Tower terror
Air traffic controller watches as plane slams into Pentagon

Photo by Spc. Jennifer Lilly Spc. Jacqueline Kidd, air traffic controller and Sean Boger, Pentagon tower chief watch as a helicopter lands at the Pentagon.

by Spc. Jennifer Lilly
Pentagram staff writer

"I just looked up and I saw the big nose and the wings of the aircraft coming right at us and I just watched it hit the building," Air Traffic Controller and Pentagon tower chief Sean Boger said. "It exploded. I fell to the ground and covered my head. I could actually hear the metal going through the building."

Sept. 11 started out as a normal day in the Pentagon control towers. The crew, Boger and Spc. Jacqueline Kidd, air traffic controller and training supervisor, prepared for President George W. Bush to arrive from Florida around 12:30 p.m.

"We were watching television and saw where the World Trade Centers were hit," Boger, a former Military District of Washington and Fort Belvoir NCO of the year, said.

Kidd knew that the Pentagon would immediately heighten security after the attack in New York, so she decided to get her lunch out of her car while she still could.

Before she left, Boger said to Kidd, "I'm surprised no one has ever flown into the Pentagon," Boger said to Kidd before she left, referring to the fact that so many planes fly around the Pentagon daily.

He was talking about an accident, not a terrorist attack.

"Keep your eyes on the planes," Kidd said jokingly leaving the office

"There was no time to think," the tower chief said. "There wasn't time to be scared."

Kidd was on her way out to her car when the plane hit. Luckily, Kidd stopped by the restroom before going to her car.

"They got us," Kidd said her first thought was. "The lights went out and the ceiling fell in on me," she said.

Kidd returned to the bottom of the tower and tried to get to Boger. The stairs were covered with debris and the ceiling had fallen in around him.

"I don't know how I got out, but I got out," Boger said.

Boger got to the bottom of the tower and was still not sure what was going on.

"I grabbed [Kidd] and we both fell to the ground," he said. "We looked back."

"What happened?" Kidd asked.

"A plane just flew into the Pentagon," Boger responded.

The first thing the two noticed was that both of their cars were on fire. Kidd was the owner of the infamous Grand Cherokee that ended up resembling a station wagon and Boger owned the totaled 3000 GT that was shown for weeks worldwide on news broadcasts.

Boger said he kept waiting for people to start running out of the building, but he only saw a few security officers running out, yelling to get away from the building.

Both air traffic controllers walked around the building and saw where people were grouping. He said about 15 minutes later people were starting to take charge.

"A few guys were talking about pulling bodies out," he said. "They were asking for 20 medics, nurses or doctors."

It was then that Boger said he realized there would be mass casualties.

The injured were separated from the crowd to be treated. Kidd was treated for smoke inhalation. While she was on oxygen, a man was yelling if anyone needed to contact home. Kidd raised her hand. The man took her name, her husband's name and phone number and told the operator.

Her husband, Sgt. Jason Kidd, of C Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, Fort Belvoir, Va., was at the range Sept. 11. Kidd's husband told her the operator called his office and left a message saying, "This might not make sense, but Jackie is okay." Jason's office got the message to him.

The day at the Pentagon didn't seem to get any better as word of more possible tragedy was going around.

"Everyone get under the bridge, another one is coming," Kidd said people were yelling.

The crowd around the Pentagon feared that another plane was heading to the Pentagon. The plane they were protecting themselves from was the plane that later went down in Pittsburg.

"I freaked out," Kidd said. A nearby psychologist came up to Kidd when she realized she was scared. The psychologist asked what she could do to help. "I just want to get away from it," Kidd replied. The psychologist asked a representative from the Federal Bureau of Investigation if Boger and Kidd could leave. After giving their statements, the psychologist drove them home.

Once home, Boger and Kidd had a chance to reflect on their experiences.

At first, Kidd had a hard time sleeping.

"I bolted the windows and left the lights on," Kidd said. "You take for granted life in itself. When something like this happens, it helps you reprioritize."

"The only time I'm not thinking about it is when I'm not thinking about it," Boger said. "It's hard for me to be happy. The reality is, people were on that aircraft. Little kids, it shouldn't have been their time either."