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March 29th, 2024

911 people escapingPeople flee from the wreckage of the World Trade Center in New York City Sept. 11, 2001. Many continued to have health issues after beig caught in the ash and soot from the buildings after they collapsed. Courtesy photoELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times

 

For most of the U.S., Sept. 11, 2011 dawned like normal, with people commuting to work and dropping children off at school and other typical morning actions. 

For the staff at Liberal’s Lyddon Aero Center, that day also dawned as normal. 

“It was a normal workday to start off with. We didn't have any airplanes or anything else out at that particular time,” Lyddon Aero Center employee Steve Lyddon said. “Then one of the guys had heard something on the radio about what was going on in New York, so we turned on the TV out in the lobby and watched things unfold, including the second plane crashing into the tower. It was at that point we realized something really bad had just happened and a few hours after that, there was a national stop order issued that grounded all aircraft everywhere, they were ordered to land at the nearest airfield or airport. The airspace was shut down completely, and as I recall, it was a few days later when certain aircraft were being allowed back in the air with restrictions. That order also affected smaller charter fields like us, and there were more things that had to happen before people could fly around here, like having a specific type of flight plan and having traffic control clearance the entire flight, things like that. That all went on for about a week or so, and then those restrictions started easing back up toward normal operations.”

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Lyddon went into more detail about the effects of the air travel shutdown. 

“It affected everyone, and we were shut down for several days since no one could fly in or out of here. It was a national response, and that included us here, and I would say the general feeling among everyone was almost numbness because I don't think anyone ever thought something like that could happen,” Lyddon said. “We were all wondering what was going to happen, what would be the government's response to it all, what would happen to the U.S. airspace system, and other things like that. Everyone was worried about what the aftermath would be, and things are back to normal in that respect, I would say. I think the first thing everyone thought was it was terrorists who had carried it all out. Everyone was talking about potential bombs, but the planes themselves ultimately ended up being the bombs, which was actually not completely unintelligent given how much fuel planes have and everything else in that regard, so flying into the towers definitely did the job. We knew there would definitely be some national security repercussions afterward, and again, we were all kind of numb because no one had thought planes could be used like that.”

Lyddon added the center made some precautionary plans in case flights would have to land in Liberal. 

“We were mostly just waiting and watching to see if anything would have to be done here, and we were worried about the overall aftermath,” Lyddon said. “The U.S. has the best airspace system in the world in my estimation, and I'd hate to see us lose that and see us lose the freedom to fly anywhere you wanted. After everything happened with 9/11, we were legitimately worried about what would happen with the airspace system, we didn't know what the federal response would be in that regard. Everything was affected that day, whether you worked in aerospace or the media or anything else, everything was affected by what unfolded that day.”

Some of the effects of 9/11 are still being felt to this day, Lyddon said. 

“It's gotten back almost to normal and before 9/11, and keep in mind that's just our small corner here in Liberal,” Lyddon said. “We're a commercial and charter operator. There was a no-fly zone established around Washington, DC that's still around to this day due to security, and it takes a lot of extra work to be able to fly anywhere close to that area – there's traffic control regulations, certain flight plan regulations, things like that, and it's a lot of work. A lot of airports also invested in extra security and flyers became much more security-conscious. There were also more restrictions put in place with temporary flight rules for the president and others at that level of government, and there's a certain radius people cannot fly into due to that. There's a lot more security and restrictions now compared to before 9/11, but I feel like that sort of thing is what good pilots and travelers should have been keeping in mind to begin with, at least in my opinion. Things are much more security-conscious now, and that's got its pros and cons, but that's one of the consequences of what happened that day.”

Lyddon said he has some mixed feelings about this year being the 20th anniversary of the events of that day. 

“I actually hadn't realized this year WAS the 20th anniversary of 9/11 until rather recently, and it feels almost a little odd how it's already been that long since it all happened,” Lyddon said. “We have a different perspective here in Kansas since we're far away from that part of the country, so it's not quite on the forefront of our minds as it is for those who live in New York and witnessed in person how everything unfolded, especially for those people who lost friends and family that day. We definitely still remember it, but not quite in the same way as others do. It's been 20 years since 9/11, and there are still some after-effects we're seeing from everything that happened that day. There was no way that day we knew what would unfold, because it started as a clear, beautiful September day and then all of a sudden, everything changed after that morning, and it's still something we're seeing some effects of even now.”