Inside the FAA command center: This Utahn helped ground every aircraft in America on 9/11

KEY POINTS

Former FAA executive Chris Metts helped lead the unprecedented decision to ground all aircraft on 9/11.

Metts and his team developed new air travel protocols that would go on to reshape the aviation industry.

The FAA never sought recognition for its 9/11 work but focused on restoring public trust in air travel.

On Sept. 11, 2001, the managers of America’s airspace faced an unprecedented challenge: ground every plane in the sky, immediately.

At the heart of that response was Chris Metts, then a senior Federal Aviation Administration official responsible for the National Airspace System. He was headed for a medical school but pivoted to aviation studies after discovering a passion for the industry as an air traffic controller — a gig originally intended to occupy his summers