Air11 on September 11, 2001
| Crew: Melinda Murphy, Ray Rivera, Chet Wilson and Brenda Banon (training as photographer) |
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| A patch with all the tail numbers of all the News ships flying that day in NYC |
Melinda Murphy, Ray Rivera, Chet Wilson are all contributors to this book.
Covering Catastrophe tells what it was like for TV and radio journalists to
report the most terrifying story of their lives-and our time.
This book is filled with dramatic firsthand accounts from national and local
journalists on the front lines of the September 11 attacks in New York,
Washington, and Pennsylvania. In a gripping, moment-by-moment
narrative, you will learn what they saw and how they got the news on the air,
and you will discover the courage many showed in running toward disaster,
instead of away from it.
With contributions from more than one hundred broadcast journalists,
including:
NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw
ABC News anchor Peter Jennings
CBS News anchor Dan Rather
CNN host Larry King
CNN anchors Aaron Brown and Judy Woodruff
Fox News Channel anchor Jon Scott
MSNBC anchor/correspondent Ashleigh Banfield
NPR's Bob Edwards and Linda Wertheimer
From the Pentagon: correspondents David Martin (CBS News), Jamie
McIntyre (CNN), John McWethy (ABC News), and Jim Miklaszewski (NBC News)
ABC News correspondent Ann Compton, the only broadcast journalist aboard
Air Force One on September 11
Helicopter reporters John Del Giorno and Tom Kaminski, and cameraman
Chet Wilson, who were in the air over Lower Manhattan during the crisis
New York 1 reporter Andrew Kirtzman, who was with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
in the aftermath of the attacks
All royalties from the sales of this book, and a matching contribution from
the publisher, will be donated to:
The Citigroup Relief Fund, which will provide scholarships to children of the
victims of the September 11 attacks.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers Relief Fund, which benefits the families
of the broadcast engineers killed in the World Trade Center attack.
report the most terrifying story of their lives-and our time.
This book is filled with dramatic firsthand accounts from national and local
journalists on the front lines of the September 11 attacks in New York,
Washington, and Pennsylvania. In a gripping, moment-by-moment
narrative, you will learn what they saw and how they got the news on the air,
and you will discover the courage many showed in running toward disaster,
instead of away from it.
With contributions from more than one hundred broadcast journalists,
including:
NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw
ABC News anchor Peter Jennings
CBS News anchor Dan Rather
CNN host Larry King
CNN anchors Aaron Brown and Judy Woodruff
Fox News Channel anchor Jon Scott
MSNBC anchor/correspondent Ashleigh Banfield
NPR's Bob Edwards and Linda Wertheimer
From the Pentagon: correspondents David Martin (CBS News), Jamie
McIntyre (CNN), John McWethy (ABC News), and Jim Miklaszewski (NBC News)
ABC News correspondent Ann Compton, the only broadcast journalist aboard
Air Force One on September 11
Helicopter reporters John Del Giorno and Tom Kaminski, and cameraman
Chet Wilson, who were in the air over Lower Manhattan during the crisis
New York 1 reporter Andrew Kirtzman, who was with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
in the aftermath of the attacks
All royalties from the sales of this book, and a matching contribution from
the publisher, will be donated to:
The Citigroup Relief Fund, which will provide scholarships to children of the
victims of the September 11 attacks.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers Relief Fund, which benefits the families
of the broadcast engineers killed in the World Trade Center attack.
With Ban Loosened, Some Small Aircraft Return to Manhattan
Skies
November 24, 2001
By LYNETTE HOLLOWAY
elicopters and small airplanes, banned from flying over New York City since
the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, are once again taking to the local skies, case
by case.
After weeks of public complaints by business owners, the Federal Aviation
Administration in recent weeks began granting waivers to its ban on small
aircraft, including helicopters, from flying closer to the city than 18 nautical
miles. A helicopter charter company said the ban was costing it hundreds
of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. News agencies complained that it
restricted their ability to cover stories.
Earlier in the week, a WABC-TV helicopter flew over parts of Manhattan,
and on Thursday and again yesterday WPIX-TV had its copter in the air to
tape the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and deliver live traffic reports.
A spokeswoman for the F.A.A.'s eastern region, Arlene Salac, would not
say why the agency began issuing the waivers.
The F.A.A.'s new guidelines call for flight towers within 18 nautical miles of
Manhattan to track all aircraft by radar, Ms. Salac said. Most small carriers
are licensed under so-called visual flight rules, which have patterns that
are not tracked easily by radar. Under the regulations, which will remain in
place indefinitely, pilots on small carriers are issued special radar codes so
that air traffic controllers in the towers can identify them. The codes tell the
name of the pilot and the destination.
Small aircraft may not hover over bridges or traffic jams like in the past.
Officials of Liberty Helicopters, one of the city's largest aerial tour
companies, said that before it was granted a waiver about two weeks ago,
business had fallen about 90 percent, forcing them to lay off an
undisclosed number of workers.
Although news of the waivers was greeted with relief by those whose
businesses were hurt by the ban, there also appeared to be some
confusion about the F.A.A. policy. Some flights face tighter restrictions than
others.
A helicopter cameraman, Al Cerullo, who captures images of the
Manhattan skyline for major films — including "Six Degrees of Separation,"
"Armageddon" and "The Siege" — said that he had lost about $200,000 in
business. He added that he was not certain just what the waiver, which he
learned about this week, would mean.
"I've made some calls," said Mr. Cerullo, who had not received clarification
as of late yesterday. "I have a lot of questions, but it's hard to get
answers. I am happy to have the waiver, although September and October
are usually my busiest times of the year. It's always crisp and clean. It's
always the nicest time to shoot. You don't have a lot of haze, and the city
really looks golden, especially in the early morning and just when it's
turning dark."
While helicopter tour companies and aerial filmmakers complain about the
economic impact of the ban, news organizations had another complaint:
restrictions on freedom of speech.
"The F.A.A. severely restricted news reporting," said Barbara Cochran,
president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association in
Washington. "We're not sure if they were able to see that, but we are
really glad to be back in the air, if even on a limited basis."
The news helicopter for WPIX- Channel 11 covered the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday. The crew was so excited that
members wore costumes. Robert C. Wilson, the cameraman, dressed as a
turkey; Melinda Murphy, the reporter, dressed as a pilgrim; and Ray
Rivera, the pilot, dressed as a Native American.
"It was like coming back to your house after you've been away for the
summer," Mr. Wilson said.
While news helicopters just received waivers to fly, some tour companies
received them several weeks ago, but they cannot fly directly over
Manhattan, especially ground zero. They must show the city sites from the
New Jersey side, said Alvin S. Trenk, president and chief executive of
Liberty Helicopters, which operates from the 30th Street heliport. He said
that his company used to conduct 100 tours a day before the attack. Now,
he said, he is lucky if he conducts 10 or 12, and the tours are not even
over the city. The average tour costs about $80 for up to 12 minutes.
The regulations have also had a major impact on Fortune 500 companies.
Executives who used to be able to take a company helicopter across town
at a moment's notice must now file flight plans. "We are hopeful that we
can wait this out," said Matthew S. Zaccaro, a special advisor and past
president of the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, a trade organization
representing about 100 companies. "If there was ever a time when
companies needed to use their aircraft, this is it."
Mr. Cerullo is not the only one in the film industry who is feeling the pinch.
Even before the attack, the city had been whipsawed by a paucity of film
production, because of the threat of a strike by Hollywood writers earlier
this year. Although the writers settled before the strike deadline, most of
the film production occurred in the city before June.
Patricia Reed Scott, commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre,
and Broadcasting, said she did not expect the city to reach the $2.5 billion
the local film industry has earned annually in the past four years. But she
does hope to see some major films come to the city early next year.
"We've looked into the pipeline and it looks good," Ms. Scott said.
Skies
November 24, 2001
By LYNETTE HOLLOWAY
elicopters and small airplanes, banned from flying over New York City since
the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, are once again taking to the local skies, case
by case.
After weeks of public complaints by business owners, the Federal Aviation
Administration in recent weeks began granting waivers to its ban on small
aircraft, including helicopters, from flying closer to the city than 18 nautical
miles. A helicopter charter company said the ban was costing it hundreds
of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. News agencies complained that it
restricted their ability to cover stories.
Earlier in the week, a WABC-TV helicopter flew over parts of Manhattan,
and on Thursday and again yesterday WPIX-TV had its copter in the air to
tape the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and deliver live traffic reports.
A spokeswoman for the F.A.A.'s eastern region, Arlene Salac, would not
say why the agency began issuing the waivers.
The F.A.A.'s new guidelines call for flight towers within 18 nautical miles of
Manhattan to track all aircraft by radar, Ms. Salac said. Most small carriers
are licensed under so-called visual flight rules, which have patterns that
are not tracked easily by radar. Under the regulations, which will remain in
place indefinitely, pilots on small carriers are issued special radar codes so
that air traffic controllers in the towers can identify them. The codes tell the
name of the pilot and the destination.
Small aircraft may not hover over bridges or traffic jams like in the past.
Officials of Liberty Helicopters, one of the city's largest aerial tour
companies, said that before it was granted a waiver about two weeks ago,
business had fallen about 90 percent, forcing them to lay off an
undisclosed number of workers.
Although news of the waivers was greeted with relief by those whose
businesses were hurt by the ban, there also appeared to be some
confusion about the F.A.A. policy. Some flights face tighter restrictions than
others.
A helicopter cameraman, Al Cerullo, who captures images of the
Manhattan skyline for major films — including "Six Degrees of Separation,"
"Armageddon" and "The Siege" — said that he had lost about $200,000 in
business. He added that he was not certain just what the waiver, which he
learned about this week, would mean.
"I've made some calls," said Mr. Cerullo, who had not received clarification
as of late yesterday. "I have a lot of questions, but it's hard to get
answers. I am happy to have the waiver, although September and October
are usually my busiest times of the year. It's always crisp and clean. It's
always the nicest time to shoot. You don't have a lot of haze, and the city
really looks golden, especially in the early morning and just when it's
turning dark."
While helicopter tour companies and aerial filmmakers complain about the
economic impact of the ban, news organizations had another complaint:
restrictions on freedom of speech.
"The F.A.A. severely restricted news reporting," said Barbara Cochran,
president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association in
Washington. "We're not sure if they were able to see that, but we are
really glad to be back in the air, if even on a limited basis."
The news helicopter for WPIX- Channel 11 covered the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday. The crew was so excited that
members wore costumes. Robert C. Wilson, the cameraman, dressed as a
turkey; Melinda Murphy, the reporter, dressed as a pilgrim; and Ray
Rivera, the pilot, dressed as a Native American.
"It was like coming back to your house after you've been away for the
summer," Mr. Wilson said.
While news helicopters just received waivers to fly, some tour companies
received them several weeks ago, but they cannot fly directly over
Manhattan, especially ground zero. They must show the city sites from the
New Jersey side, said Alvin S. Trenk, president and chief executive of
Liberty Helicopters, which operates from the 30th Street heliport. He said
that his company used to conduct 100 tours a day before the attack. Now,
he said, he is lucky if he conducts 10 or 12, and the tours are not even
over the city. The average tour costs about $80 for up to 12 minutes.
The regulations have also had a major impact on Fortune 500 companies.
Executives who used to be able to take a company helicopter across town
at a moment's notice must now file flight plans. "We are hopeful that we
can wait this out," said Matthew S. Zaccaro, a special advisor and past
president of the Eastern Region Helicopter Council, a trade organization
representing about 100 companies. "If there was ever a time when
companies needed to use their aircraft, this is it."
Mr. Cerullo is not the only one in the film industry who is feeling the pinch.
Even before the attack, the city had been whipsawed by a paucity of film
production, because of the threat of a strike by Hollywood writers earlier
this year. Although the writers settled before the strike deadline, most of
the film production occurred in the city before June.
Patricia Reed Scott, commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre,
and Broadcasting, said she did not expect the city to reach the $2.5 billion
the local film industry has earned annually in the past four years. But she
does hope to see some major films come to the city early next year.
"We've looked into the pipeline and it looks good," Ms. Scott said.