Man's Story About Changing His Flight on 9/11 Has Wild Twist
Tributes and remembrances of the September 11 attacks seem to grow stranger and stranger with each passing year. And the 22nd anniversary of the tragedy, which occurred earlier this week, was certainly no exception.
One would-be passenger on the doomed United Flight 93—which would go on to crash in Somerset County, PA, after passengers fought back against the four al-Qaeda terrorists who hijacked it—took the opportunity to tell his story on the platform formerly known as Twitter. And boy, oh boy, is it a doozy.
Bill Ellmore, a Nashville-based former IBM executive, said that he has been sharing his 9/11 story on Facebook every year, but after deleting his account last November decided to take it to prime-time on Elon Musk's newly re-monikered X. As Ellmore recalled, he had been booked on a nonstop flight from Newark, NJ to San Francisco, CA, when a coworker called him at midnight the night before and urged him to fly into San Jose instead.
He explained that he was initially reluctant to change his flight since it would mean giving up a first class seat for a flight that left 20 minutes later from the same gate, with a stopover in Denver to boot. When he arrived at the terminal, however, he regretted making the change seeing people board the flight he had initially booked.
When he finally boarded his rebooked flight, Ellmore said that they were seven planes behind 93, and they were just three away from taking off when the first plane struck the Twin Towers. He initially thought it might have been a small Cessna until he saw the second plane hit the other tower.
"We were grounded just before taking off. I changed that day," Ellmore wrote. "I now take every opportunity to get watch and if possible, get to know the people I’m boarding a plane with. I never hesitate to give up my seat for a later flight if requested. I’ve had two children since 9/11 and went to multiple mission trips to war torn countries. Every day I wake up breathing is another gift from God."
In a follow-up post, he explained why his coworker urged him to take the later flight.
"The reason my coworker told me to change my flight was she took the same flight [the day before] and the commute from San Francisco to Mountain View would make me late for my meeting," he wrote. "Whereas traveling from San Jose to Mountain View would be faster in the morning."
The reason my coworker told me to change my flight was she took the same flight on 9/10 and the commute from San Francisco to Mountain View would make me late for my meeting whereas traveling from San Jose to Mountain View would be faster in the morning.
— Bill Ellmore ???? (@BillEllmore) September 11, 2023
On paper, that's a pretty heartwarming story that would indeed seem to motivate someone to reassess their life. Except, when another user jumped into his mentions to ask what happened to the coworker who, by all accounts, saved his life. An all-expenses-paid trip to Aruba? Or at the least a nice dinner out?
Not quite. "Sad to say, I ultimately had to fire her for poor performance," Ellmore responded. "It was difficult."
Sad to say, I ultimately had to fire her for poor performance. It was difficult
— Bill Ellmore ???? (@BillEllmore) September 11, 2023
Now, we don't know exactly what "poor performance" led to the poor woman's firing, and that is certainly none of our business. But having the hammer of capitalism brought down on something as unexpected as a 9/11 post really seemed to stir up a sense of ironic detachment that many people have come to associate with the date.
"I am never deleting this app," one user quipped, sharing screenshots, after another simply commented with the Saluting Face Emoji.
I am never deleting this app pic.twitter.com/dyXdE6nvsp
— Alex Cohen (@anothercohen) September 12, 2023
???? pic.twitter.com/XghN3ltTjs
— stuart (@LockedStu) September 12, 2023
Others likewise had jokes about his apparent lack of empathy towards the woman who inadvertently saved his life.
as I’ve said before Elaine i’m very grateful that you saved me from 9/11 but https://t.co/OPedadbBoS
— Beth McColl (@imbethmccoll) September 12, 2023
Before you rush to judge him, you should know: Her job was to kill him in 9/11. https://t.co/ehsiLE5oaG
— Sridhar Ramesh (@RadishHarmers) September 13, 2023
0% chance you are going to guess in advance what this is about https://t.co/eshLSsaUcs
— ????™ (@0xKruzr) September 12, 2023
Waterboarding couldn't have gotten this out of me https://t.co/nKM1oUDTJg
— ????Johnny Danger???? (@K_NoiseWaterMD) September 12, 2023
For what it's worth, Ellmore did provide yet another update about the coworker, claiming that while he does believe "she was used by God" to make him move his flight, that it was her performance issues that led to him having to take there flight in the first place.
"These issues didn’t improve afterwards and I delayed letting her go until my boss insisted it happen," he added. "From what I’ve been told by her, it was a wake up call that ultimately led to her excelling in her next job. I don’t regret the action."
It would be wild to hear her side of things, but in the end we just hope she's being protected at all costs.