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Jim "Seabass" Sebastian, '91, Aerospace Technology 
Captain, Southwest Airlines Co. 

"I had been working for Continental Express Airlines and had spent the night of Sept. 10 in a simulator in Houston, Texas, completing some training. I didn't finish until about 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, so I went to sleep expecting another ordinary day. 

I woke around 10 a.m. to a voicemail box filled with messages from panicked friends and family. Then I learned what had happened. 

For me, one of the most difficult things to comprehend was seeing airplanes, crews and passengers used as weapons of mass destruction. As a pilot, it fundamentally changed the way I thought about my responsibility in the cockpit. 

Before Sept. 11, pilots were trained to appease hijackers and protect the lives of everyone on board by cooperating with their demands. Afterward, that philosophy changed. The cockpit had to be defended at all costs. 

The transformation extended throughout the aviation industry. Passenger and baggage screening became more rigorous. Pre-employment background checks expanded. Airport security increased and the entire industry adopted policies designed to recognize and respond to elevated threats. 

One of the most important lessons was that protecting an aircraft is everyone's responsibility—pilots, flight attendants and passengers alike. We also learned the importance of recognizing potential threats and elevating the level of response when necessary. 

But when I think about the lasting legacy of Sept. 11, I don't think only about what was taken from us that day. I think about the passengers aboard United Flight 93 who fought back. 

Their courage undoubtedly saved countless lives. 

That is the legacy I hope the aviation profession—and everyone who remembers Sept. 11—never forgets."