Bus To Bellingham Airport

Among travelers on Sept. 11, unease and ... - The Bellingham Herald

Some travelers were plainly jittery about flying Sunday. Others weren't worried, confident that security would be tight on the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11. And some figured, well, whatever happens, happens.

In Los Angeles, Kim Pinney, who operates a daycare center in Virginia, booked the latest flight home possible from a friend's wedding in the belief that that would minimize her chances of falling victim to a terrorist attack.

"If something was going to happen, it would happen during the day and then it would be over," she said in a telephone interview Saturday. Since her flight was at 11 p.m. Sunday, she added, "Technically, I'm flying for an hour on 9/11 because it will be 9/12" for most of the flight.

Authorities and travelers were clearly on edge:

- Two fighter planes escorted a New York-bound American Airlines jet after three passengers locked themselves in a bathroom during the flight from Los Angeles, officials said. A law enforcement official said the incident was not believed to be terrorism-related. The plane landed safely at Kennedy Airport.

- A man was detained at the Kansas City, Mo., airport and a terminal shut down after authorities found suspicious items in his carry-on bag. Authorities said the items tested negative for explosive materials, but they gave no further details on what they found.

- A rental truck parked at a curb at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport caused a brief scare. Authorities became alarmed when the driver said, "I got a couple of guns," but he turned out to be a member of the crew of the Discovery Channel program "Sons of Guns" - a reality show about a custom gun shop - and he was waiting for a co-worker, FBI official Kevin Gentry said.

Reminders of the day's significance were palpable in airports across the U.S. and beyond.

At Boston's Logan Airport, where the jetliners that brought down the World Trade Center took off, ticket agents, baggage screeners and other workers paused at 8:46 a.m. for a moment of silence to mark the time the first plane struck the twin towers.

Good to Great, Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't

Built to Last, Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

To the lighthouse

The magic school bus, inside the Earth

How to Win Friends and Influence People