Willie Brown got low-key early warning about air travel
Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross
Wednesday, September 12, 2001
For Mayor Willie Brown, the first signs that something was amiss came late Monday (September 10, 2001) when he got a call from what he described as his airport security - - a full eight hours before yesterday's string of terrorist attacks -- advising him that Americans should be cautious about their air travel.
The mayor, who was booked to fly to New York yesterday morning from San Francisco International Airport, said the call "didn't come in any alarming fashion, which is why I'm hesitant to make an alarming statement."
In fact, at the time, he didn't pay it much mind.
"It was not an abnormal call. I'm always concerned if my flight is going to be on time, and they always alert me when I ought to be careful."
Exactly where the call came from is a bit of a mystery. The mayor would say only that it came from "my security people at the airport."
Mike McCarron, assistant deputy director at SFO, said the Federal Aviation Administration "routinely" issues security notices about possible threats. He said two or three such notices have been received in the past couple of months,
but none in recent days.
Whatever the case, Brown didn't think about it again until he was up, dressed and waiting for his ride to the airport for an 8 a.m. flight to New York, where he was to attend a state retirement board meeting. That was when he turned on the TV, and like millions of other Americans, saw the twin towers of the World Trade Center crumble and the Pentagon go up in smoke.
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