SRQ airport employees recall President Bush's visit as 9/11 unfolded: 'It changed everybody'

SARASOTA, Fla. - Employees at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport are reflecting on the day George W. Bush returned to Air Force One following the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. 

Sarasota airport 9/11 response

What we know:

Secret Service agents rushed ground workers off the Sarasota tarmac on Sept. 11, 2001, as President George W. Bush returned to Air Force One following the terror attacks. 

The sudden shift turned an anticipated presidential visit into a nerve-wracking ordeal for local airport staff.

Presidential visit

The backstory:

For Mark Stuckey, Kimberly Steele and Shay Kumm, September 11th 2001 started out full of promise. 

"It was an incredible day. I was scheduled to be off that day, but they brought me in for the Air Force One landing," recalled Kumm. 

Mark Stuckey is the Executive Vice President of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. In 2001, he spent weeks planning President Bush's visit. 

"It was great and very exciting for me, but we didn’t really expect what was going to happen," he said.

After touchdown, the motorcade headed to Emma E. Booker Elementary School. Back at the tarmac, Kimberly posed for photos outside of Air Force One. While Stuckey got the rare chance to board the plane. 

"It was very interesting. We got a tour of the airplane. We got to see the office, the bedroom," Stuckey recalled.

Attacks change plans

Dig deeper:

Within minutes, that excitement gave way to concern and chaos. 

"While I was on board was when the first aircraft hit, and the Air Force people on board put us into lockdown," said Stuckey. 

Kimberly Steele is the Information Technology Systems Administrator. 

"Someone from the Secret Service came over and said, 'Get them out of here now.' Things happened very quickly after that. We were rushed off the airfield," she said. 

As she watched the horror unfold on TV, Stuckey was trapped on Air Force One, wondering if they were in the crosshairs. 

"It was very nerve-wracking. We didn’t know if the Air Force One aircraft was going to be a target as we sat there. We didn’t know who was attacking us or what country was attacking us," said Steele. 

Air Force One emergency takeoff

What they're saying:

Moments later, the President was rushed back to the airport. 

"I was with another agent, they had me assigned to escort the motorcade in from the west gate," said Kumm. 

With the commander in chief secured on board, the pilot executed an evasive, near vertical take-off. 

"They were in quite a hurry. They took off with the wind," said Stuckey. 

Kumm remembers the force of the take-off. 

"It was clear from the ground that he was giving full power to the engines... it made a mess," he said. 

Once the plane was in the sky, relief mixed with grief. 

"That was a relief that he was safe. A relief and overwhelming sadness hit us," said Steele. 

Sarasota tarmac reflection

Local perspective:

Twenty-five years later, much has changed at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. Including a new concourse feet from where Air Force One sat.

For the crew who lived it, the gravity of that day remains frozen in time.

"Every year when September 11throlls around, you can’t help but to think about where you were, what was happening and what everybody was going through. It’s changed everybody that lived through that time period," said Stuckey. 

SarasotaSeptember 11