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Ben Sliney




Ben Sliney was the FAA Director of Operations on Sept. 11, 2001 , which was his first day on the job. After evaluating the situation and after two planes had crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center , he ordered the full landing of the roughly 4,200 airplanes in the air at the time, an unprecedented judgment call which the 9/11 Commission later denoted as an important and decisive act in the chaos of that morning.

Sliney was initially involved in the 2006 movie " United 93 " in an advisory role before being cast in a small role as an air traffic controller. Later, the film's writer and director, Paul Greengrass , offered him the opportunity to play himself.

Ben had worked as an air traffic controller a few years before in his life, but had stopped for a while, to become a lawyer.