On September 11, 2001 American Airlines flight 77 was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. Retired Air Force Colonel Mike Kelly was in a staff meeting when the plane struck the other side of the building. The crash penetrated three rings of offices and its load of jet fuel exploded in a deadly fire that took several days to extinguish. The 64 passengers in the plane were killed and an additional 125 people on the ground lost their lives. Colonel Kelly didn’t not hear the crash but smelled the jet fuel and heard the fire alarms. He reviewed the events of the day and profiled heroic actions taken by people on the four hijacked flights and personnel on the ground. Some 4,000 aircraft had to be landed immediately and there was considerable confusion about the extent of the attacks. He described emotional phone calls with with family member to tell them he was safe. The 9/11 crashes marked a pivotal point in our history. Colonel Kelly had a 34 year career as a ballistic missile expert and arms negotiator and is a veteran of the Gulf War.
