage," Rep. Frank Hynes, D-Marshfield, said as his staff was
evacuating the Statehouse.
"We have taken all prudent steps in Massachusetts to make sure that the families of the Commonwealth are protected and are safe," Swift said at an afternoon news conference from the
Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency bunker in Framingham, Mass., a
Cold War-era relic that serves as an operations center in a crisis.
"We feel confident and comfortable that the citizens of Massachusetts are secure," Swift said.
Primary elections in the 9th Congressional District were
proceeding as scheduled, according to the Secretary of State's
office. Swift urged voters to head to the polls and cast their ballots.
"The best thing for the citizens of our great county is to send a message," Swift said. "The election will continue. People should go out and vote. I am confident that the people will be safe."
Boston police deployed officers to high-profile areas in Boston
such as City Hall, which was evacuated. Barricades were set up
around the USS Constitution in Boston Harbor, and security was
tightened.
All state courts and federal buildings were closed. Hanscom Air
Force Base in Bedford and Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee
were put on alert. In Springfield, the federal building was
evacuated.
"The message for today is prayers," Springfield Mayor
Michael Albano said, urging residents to pray for the victims and their
families.
The Red Cross in Boston has been overwhelmed with people wanting to donate blood to help victims of the attacks. The agency is asking people to be patient and hold off until Thursday.
A flood of emergency calls after the crashes overwhelmed the
state's cellular 911 system, according to State Police Lt. Paul
Maloney.
"We are asking people not to use cellular 911," he said.
"Emergency calls may be lost as a result of these people using
cellular 911."
Both confusion and an eerie calm were evident in the terminals
at Logan International Airport.
Mark Pratt, an Associated Press reporter, was on the taxiway in
an American Airlines plane headed for London on Tuesday morning
when the pilot announced the plane was returning to the gate
because of a security issue. Passengers later discovered what
happened.
"A few people started crying when they heard what happened,"
Pratt said. "Most people were just in shock, basically saying,
"Thank God it wasn't our plane."
Two of Boston's tallest buildings, the Hancock and Prudential
towers, were evacuated.
The streets of Boston's financial district were filled with
workers leaving their offices. Some workers said they were being
sent home because trading had shut down in New York. Others said
they evacuated because of fear over similar attacks.
"I was concerned for everyone's safety," said Jeff Leerink,
president and chief executive of Leerink Swann & Co., an investment
banking company.
Ben Wigren, a trading assistant at Fleet Investment advisers,
was standing on a street corner in Boston, calling his mother to
assure her that he was safe. He said he tried to call a friend who
works at the World Trade Center in New York, but couldn't reach
him.
"I didn't feel all that safe being in an office building," he
said.
In downtown Boston, residents were transfixed by the reports of
the tragedy.
"We've never lived through anything like this, our
generation," said a teary-eyed Jennifer Blaise, 23, a graduate
student at Boston University. "I think everybody here has shed
some tears."
Massachusetts Precautions Taken:
- The Statehouse is closed and all non-essential state workers have been sent home. 1,500 state-owned buildings around the state were locked and secured with extra police. Nonessential employees sent home.
- All federal and state buildings in Massachusetts have been closed
- All non-essential Boston city employees have been sent home. City Hall remained open.
- All state courthouses have been closed
- Tall buildings in Boston have been evacuated, including the Hancock, Prudential buildings; all buildings in Boston Financial District have also been evacuated
- Fares waived on MBTA and Mass Pike
- Logan International Airport and Hanscom closed, and Boston airspace is closed
- Barricades were set up around the USS Constitution in Boston Harbor
- The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has been activated and acting Gov. Jane Swift was being taken to its bunker in Framingham, Mass. Swift said no specific threats had been made against any Massachusetts facility.
- All military units and bases are stepping up their threat controls
- MBTA police on heightened alert; Boston police deployed officers to high-profile areas in Boston
- Amtrak has canceled service between Boston and Washington
- Call 911 for emergencies only
- Barricades placed at USS Constitution
- MBTA added service for evacuated workers
Phone Numbers:
- American Airlines: 1-800-249-0999
- United Airlines: 1-800-932-8555
- MassPort: 617-568-3100
- Mass Citizens Hotline: 1-800-293-4031
Schools Closed:
- UMass Boston
- UMass Dartmouth
- Clark University evening classes
- Western NE College
- Fisher College evening classes
- Mass Bass Community
- Mr. Wachusett Community
- Falmouth School all evening activities
- Middlesex Community
- Montessori Educare in Wellesy closing at 3 p.m.
- N. Essex Community
- Temple Israel Boston Herbrew school
- Bunker Hill Community closed
- S. Shore Christian Academy
- Middlesex
- King Phillip Academy no evening activities
- Bridgewater State College
- Wentworth Tech no evening classes
- Mt Wachusett Comm
- Temple Beth Elohim
- Laboure College
- Templ Ohabei Shalom Brookline
- N Middlesex Reg Schools
- Mass College Of Art
- Boston Public Schools open, including afterschool activities
Copyright 2001 by TheBostonChannel. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
