David Kravette, a Cantor Fitzgerald bond trader, has recounted the series of events that led to his survival on September 11, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Kravette was on his way to the lobby to vouch for a client's IT team member who had forgotten identification when the first plane hit the building.
Kravette had arrived at his office on the 105th floor of the North Tower around 7 a.m. that morning. He rarely left his office during the trading day, but an 8 a.m. meeting with a client's IT team, one member of whom arrived without identification, necessitated a trip to the lobby. Kravette volunteered to go downstairs instead of sending his assistant, who was two weeks away from maternity leave.
As Kravette reached the lobby and had taken only a few steps, Flight 11 impacted the skyscraper at 8:46 a.m. He described intense heat and burning jet fuel in the lobby, which incinerated people nearby. Kravette believed he was about to die, but the flames stopped just short of him. He stated that if he had been upstairs or if the visitors had come to his floor, all of them would have perished.
Cantor Fitzgerald occupied floors 101 through 105 of the North Tower, directly above the impact zone between floors 93 and 99. The financial services firm lost 658 of its 960 New York employees, along with 50 contractors and visitors, making it the employer with the largest death toll in the attacks. Kravette’s survival was due to the visitors’ initial confusion about which tower to go to, the subsequent wait, and finally, the identification issue.
Kravette managed to escape the North Tower through an overpass to a neighboring financial center. Initially, he, like many others, assumed the plane's impact was a catastrophic accident. However, when the second plane struck the South Tower, it became clear the events were coordinated attacks.
In the days following the attacks, Kravette and his colleagues struggled to comprehend the loss, with many clinging to the hope that missing workers were injured in hospitals. He returned to work to help rebuild operations, with half of each day spent working and the other half attending funerals, sometimes split between Kravette and his wife due to overlapping services. He estimated attending 40 to 50 funerals.
Kravette found work therapeutic as he and his colleagues attempted to reconstruct trading positions and support the families of those lost. The experience shifted his perspective, leading him to focus more on enjoying life and appreciating his family. Cantor Fitzgerald ultimately survived and expanded, establishing an annual Charity Day where all revenue is donated to charitable causes in memory of the victims.
Nearly 25 years later, Kravette continues to participate in the annual Charity Day and believes his survival carries a message of vigilance for the nation. He spoke out for the 25th anniversary to ensure younger generations understand the history of 9/11, emphasizing the ongoing need for national vigilance against threats.
