The Cleveland Center partial evacuation on 9/11 [View All]

[MercutioATC]

O.K., I finally hooked up with the people at work that I wanted to talk to. I wasn't there on 9/11, so what I'm relating is THEIR account, not mine.

Cleveland Center was PARTIALLY evacuated (a skeleton crew was left to work planes) beginning at about 10:00am until about 1:00pm on 9/11. Office staff was evacuated first and controllers were sent out of the facility as traffic permitted. At no time were there less than 12-15 controllers and a half-dozen supervisors on the floor watching the scopes.

The exact reason for the evacuation? Nobody seems to know, exactly. As I've mentioned in previous posts, Rick Kettell was the chief at the time and he's since moved to a different facility. I really can't shed any light there. Frankly, I don't see why it matters. The important point is that at NO time were scopes left unattended. At NO time was safety compromised. At NO time would the contention that "the government evacuated the facility so there'd be no witnesses" be valid.

Questions? Ask away...