The Aerospace School at the University of North Dakota is asking its alumni to share their memories of 9/11 for an upcoming documentary of that day.
UND has been producing pilots since 1968, and everything changed for that industry on 9/11. Aerospace Dean Robert Kraus says they’ve so far collected a couple dozen stories.
"A student pilot who was taking his oral part of his check ride that day, and of course, then, that puts a halt to everything that day because no one was flying. Another alumni was out in the industry, and tasked with going out to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to go identify airplane parts. I personally have friends, who, one was airborne and flying to Newark, New Jersey that day - and they were told to hold. And so, if you think about, if you're on an airplane and you're holding in Newark, New Jersey, you can watch out the window what's going on. It's a pretty traumatic event for the people who were up and involved, and we wanted to capture as many of those stories as we can."
Kraus says the industry is evolving as airports continue to maintain security measures. He says just this week, the Transportation Security Administration released a plan to allow non-ticketed individuals past security and into some terminals to greet or send off air travelers – something no one has done since before 9/11.
Kraus says calls have been made on social media for alumni to share their stories. He says there will be several alumni events coming up where people will have opportunities to share their stories.
The documentary will be completed next year.
