Retired Col. Mark Tillman launched Air Force One nearly straight up from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) on Sept. 11, 2001. He aimed the modified 747 directly at a figure who appeared to hold a long gun at the runway's end.

Tillman shared that account Wednesday, Sept. 9, at a 9/11 Tribute Breakfast in Concourse A at SRQ, standing a few hundred yards from where the aircraft was parked 25 years earlier. Sarasota Police Deputy Chief Scott Mayforth and former Booker Elementary teacher Kay Daniels also spoke at the event, the Sarasota Observer reported.

Tillman, the 12th presidential pilot of Air Force One, told a media group Tuesday, Sept. 8, that his single goal was getting the president airborne. Once in the air, he said, fighter support and open sky made the aircraft far harder to reach.

"I didn't think it was an accident; I knew this was an actual planned attack," Tillman told SNN.

Crew Believed It Was an Accident at First

Tillman had arrived at the plane two hours before departure for his usual walk-around and interior inspection. The next stop was supposed to be Washington. After the first World Trade Center tower was struck, the crew believed it was an aviation accident. When the second tower was hit, the evacuation plan kicked in.

He said he spotted the figure near the runway and chose to take off at full power directly over the person rather than taxi slowly past. Snipers reportedly had the individual in their sights. To this day, little is known about who the person was or whether a real threat existed.

Bush Held On as Air Force One Climbed Steeply

The steep climb sent President George W. Bush forward onto his desk. Bush sits facing backward aboard Air Force One, and he held on as the aircraft climbed, according to Tillman's account. Military fighters joined the 747 over the Gulf of Mexico.

Bush initially insisted on returning to Washington but was convinced the airspace was not secure. The flight diverted to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, where Bush addressed the nation. He returned to the White House that evening, ending a roughly 10-hour journey that began on the SRQ tarmac.

Teacher Recalls Explaining the Attacks to Students

Daniels, whose second-grade classroom at Emma E. Booker Elementary School hosted Bush's reading visit that morning, said she received a surprise phone call from the former president on Tuesday, Sept. 8. She said Bush told her she had been with him "shoulder to shoulder."

After Bush left her classroom on Sept. 11, 2001, Daniels had to explain his sudden departure to her students. She told SNN it was the first time in her career she had to teach the word "terrorist" to children.

Police Officer Recalls Working Bush's Detail

The Sarasota Police Department confirmed that Mayforth was working the presidential protection detail on Sept. 11, 2001. He spoke at the breakfast about the local officers' actions that day, though his specific remarks were not publicly reported.

The breakfast drew invited guests to the same SRQ concourse where Air Force One sat on Sept. 11, 2001, before Tillman launched it over the Gulf of Mexico.