I Watched as a Hijacked Plane Flown Over My Home – Moments Later My Wife Was Killed on 9/11
BBC News | BBC Wales
When a plane flew low over Charles Wolf’s New York City apartment on a sunny morning 25 years ago, he knew immediately that something was wrong. Seconds later, the plane slammed into the north tower of the World Trade Center – where his wife Katherine, from Swansea, was working. Katherine died instantly, becoming one of 2,977 people killed in the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the USA on 11 September, 2001.
Charles, who subsequently led a campaign to ensure the victims’ families and dependants were fairly compensated, said his "wonderful" wife would be proud of what he fought for.
A Sudden Loss
Charles first met Katherine in New York in 1988, when he was singing with a theatre group and she was a piano accompanist. They fell in love quickly and were inseparable. Charles took Katherine back to the UK for visits in 1989, exploring parts of Wales – including Machynlleth and Llanfairpwllgwyngyll – that he admitted he "could not pronounce."
At 08:06 EDT, on September 11, 2001, Charles kissed Katherine goodbye from their New York City apartment for the last time. Exactly 40 minutes later, a jet smashed into the 97th floor of the tower – the very floor she had been working on, in a new job she had started less than a fortnight earlier.
"I knew instantly when it flew over my building… that it was a twin engine jet at full throttle," said Charles, a trained pilot. "I knew it so well that I called the FBI and told them… ‘That was no accident, that was deliberate’."
A year later, an FBI agent confirmed to Charles that he had been the first person to suspect foul play.
A Devastating Reality
Katherine had told her husband she was working in "building one." After the first plane hit, news reports described the Twin Towers as "north and south" – and Charles did not know which was which. A mile from their home, he could see smoke billowing.
"I couldn’t reach her on the phone," said Charles. "Little did I know she ceased to exist the instant that plane hit the building."
Charles learned of his wife’s fate three days later – through confirmation from her employers that nobody had managed to escape above the 91st floor of the north tower, six floors below Katherine’s office.
"She didn’t know it was going to happen," he said. "And she never felt a thing… all of her people right there, they were vapourised instantaneously."
Charles added: "You never knew it was coming – couldn’t, not at 450mph. It was not a blessing that I lost her. It was a blessing that she never knew it happened, and I am grateful for that. Not everybody…"
