Air Force One pilot who protected President Bush in the air during 9/11 attacks shares story in Sarasota

SARASOTA, Fla. - On September 11, 2001, Colonel Mark Tillman was the commander and pilot of Air Force One, working to protect now-former President George W. Bush. 

"I’m a typical military guy, I critique what I did and could I have done it better, I look at that situation," he told FOX 13 from Sarasota.

Tillman is now retired from the Air Force, but on that fateful September day, he was in Sarasota aboard Air Force One. 

Pictured: Colonel Mark Tillman in Air Force One.

"President Bush jokes around with me about how he had to lean forward, because I took off so steep and all that, but the intent was to go ahead and make sure we didn’t get shot down at the time we thought," he said. 

President Bush was visiting Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota when he was informed of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York. 

"When we got that call, it was incredibly caught with our plans down, they were attacking places and there was nothing we could do about it," he said. "We couldn’t get fighters into position quick enough and even if we could, if you think about it, we are going to kill Americans to stop a hijacked aircraft from hitting the ground."

After briefly addressing the nation from the school, the president was taken to Air Force One for a near vertical take-off, meant to avoid a potential threat at the end of the runway. 

Air Force One became the President Bush's safe haven. 

At the controls, Colonel Tillman navigated uncharted territory, which included false alarms and potential threats. He requested fighter support to keep the president safe. 

"Here’s the mind of a military person, we are highly trained to do things when something goes wrong with the president," said Tillman. "We’re trained to go ahead and move into a position to take care of the president."

One thought remained in his mind. 

"The first thing I thought about when the tower had been hit was this is something where people have lost their lives," he said. 

After safely delivering the president, Tillman’s mission continued. Days and months were filled with trips to support and uplift the nation, which included flying President Bush through a war zone in 2003 for Thanksgiving dinner with the troops in Iraq. 

Tillman recalled those moments at a talk for the Tidewell Foundation in Sarasota at the Van Wezel. Twenty-two years later, those memories remain strong. 

"After September 11th, everybody came together, and we knew what our mission was to protect the United States and make sure everybody understood that the President of the United States was there and taking care of business. That’s the legacy that was left and that’s exactly what all of us did," he said.