On this anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, a former Bismarck man is remembering that day because of a change in flight plans.
David Gilbertson works as a consultant. He was living in Boston. He had flown to Seattle the week before, and he had a new project in Los Angeles the week following. He was supposed to fly back to Boston the weekend before.
"I was just sick of the travel," Gilbertson said in an intervice. "I had a grandmother living in Seattle, and I thought, I was just going to hang out in the Pacific Northwest for the weekend, spend time with grandma, go down to Los Angeles from here, instead of going back to Boston."
So Gilbertson changed his reservation, to fly from Seattle to Los Angeles directly. He had been booked on American Airlines Flight 11, which flew from Boston to Los Angeles.
"That ended up being the first plane to go into the World Trade Center," Gilbertson said.
Gilbertson said he had a co-worker who took the flight, and did not survive. He said everyone to this day remembers where they were at that moment.
"It has a little bit more of a gut-punch for me, just knowing that I narrowly avoided being on that flight," Gilbertson said. "It was a coin-toss, to stay for the weekend or go back home."
Gilbertson said he didn't have a family at the time, wasn't in a relationship, and he just decided to stay in Seattle.
"It could have gone either way," Gilbertson said. "It certainly was a scary event, and a little more personal in that regard."
Now, 25 years later, Gilbertson is married and has a family.
"Looking back, it's certainly a sense of gratitude," Gilbertson said. "And a sense of wonder — the kinds of choices you make. You don't realize the the events that help shape your life."
