ORLANDO, Fla. — Twenty-five years ago, Mike McCormick made a decision that would help bring the nation’s airspace to a standstill. Today, he teaches at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University — educating students who were not even alive when the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks changed the country forever.
For his students, 9/11 is history. For McCormick, it is a day he will never forget.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of people were running through the streets of New York, fleeing an attack many did not yet understand.
McCormick was at the center of the response. At the time, he was the head of air traffic control in New York. He was among the first people outside American Airlines Flight 11 to learn that the country was under attack.
“At 8:40 in the morning I would get a phone call. Possible hijack, Albany, New York, American 11,” McCormick said.
As the attacks unfolded, McCormick realized aircraft were being used as weapons.
“If I’m going to defend New York City, if I’m going to defend this country, I have to remove the weapons. Because they were using aircraft as weapons,” he said.
After a second plane struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center, McCormick knew the threat was far from over. He ordered New York Center’s airspace shut down — a decision that helped bring air traffic across the country to a standstill.
But even as the nation was responding to the attacks, McCormick faced pressure to get planes back in the sky.
He refused.
“We are going to stay ATC zero, so you better find a way to deal with that,” McCormick recalled telling officials before hanging up.
He said he knew putting aircraft back in the sky could put more lives at risk.
Twenty-five years later, McCormick is passing the lessons he learned that day on to a new generation of aviation students at Embry-Riddle. He teaches future air traffic controllers about the responsibility that comes with controlling the skies — and the importance of trusting their instincts when lives are on the line.
McCormick said the country’s aviation system is better prepared today because of the lessons learned from 9/11.
“So today our country is better prepared, more alert, has better processes in place and they’re ready,” he said.
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