Stanley Praimnath
Encyclopedia
Stanley Praimnath is a survivor of the attack on the World Trade Center
on September 11th, 2001
. Praimnath worked as an executive for Fuji Bank
on the 81st floor of the South Tower, the second to be attacked. He was one of four survivors from the South Tower above the impact point of the plane crash.
, Praimnath started to evacuate from his 81st floor office in the South Tower, but returned when the building's security guards told everyone that it was not safe to do so. He did not realize, at that point, that a plane had struck the North Tower. Soon after reentering his office, he saw a United Airlines jet
heading directly towards him. Right before impact, he dove under his desk and exclaimed "Lord, I can't do this! You take over!" The left wing sliced through his office and became lodged in a door twenty feet from him.
Praimnath was bruised and covered in debris, but when he heard Brian Clark and a group of people discussing whether to descend through the impact zone using the stairwell, which they had been told was impassable, or climb to the roof, he attracted Brian's attention. By the time Brian got Praimnath free, Brian's group was gone. The two men decided to descend the stairwell and found that, although the walls were demolished, the concrete stairs themselves were intact. They were two of only four survivors from above the impact zone.
(a.k.a. Inside the Twin Towers). His story was also chronicled on the 2006 documentary United by 9/11. The dramatization shows Praimnath as having an office near the center, but he in reality had a south west corner office.
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
on September 11th, 2001
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. Praimnath worked as an executive for Fuji Bank
Fuji Bank
The was one of Japan's major banks during the post-World War II era. It combined with Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and the Industrial Bank of Japan in 2000 to form Mizuho Financial Group, and changed its name to Mizuho Corporate Bank in 2002 after transferring its retail banking operations to Mizuho...
on the 81st floor of the South Tower, the second to be attacked. He was one of four survivors from the South Tower above the impact point of the plane crash.
Events
When the North Tower was struck by Flight 11American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California...
, Praimnath started to evacuate from his 81st floor office in the South Tower, but returned when the building's security guards told everyone that it was not safe to do so. He did not realize, at that point, that a plane had struck the North Tower. Soon after reentering his office, he saw a United Airlines jet
United Airlines Flight 175
United Airlines Flight 175 was United Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight, from Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California...
heading directly towards him. Right before impact, he dove under his desk and exclaimed "Lord, I can't do this! You take over!" The left wing sliced through his office and became lodged in a door twenty feet from him.
Praimnath was bruised and covered in debris, but when he heard Brian Clark and a group of people discussing whether to descend through the impact zone using the stairwell, which they had been told was impassable, or climb to the roof, he attracted Brian's attention. By the time Brian got Praimnath free, Brian's group was gone. The two men decided to descend the stairwell and found that, although the walls were demolished, the concrete stairs themselves were intact. They were two of only four survivors from above the impact zone.
Dramatization
Praimnath and other stories were told on the BBC docudrama 9/11: The Twin Towers9/11: The Twin Towers
9/11: The Twin Towers is a television special documentary film which uses re-enactments and computer-generated imagery to re-create a minute-by-minute account of what happened inside the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City during the September 11 attacks...
(a.k.a. Inside the Twin Towers). His story was also chronicled on the 2006 documentary United by 9/11. The dramatization shows Praimnath as having an office near the center, but he in reality had a south west corner office.
See also
- 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers is an American non-fiction book that was published in 2005 and was written by New York Times journalists Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn...
- 9/11: The Twin Towers9/11: The Twin Towers9/11: The Twin Towers is a television special documentary film which uses re-enactments and computer-generated imagery to re-create a minute-by-minute account of what happened inside the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City during the September 11 attacks...