Australian witness reflects on surviving 9/11

0:00Well, on September 11, 25 years ago at 8.46am, New York time, the course of world history was changed when a passenger jet was flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Another hit the south tower, followed by one into the Pentagon and a fourth into a field after the passengers fought back. All week, 7 news has been looking back at the impact and consequence of the terror attacks that claimed 3,000 lives that day and hundreds of thousands in the wars that followed. Well, today we're talking with Australian Daniel Finlay, who was there that day caught up in the midst of the tragedy. Daniel, good morning to you. Thanks for joining us. You went to work early, sitting at your desk in the building, opposite the towers and the clock strikes 8.46am. Take us through those moments. Yeah, hi Chris, great to be here. That morning I got in early. I was sitting in my desk, I was typing an email and I heard a sound, they kind of sounded

1:04like a bomb dropping. Eww, boom. And my building rocked about 6 feet and I looked over my right shoulder out the window and I saw a huge fireball coming out of the north tower at World Trade Center I. You raised downstairs then and to get out of your building, what you're worried about saved at that point. No, what happened was I just, after the initial confusion, I was right there, I wanted to see what was happening. So I said to my friend next to me, I said, look, I'm going to go check this out and he said, yeah, let's go. So we walked downstairs and we started walking towards the Trade Center and we got to the corner of Trinity Place and Liberty and which was right under World Trade Center too when the second plane flew in almost over my head and hit the second tower.

2:04The impact from the blast was very intense, very hot, kind of knocked me back and at that moment I thought I was in real trouble. Well you were going to go inside World Trade Center to try and help people but you decided not to. It was a decision that probably saved your life. That flight response really kicked in and my main thought was just to get out of there and get to safety. Looking back, there are certain times obviously I wish I had gone in and tried to help someone but at the end of the day I probably made the safest decision. That's played with you since in the years since and these 25 years has not done. Yeah, a little bit. I was also lucky enough to help someone out on the day while waiting to use a pay phone. I struck up a conversation with a gentleman who was in the tower who wasn't doing very well after the incident and he and I ended up walking back to Midtown together and he

3:08lived out on my island. We didn't think that was going to be possible for him to get home that night so I suggested if he can't get back that he come and stay in my place and he said yes, he'd do that. We became friends that day and we've been in touch ever since. Remarkably these photos were showing now. You took on that day with a camera you'd bought, a disposable camera you'd bought and you're capturing those moments. We'll play those shots again for you. What were you thinking when you saw those images? It was so extraordinary and I knew it was a moment of historical significance and everyone was just running from the scene and I thought someone needs to capture this and I was so close to everything that was happening. I saw a little kiosk. I grabbed a couple of disposable cameras and I just took as many photos as I could just to capture the what was happening because I knew it was a big event that was taking place.

4:10I know that 102 minutes after that first plane struck at 846 the buildings came down. You witnessed that. I did. It was incredibly difficult. There were people jumping from the building right before it collapsed and you could hear those people hit the ground from a mile away from where I was at the time and I was with a large group of people and we all just stood in shock as the building collapsed and it's certainly a moment I'll never forget. How do you mark the day each year as it comes around? What do you do? I usually mark it by calling Mike, the friend that I met that day and we talk almost every year on 9-11. I just take a little bit of time. People who are there understand if you weren't quite there then the significance is maybe

5:11not quite as impactful but I usually like to take a moment during that day and think about what happened. I spoke to a person this week who said in America who was in the building and he decided to pack his bags and he moved to Australia within a month. You decided that you wanted to stay in America, continue doing your work. What was behind that decision? I moved to New York in January that year and I just fell in love with it. I love New York and still my favourite place in the world and after the incident happened my boss approached me and said no one would think badly of you if you wanted to go back to Australia but it sort of solidified me as in New York going through that experience and I was determined to stay and I'm glad I did. What are your feelings today Anger, Fury, Remorse, Regret, Sorrow, PC? What are your feelings now? Absolutely. I knew a lot of people who lost loved ones while my day was difficult. There were people who had a lot worse days than me.

6:12I now feel grateful. This was a good reminder that life is short, that anything can happen and I think it really impacted the way I live my life. I think there's a strange sense of gratitude there that I got to be there and experience such a world-changing event. Well, Daniel Finlay, we really appreciate your time today sharing those memories with us as painful as it can be. Thank you for your time. Thanks Chris. Now you can watch reflections on 9-11 September 11th from the people who were there on the 7-Ears Australia YouTube account from right now.