Leah Clawson Lassinger

Leah Clawson Lassinger of Meridian had flown all over the country and globe for competition as a member of the U.S. Archery Team by the time she was 20 years old in 2001.

When the first leg of the team's United Airlines flight to Beijing, China, for the world championship tournament landed in Chicago, Ill., on Sept. 11 that year, something seemed odd, she said.

The flight information display system screens in the airport were off, the stores in the airport were shuttered and there were long lines of people at the pay phones.

“It seemed very odd. It was just very odd,” Lassinger said.

She said she asked someone in the airport about the unusual goings on and was told that airplanes had been flown into buildings in New York while she was flying from Pittsburgh to Chicago.

“He said, 'Oh my gosh, did you just land?' I said, 'Yeah, I just landed.' He said, 'Oh my God, it's a catastrophe, New York. There are United airplanes flying into buildings,'” Lassinger said. “I couldn't wrap my head around it. We were in the air when the whole thing happened.”

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