I saw the plane crash into the second tower live on television 20 years ago..
Saturday 9/11/2021 I made a phone call to the friend who called me at about 8:50 am after he saw the news story about the first crash.
He was working the 6 - 2 shift at the Atlanta Air Traffic Control Center and I was getting ready to leave home for the 10 - 6pm shift.
When I picked up the phone, he said, "Turn on the TV."
I asked, "Which channel?"
He said, "It doesn't make any difference," and then hung up on me.
I watched a minute on some news channel like CNN. Then I grabbed my gear and left for my 10 minute drive to the Center.
All our TVs --- I mean standby monitors --- were tuned to the news and I saw the second crash with Wayne and the manager.
I went up to the control room in the afternoon and there was an eerie quiet. The control room normally has a constant hum of radio communications, but the whole room was draped somber absence of productivity. The only voices were at the supervisors' desk and the weather console.
The planes had been swept from the air and most controllers were sent home.