Father Comforted by Son's Final Call on 9/11

March 31, 2006 — -- Joe Hanley felt compelled to listen to the last phone call his son, Christopher, made before he died -- a call placed to 911 minutes after a plane crashed into One World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

"I thought I owed it to him," Joe Hanley said. "You gotta say, 'Hey, let me hear your last words."

While some of the victims' families have listened to the calls, others say it's just too painful. Today, New York City released 911 calls made from inside the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 to the public. The victims' voices will not be heard, just the 911 operators.

Like many of those who placed 911 calls on Sept. 11, Christopher Hanley was steady and collected on the recording. There were no signs of panic or foreshadows of the impending disaster.

"We have smoke, and it's pretty bad," he said to the operator on the tape. "I can see the smoke coming up from outside the windows down."

Brian Clark lived to tell about calling 911 from inside the towers that day. He says he can understand why Christopher Hanley sounds so calm.

"I certain had no idea when the first plane hit that that's what it was," he said.

Christopher Hanley's call lasted 2 minutes, 27 seconds. But for his father, the last two words made a great impact:

911 Operator: All right, just keep the windows open. It's going to be awhile because there's a fire going on downstairs.

Christopher Hanley: We can't get the windows open unless we break them.

Operator: OK. Just sit tight. We're on the way.

Christopher Hanley: All right. Please hurry.

The phone call ends.

"Hurry please," Joe Hanley said, with a smile as he repeated his son's last recorded words. "It's nice that he said please."