‘We had the right crew at the right time.’ Museum salutes Civil Air Patrol on 9/11 anniversary

This Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172 Skyhawk was the only civilian aircraft authorized to fly in and around New York City on Sept. 12, 2001. It is now found at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF

This Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172 Skyhawk was the only civilian aircraft authorized to fly in and around New York City on Sept. 12, 2001. It is now found at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF
Local News
By
Updated Sept 13, 2024
X

Cessna 44L, the Civil Air Patrol aircraft that “owned the skies” in the bleak hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is now where it belongs, at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, where its story can be told forever, Civil Air Patrol and museum leaders said.

Friends of the patrol and the museum gathered in the museum’s third hangar Wednesday evening to recall how three crew members flew the Cessna 172 Skyhawk through the oily smoke of lower Manhattan on Sept. 12, 2001, capturing the first high-resolution photographs of what remained of the World Trade Center towers.

After the Federal Aviation Administration shut down civilian air travel on the morning of Sept. 11, the Cessna was one of the few civilian craft given permission to fly. It was the only civilian airplane flying over Manhattan on 9/12.

“You own the skies,” Civil Air Patrol (CAP) member Warren Ratis, then a CAP captain and front seat photographer who flew on 9/12, recalled an air traffic controller telling him and two fellow crew members.

Ratis described flying over an idle JFK International Airport on lower Long Island.

Once over Manhattan, as the Cessna flew barely 1,000 feet above the ruins, he recalled being amazed at how empty the urban vistas were.

“I looked down, and it was eerie because you couldn’t see a mouse,” Ratis said.

The photographs Ratis and his crew took helped prepare for the Sept. 14 visit of President Bush to what became known as “Ground Zero.”

One of the photos showing the collapse of the World Trade Center, taken during the flight over New York City on September 12, 2001.

icon to expand image

The photos also helped investigators identify remains of the Boeing 767 cockpits, which led to identification of the hijackers, said Maj. Gen. Regena Aye, CAP national commander and chief executive.

Aye thanked the CAP members who served on Sept. 12, and recognized the patrol’s overall contributions. As members of the Air Force’s federally chartered civilian auxiliary, CAP volunteers assist in search-and-rescue missions, educate young pilots and support the Air Force and state and local governments in various ways.

“We had the right crew at the right time,” Aye said of the 9/12 flight.

Nationwide, CAP volunteers also transported blood and medical supplies, provided communication and transportation support and helped state and federal officials, museum curators noted.

Like Ratis, Sept. 12 crew member Andrew Feldman, (also a CAP captain in 2001), was grateful for the acknowledgment of the museum crowd, which applauded both men at least twice.

Civil Air Patrol officer Andrew Feldman, who was a member of the crew that provided aerial photography of the lower Manhattan on Sept. 12, 2001. THOMAS GNAU/STAFF

icon to expand image

“We flew the mission, and it was a mission,” Feldman said after the public portion of the museum ceremony was over. “I never expected this kind of thank you.”

The Cessna is on display in the museum’s Cold War Gallery, and a new exhibit with artifacts from CAP’s support of the 9/11 response will be open.

In Other News
1
Missing West Carrollton teen found safe
2
Dayton man indicted for murder; gunshot victim crashes car into pole
3
Fire at Centre City building downtown affected Holly Days
4
Springfield Haitian residents use public assistance like everybody...
5
NEW DETAILS: Wright State, Air Force extend campus work pact

About the Author

Follow Thomas Gnau on facebookFollow Thomas Gnau on twitter

Thomas Gnau is a business reporter who joined the Dayton Daily News in 2007. He has reported for daily newspapers in Ohio since 1991.