9/11 from a Pilot’s Perspective
United Airlines Captain Laura Savino, the author of “Jet Boss; A Female Pilot on Taking Risks and Flying High,” begins her chapter titled “Inside the Quiet Skies” with a short sentence: “I was at work on 9-11.”
That day she was taking a leadership course to transition from First Officer to Captain at the airline. Soon the morning gathering of fellow pilots “choosing between a muffin or a bagel” as they sipped morning coffee took a startling and tragic turn as they gathered around a TV screen. The dreadful realities soon emerged. As Laura said, “None of us could know the layers yet to unfold, but each of us quickly understood that something sinister had snuck up on those pilots, our friends, as they worked. Someone took over their cockpits—our cockpits. That much was clear.” And then she wrote, “This was personal.”
On October 24th, at St. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg, Captain Savino will recount 9-11 as it unfolded from a pilot's perspective. She will detail what pilots were doing in real time to land their aircraft, knowing that their friends' planes might also have been hijacked, while receiving warnings that theirs could be next. She will describe what pilots were told while still in the air by dispatchers whose daunting task was getting 30,000 airplanes on the ground globally and simultaneously. It is a riveting story not to be missed.
EVENT DETAILS
Off Duty is an outdoor speaker series hosted by the George C. Marshall International Center. Each event features a speaker discussing a topic that touches on history adjacent to George C. Marshall and the times in which he lived. The events run around 90 minutes, with light refreshments and opportunities for networking before and after the discussion.
This event will be held in person at St. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg, VA. Only registered participants will be admitted to this event. Seating is limited.
Members get first notice and free admittance when registration opens! Become a member today to ensure you have a seat.
BIOGRAPHY
Captain Laura Savino was a pilot on B777, B767, B757, B747, B737, A319 and A320 airliners with United Airlines, and is the author of “Jet Boss: A Female Pilot on Taking Risks and Flying High.”
Laura flew for Eastern and Pan Am regionals before that. On her way to becoming a commercial airline pilot, she worked as an instrument flight instructor, charter pilot, freight pilot, aerial sightseeing tour pilot, ferry pilot and aircraft repossessor. She has flown planes as tiny as a car and widebody aircraft longer than a football field.
Laura’s Eastern and Pan Am uniforms have been accessioned into the National Collections and Archives of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Her United Airlines maternity uniform is on permanent display at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the Blue Skies: Breaking Barriers exhibit.
Learning to fly as a teenager at Morristown Municipal Airport (MMU) in New Jersey, Laura continued her aviation education at Purdue University, graduating with an AS in Applied Science and a BS in Aviation Technology. Laura is currently a member of the Purdue University School of Aviation & Transportation Technology Industrial Advisory Board.
Bringing her love of flying and family to the pages, Laura’s book is featured in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum gift shops. As an award winning author, her inspirational stories can also be found in three editions of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, published by Simon & Schuster – Be You, The Magic of Cats and Attitude of Gratitude.
Laura is the Chairman for the Old Dominion chapter of the Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots. She is an active member of the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA+21), Women in Aviation International (WAI), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and Smokehouse Pilots Club. She lives in Virginia with her two sons, two cats and a lizard.