Inside the Crisis: The Story of 9/11 from Air Traffic Control

Twenty-five years after that fateful morning, hear the story of 9/11 from inside the world’s busiest air traffic control facility at the time. Rick Kettell was the Air Traffic Manager of Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center when terrorists created chaos in the national airspace system. While managing the facility’s response, he became an eyewitness to history as he tracked the hijackers’ attempts to descend and turn Flight 93 toward Washington, D.C., and the passengers’ heroic actions to successfully thwart that attempt. Kettell will share lessons learned on crisis communications from one of the largest crises in our nation’s history.

In-person attendance is limited so early registration is recommended. We’ll also have a Zoom link available for those interested in purchasing a ticket to watch the presentation online. Please email [email protected] if you have a need for any accommodations.

About the Speaker: Rick Kettell, retired senior FAA official

Rick Kettell's career is a testament to resilience, leadership, and dedication to public service. He began his FAA career in 1981, as the first post-strike air traffic controller hired at Rochester Tower. He retired after 37 years of government service (civil and military) with extensive service as a senior Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official responsible for managing air traffic operations throughout the National Airspace System (NAS). He earned degrees at the University of Maryland, Rochester Institute of Technology, and graduated from the FAA Senior Executive Program. He taught aviation classes at Kent State University in the Department of Technology. Among his most notable accomplishments were his actions and leadership demonstrated as the Air Traffic Manager of Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center during the harrowing events of September 11, 2001.

On that fateful day, as the senior leader of the world’s then busiest air traffic control facility, Kettell arrived with his facility experiencing an unprecedented crisis. With the terrorist attacks creating chaos in the national airspace system, he utilized his operational knowledge and skillful leadership to establish a command post to prepare his facility and assist the national efforts underway to reestablish order. In this role, and while managing the facility’s actions to the overall crisis, he became an eyewitness to history as he tracked hijacker attempts to descend and turn the aircraft towards DC, and the heroic actions by the passengers to successfully thwart that attempt. He was sharing that information as it happened to leadership in FAA HQ and to military operations. Shortly after verifying that Flight 93 had crashed, Kettell received the order from the Command Center to shut down the NAS. He utilized his command post to help his team implement that decision, one that had never been pre-planned nor discussed. Forty- five hundred aircraft successfully landed nationally within 45 minutes.

Kettell's experience on 9/11 did not end with the day's tragic events. The 9/11 Congressional Subcommittee study interviewed him regarding the FAA and military’s response on that day. He led the effort to create a sandstone memorial to those aboard Flight 93 and the actions taken by Cleveland Center personnel on 9/11. The commemoration ceremony was attended by some members of the passenger families and Congress, on the grounds of the Center. In 2021, the National Park Service (NPS) invited Kettell to be a keynote speaker at the Flight 93 Museum in Shanksville, PA for the twentieth anniversary of the crisis. His 2004 interview with the NPS is stored in the museum’s archives. Kettell has spoken often to the media and public regarding this day and recently shared his story for the History Channel Specials, “The Last Thirty Minutes of Flight 93”, airing in 2020, and “The Four Flights” which first aired in 2021. He was interviewed extensively in February 2026 at the Flight 93 Memorial for a new documentary to be released on September 11, 2026. He will be speaking to students across the country on behalf of the Flight 93 Memorial on September 8, 2026.

His career path in air traffic operations leadership also took him to Terminals in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, and he also accepted special assignments in Washington at FAA HQ. He participated in a joint study of traffic management operations with EUROCONTROL, the European organization for the safety of air navigation, and the FAA. He helped to formulate the Agency’s role in the integration of unmanned aircraft technology before his retirement as a senior FAA official in 2015.

After this distinguished career, Kettell returned to his love of teaching. In retirement, he serves as an instructor, subject matter expert and facilitator for FAA managers providing his knowledge and experience in classes of labor management relations, leadership, aviation safety and operations.