Fall Scholars grounded during terror emergency

Special for chipsquinn.org

Posted: Oct. 8, 2001

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In the air during the attacks

Several Scholars were flying to Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11 for Fall orientation when their airplanes were ordered out of the sky just after terrorists used commercial airliners to destroy the World Trade Center.

Daniella Aird was traveling from Shreveport, La., and Chris Umpierre, Moin Salahuddin, Josie Huerta and Angela Trinh were flying from Los Angeles when the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all U.S. flights in the air to land at the nearest safe airport.

"Our plane was somewhere near Dallas when my ears picked up the word 'crash,'" said Aird, an intern at The Times in Shreveport, La. "My eyes snapped open. I had been in a deep sleep -- but not that deep. Over the intercom, the pilot mumbled something about the World Trade Center and said he was landing the plane in Dallas."

Umpierre and Salahuddin, both veterans of the University of California-Los Angeles' Daily Bruin sports department, were across the aisle from each other on a plane.

"I knew beforehand that Moin was in the Chips Quinn program and also headed for Virginia, but I didn't know he would be sitting in an aisle seat alongside me," said Umpierre. "This would turn out to be an incredible development for me in terms of how I would deal with the news. I had a friend that I could talk to, ask questions of, work things out with when the tragedy became apparent. I don't know what I would have done if I had had to deal with this by myself."

Umpierre describes the scene in the air:

"About 30 minutes into the flight, the captain came on the intercom and said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize but we are going to have to make a landing in Las Vegas. There is nothing wrong with the plane. The plane is in perfect shape. Unfortunately, we have to make this landing. We will tell you more after we have landed.'

"Right away I began to think what could have happened to force the plane to land. This had never happened to me before, and I hadn't heard it happening to anyone else -- except in cases of bad weather. My first thought was gas. Maybe the plane crew forgot that we were on a cross-country flight and failed to fill the gas.

"Maybe there was something wrong with the plane and the captain didn't want to say it and scare the passengers."

Josie Huerta, also on a trip from Los Angeles, said that, as soon as her plane landed, the captain told passengers about the World Trade Center, "and everyone started calling their loved ones on their cell phones."

Huerta's sister lives near Las Vegas and was able to pick her up. "As I waited, I was very frightened. People all around murmured about a possible terrorist attack on Las Vegas. I had never been so scared in my life. My fright was even greater when I heard the news and realized the FBI and CIA had no clue who the terrorists were."

When she finally made it home to Los Angeles, she said, "I glanced back at the terrible experience the country went through, and was amazed at the reaction of the American people. This tragic event brought everyone together, regardless of race, color or creed. I couldn't believe it took a national tragedy to bring out the best in people. At first, I wondered why this happened. As time progressed, I realized sometimes bad things occur in order to bring out the best humans have to offer."

Aird spent two days in Dallas. "I was alone in a hotel room as I watched a two-day marathon of CNN. I wanted to turn it off, but I didn't." She returned to Shreveport via Greyhound bus.

"Before Tuesday, I had hated bus rides; but this one I didn't mind. I rested my head on the glass and stared at the photos (of the attacks) in the newspaper. I felt grateful. I was safe."

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