25 Years Later: Kent State Alumni Remember the Day Aviation Changed Forever

Hodor went to the Kent State Airport anyway. FBI agents were already there, and a nationwide ground stop had been ordered. Nearly every civilian aircraft in U.S. airspace would soon be grounded and stay that way for two full days. 

“I immediately understood that something had changed—but I couldn't yet comprehend just how profoundly that day would alter the course of my life,” Hodor said.  

A generation of aviation professionals would see their careers, their industry and their world change forever. 

Twenty-five years later, Kent State aeronautics alumni are reflecting on that day, what came afterward and the lessons they hope a new generation will carry forward. 

A Career Rerouted 

For Hodor, Sept. 11 changed more than aviation. It changed the course of his life. 

He had just reached 800 flight hours, the number required to apply to a regional airline at the time. After interning with Continental Airlines, he was preparing to pursue the airline career he had dreamed about. In fact, updated letters of recommendation arrived in his mailbox on Sept. 10. 

One day later, his plans changed.  

Hodor had always wanted to serve in the military, and after the attacks, he shifted his focus to the Air Force Reserve. He eventually earned his Air Force wings, flew C-130s and became an instructor and squadron commander. Today, he serves as a 737 captain for United Airlines while continuing to fly C-130s in the Air Force Reserve. 

Hodor’s experience was different from that of Richard "Reb" Benson, ’77, who was already working, but 9/11 was just as defining for him. 

Benson was working in Crystal City, Virginia, about a mile from the Pentagon, when he heard what he initially thought was the sound of a truck dropping off a dumpster. Then, he saw smoke. 

Moments later, while watching television coverage of the World Trade Center, he saw the second plane hit. 

“At that instant, I knew. This was not an accident.” 

Benson would later learn just how close he had come to being at the Pentagon himself. A meeting he was scheduled to attend there that morning had been canceled at 7 a.m. 

What he remembers most vividly from later that day was the silence. 

There was virtually no rush-hour traffic. There were no commercial aircraft overhead. The only planes he could hear were fighter jets flying defensive missions over the nation’s capital. 

An Industry Transformed 

For those who work in aviation today, many of the changes that followed Sept. 11 simply feel normal. 

Locked and reinforced cockpit doors. More rigorous passenger and baggage screening. Employee background checks and credentialing. Expanded airport security. New emergency procedures. Greater coordination between air traffic controllers and national defense. 

But Kent State alumni who built their careers before 2001 remember an entirely different aviation world. 

Jim Sebastian, ’91, was a Continental Express pilot at the time. Before Sept. 11, pilots were trained to cooperate with hijackers to protect passengers.  

"As a pilot, it fundamentally changed the way I thought about my responsibility in the cockpit as I now needed to defend it," said Sebastian. 

For Sebastian, that shift reinforced something bigger: Protecting an aircraft became everyone’s responsibility. 

That culture of shared vigilance continues to shape an industry that responded to tragedy with modern technology, new procedures and an even deeper commitment to safety.

Remembering What Came After 

Yet, when these alumni look back 25 years later, they do not remember the way the aviation industry responded. They remember how people responded as well. 

Dan Wolfe, ’82, was preparing a corporate aircraft for a flight to New York when the first plane struck the World Trade Center. What stays with him today is the sense of unity that followed. 

“It was a horrible day for our country, but it was also a day when we came together as one.” 

Hodor remembers that, too. 

“One of the things I remember most is not just Sept. 11, but Sept. 12, the way people treated one another. There was an incredible sense of unity, compassion and mutual respect.” 

For a generation now too young to remember Sept. 11 firsthand, the alumni share another message: Learn what happened. Ask questions. Listen to the people who have experienced it. Understand why so much of the world around you looks the way it does today. 

“Things can change in this industry, and in life, in a matter of minutes,” Hodor said. “Enjoy every day. Enjoy every flight. Live life to the fullest but never forget history.”  

Passing the Legacy Forward 

That message will take on special meaning this September when the Kent State College of Aeronautics and Engineering holds its fifth annual Pilot Pinning Ceremony at the Kent State University Airport. 

The ceremony recognizes students reaching one of their first major aviation milestones and connects them with Kent State alumni who have built careers throughout the industry. 

This year, as the Kent State community commemorates 25 years since Sept. 11, those alumni will do more than celebrate the next generation of pilots. They will help them understand the legacy they are inheriting. 

Aviation today is defined not only by what was lost on Sept. 11, 2001, but by what was built afterward: a culture of vigilance, innovation, resilience and responsibility. 

And as one generation of Golden Flashes welcomes the next into the skies, they will carry forward one more responsibility: To remember.

To learn more about the Pilot Pinning Ceremony, visit the College of Aeronautics and Engineering website.

To learn more about Sept. 11, 2001 and the commemoration of its 25th anniversary, visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum website.