Former FAA Administrator reflects on personal impact of 9/11

Nearly 20 years ago, then-American Airlines pilot Dan Elwell was scheduled to attend a ceremony at the Pentagon when he saw the World Trade Center on fire. When Elwell called the Pentagon about the event, he heard an explosion over the phone and later realized it was Flight 77, one that he routinely bid on to fly with his Washington-based flight crew, that hit the Pentagon. “I knew everybody on the crew. That’s sort of tough to think about that — how close you came to being on that trip,” Elwell said. The events of 9/11 changed the aviation industry, including the trajectory of Elwell’s career. He later joined the Federal Aviation Administration to work on aviation and safety policy.