Interesting account of retired USAF and Delta Pat Gilmore, of
events just prior to 9/11-

> Pat Gilmore is a Delta pilot retiree..
> As a Delta B-767 captain myself at the time of the attacks on 9/11, I was in
> crew rest in Orlando that morning. I had just turned on the TV in my hotel room only
> to see the WTC tower on fire, then saw the second airplane hit the other tower. My
> immediate reaction was "Terrorists..we're at war", followed by the realization that
> we airline crewmembers had all dodged a bullet; it could have been any one of us
> flying those planes. As soon as the news stations flashed the first pictures of the
> terrorists I knew just how close and personal the bullet I dodged was. There, on the
> screen for all to see, was a man who had sat in my jump seat the previous July.
> His name was Mohammad Atta, the leader of the terrorist hijackers. Atta had
> boarded my flight from Baltimore to Atlantaon July 26, 2001 wearing an American
> Airlines first officer uniform. He had the corresponding AA company ID identifying
> him as a pilot, not to mention the required FAA pilot license and medical certificate
> that he was required to show me as proof of his aircrew status for access to my jump
> seat. An airline pilot riding a cockpit jump seat is a long established protocol
> among the airlines of the world, a courtesy extended by the management and captains
> of one airline to pilots and flight attendants of other airlines in recognition of
> their aircrew status. My admission of Mohammad Atta to my cockpit jump seat that day
> was merely a routine exercise of this protocol.
> Something seemed a bit different about this jump seat rider, though, because
> in my usual course of conversation with him as we reached cruise altitude he avoided
> all my questions about his personal life and focused very intently upon the cockpit
> instruments and our operation of the aircraft. I asked him what he flew at American
> and he said, "These", but he asked incessant questions about how we did this or why
> we did that. I said, "This is a 767. They all operate the same way." But he said,
> "No, we operate them differently at American." That seemed very strange, because I
> knew better. I asked him about his background, and he admitted he was from Saudi
> Arabia . I asked him when he came over to this countr y and he said "A couple of
> years ago.", to which I asked, "Are you a US citizen?" He said no. I also found that
> very strange because I know that in order to have an Airline Transport Pilot rating,
> the rating required to be an airline captain, one has to be a US citizen, and knowing
> the US airlines and their hiring processes as I do, I found it hard to believe that
> American Airlines would hire a non-US citizen who couldn't upgrade to captain when
> the time came. He said, "The rules have changed.", which I also knew to be untrue.
> Besides, he was just, shall I say, "Creepy"? My copilot and I were both glad to get
> rid of this guy when we got to Atlanta.
>
>
>
> There was nothing to indicate, though, that he was anything other than who or
> what he said he was, because he had the documentation to prove who he was. In
> retrospect, we now know his uniform was stolen and his documents were forged.
> Information later came to light as to how this was done.
> It seems that Mohammad Atta and his cronies had possibly stolen pilot
> uniforms and credentials from hotel rooms during the previous year. We had many
> security alerts at the airline to watch out for our personal items in hotel rooms
> because these were mysteriously disappearing, but nobody knew why. Atta and his men
> used these to make dry runs prior to their actual hijackings on 9/11. How do I know?
> I called the FBI as soon as I saw his face on the TV that day, and the agent on the
> other end of the line took my information and told me I'd hear back from them when
> all the dust settled. A few weeks later I got a letter from the Bureau saying that my
> call was one of at least half a dozen calls that day from other pilots who had had
> the sa me experience. Flights were being selected at random to make test runs for
> accessing the cockpit. It seems we had all dodged bullets.
> Over the years my attitude towards the War Against Terrorism and the wars in
> Afghanistan and Iraq have been known to be on the red neck, warmongering,
> rah-rah-shoot-em-up side of things. I've been known to lose my patience with those
> who say the war in Iraq or anywhere else in the Muslim world is wrong, or who say we
> shouldn't become involved in that area of the world for political correctness
> reasons. Maybe it's because I dodged the bullet so closely back in 2001 that I feel
> this way. I have very little patience for political rhetoric or debate against this
> war because for a couple of hours back in July 2001, when I was engaged in
> conversation with a major perpetrator in this war, I came so close to being one of
> its victims that I can think in no other terms.
> I don't mind admitting that one of the reasons I retired early from Delta
> last May, other than to protect my disappearing company retirement, was because it
> became harder and harder for me to go to work every day knowing that the war wasn't
> being taken seriously by the general public. The worst offenders were the Liberal
> detractors to the present administration, and right or wrong, this administration is
> at least taking the bull by the horns and fighting our enemies, which is something
> concrete that I can appreciate. Nobody was taking this war seriously, and it seems
> everyone found fault with the US government rather than with those who attacked us. I
> found that incomprehensible
> I also found myself being scrutinized by TSA screeners more and more every
> day when I went to work, and suffered the humiliating indignity of being identified
> about half the time for body searches in front of the general flying public who
> looked at the entire process as being ludicrous. "They don't even trust their own
> pilots!" Accompanied by an unbelieving snicker was the usual response. Here I was, a
> retired USAF officer who had been entrusted to fly nuclear weapons around the world,
> who had been granted a Top Secret clearance and had been on missions over the course
> of 21 years in the military that I still can't talk about without fear of prosecution
> by the DOD, who was being scanned by a flunkie TSA screener looking for any sign of a
> pen knife or nail file on my person.
> It wasn't until six months after my retirement when my wife and I flew to Key
> West, FL last November that I was finally able to rid myself of the visage of
> Mohammad Atta sitting behind me on my jump seat, watching my every action in the
> cockpit and willing to slit my throat at the slightest provocation. I missed being a
> headline by a mere 47 days, and could very well have been among the aircrew
> casualties on 9/11 had one of my flights on my monthly schedule been a
> transcontinental flight from Boston or New York to the west coast on the 11th of
> September. Very few people know that, while only four airliners crashed that day,
> four more were targeted, and two of them were Delta flights. The only reason these
> four weren't involved is because they either had minor maintenance problems which
> delayed them at the gate or they were scheduled to depart after the FAA decided to
> ground all flights. Theirs are the pilots and flight attendants who REALLY dodged the
> bullets that day, and my faith in a higher power is restored as a result.
> I will see United 93 when I get the chance, and I will probably enjoy the
> movie for its realness and historical significance, but forgive me if I do not
> embrace the Muslim world for the rest of my life. The Islamic world is no friend of
> the West, and although we may be able to get along with their governments in the
> future, the stated goal of Islam is world conquest through Jihad and it is the
> extremist Jihadists, backed and funded by "friendly" Moslem governments, whom we have
> to fear the most. We must have a presence in the Middle East, and we must have
> friends in the Middle East, even if we have to fight wars to get them. Only someone
> who has dodged a bullet can fully appreciate that fact.
>
>
>
> Best to all, Pat Gilmore
>
>
>
> Editor's Note: For some reason which is beyond me, some people do not want to
> believe this. Perhaps they do not want to believe that Jihadist terrorism actually
> exists, because it someone doesn't believe it yet, they never will. Capt. Gilmore
> himself posted this comment, in our comments below, but I will put it here for all to
> see:
>
>
>
> I assure you this letter is true. As to the fact that I wrote that a holder
> of an Airline Transport Pilot rating (ATP) must be aUS citizen, I admit that I was
> mistaken here. I had always assumed so, because that's what I had heard, so I looked
> up the requirements for an ATP just now. There is nothing that says that US
> citizenship is required. Okay, I'll bite the bullet on that one. I received my ATP
> back in 1975 and now that I think of it I do not remember having to prove my
> citizenship. However, the rest of the story is true.
>
>
>
> As for my airline career, I worked for Western Airlines (who merged with
> Delta in 1987), Jet America Airlines (who was bought by Alaska Airlines in 1988), and
> Delta Airlines, as well as a few "fly by night" cargo airlines during my furlough
> period from Western from 1981-1985. I also flew in Vietnam as a transport pilot and
> retired from the USAF Reserve in 1991 after the Gulf War. I have 21,500+ flight hours
> in T-41, T-37, T-38, C-141/L-300, CE-500, CV -440, MD-80/82, B-727, B-737, B-757, and
> B-767 aircraft, all logged between 1970 and 2005 when I retired from Delta.
>
> Trust me, folks, this was real. I must admit I am quite surprised that my
> letter made it this far on the internet. The letter was nothing more than an innocent
> reply to a group of friends, one of whom sent me a similar letter from another Delta
> pilot who had been flying the morning of 9/11 and who had experienced the flying that
> day for himself. His letter had detailed his thoughts as he viewed the movie "United
> 93", and he also told in detail how he had been diverted toKnoxville when the FAA
> shut down the airspace. My friend had asked me if I had known of any other similar
> experiences, so I wrote him what I had encountered myself a few months before. This
> was my letter to him.
> Another retired Delta captain contacted me yesterday after reading this blog
> and related an experience his wife had on a flight from Portland, OR to Atlanta in
> August 2001, just a week or so after my experience with Atta. She was riding on a
> company pass and seated in First Class. A person of "Middle Eastern" descent had
> sought permission to sit on the cockpit jump seat, but was denied access by the
> captain because he did not have an FAA Medical certificate. She said he ranted and
> raved because he couldn't ride the cockpit jump seat, even though there were three
> empty seats in First Class, which the captain offered him. What pilot in his right
> mind would refuse a First Class seat over a cramped cockpit jump seat? He stormed off
> the aircraft and they left him at the gate. You see? Mine wasn't the only experience
> leading up to 9/11.
> Delta Airlines Corporate Security even contacted me a few days ago to ask if
> I had, indeed, written this letter. I wrote them back that I had. They were worried
> that someone was using my name without my knowledge. I assured them I was the author.
> Keep the faith, and don't let the bastards get you down.
>
>
>
> Pat Gilmore