I was sound asleep when the airplane took a sharp descent.
We had departed from Miami at 7:59am, the same time American Airlines Flight 11 departed from Boston. Now, not even an hour later, the flight attendants scurried about, nervous, hurriedly asking us to please sit up, fasten our seat-belts and put our tray tables in the upright and locked position. I rubbed my eyes, confused, and did as I was told.
The pilot’s voice crackled over the speaker: We were emergency landing. No other information was given. The massive 777 dwarfed the tiny runway, and the plane taxied out into an open field. We were instructed to deplane, leaving behind all bags and personal items, and to stand in the field to await further instruction. Again, we did as we were told, talking in hushed voices: What’s going on? Some people started crying. A few had cell phones. Within minutes we heard a few bits of news: {Read the rest here}