The day that changed the world: Michelle Wright’s coverage of the 9/11 attacks
Wright anchored coverage from Somerset County, near the scene of the crash of United Flight 93
INCREDIBLE CAREER 30 PLUS YEARS HERE AT WTAE CHANNEL 4, AND YOU HAVE SEEN PITTSBURGH THROUGH SO MUCH, THE HIGHS AND THE LOWS AND AN UNFORGETTABLE DAY. SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2001. YES, PIVOTAL DAY FOR ME AND MY CAREER, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, A PIVOTAL DAY FOR OUR NATION, UNDOUBTEDLY. AND FOR A LOOK BACK AT HOW MICHELLE COVERED THAT DAY, A DAY AGAIN THAT WE WILL NEVER FORGET. HERE IS PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR ANCHOR MIKE CLARK. THEY SAY THE PLANE TOOK A NOSEDIVE STRAIGHT INTO A FIELD. IT WAS THE DAY THAT CHANGED THE WORLD FOREVER. SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2001. AND MICHELLE WRIGHT WAS A STEADY HAND FOR THE PEOPLE OF PITTSBURGH, REPORTING ON THE CRASH OF FLIGHT 93 IN SOMERSET COUNTY ON IMPACT. PEOPLE AS FAR AWAY AS THREE AND FOUR MILES TOLD ME HERE TONIGHT THAT THEY SAW THE SMOKE, MICHELLE LEADING THE WAY WITH EVERY MAJOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE INVESTIGATION. THE FIRST REPORTS STARTED COMING IN. WE COULD NOT SAY FOR SURE IF THIS WAS PART OF A TERRORIST ACT. THEN CAME NEWS OF A 911 CALL THAT A PASSENGER MADE A MAN, A PASSENGER LOCKED IN THE BATHROOM, DIALED 911 AND SCREAMED, WE ARE BEING HIJACKED! WE’RE BEING HIJACKED, AND THIS IS NOT A HOAX. HE KEPT REITERATING THE FACT IT IS NOT A HOAX. IT’S A STORY THAT HAS STAYED WITH MICHELLE FOR DECADES, AS SEEN HERE IN HER TESTIMONIAL DURING 2016. CHRONICLE 15 YEARS AFTER FLIGHT 93, WHEN SHE RECALLED THAT FROM THE VERY START, SHE KNEW IT WAS A DAY SHE WOULD NEVER FORGET. I WAS EMOTIONAL ANYWAY WHEN I WOKE UP BECAUSE IT WAS MY SON’S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL AND I GOT UP AND GOT HIM READY, AND I WAS VERY UPSET TO SAY GOODBYE, AND HE STOOD IN FRONT OF HIS PRESCHOOL AND GOT A PHOTO SNAPPED. AND BY THE END OF THOSE 24 HOURS, SHE HAD SEEN STORIES OF HEARTBREAK, SADNESS AND HEROISM. A LOT OF US THINK ABOUT WHAT MR. ROGERS WOULD ALWAYS SAY WHEN THERE’S A TRAGIC EVENT. LOOK FOR THE PEOPLE DOING GOOD. LOOK FOR THE HEROES BECAUSE THERE’S ALWAYS SOMEBODY DOING THAT. MICHELLE TELLING THE STORIES OF PERSEVERANCE, RESILIENCY AND KINDNESS. MIKE CLARK, PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR. AND THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE DOING SUCH GREAT WORK, THEIR NEIGHBORS WOULD COME TO CHECK ON US AND MAKE SURE WE HAD FOOD, AND IT WAS JUST AN INCREDIBLE MOMENT. YOU KNOW, THOSE HEROES OF FLIGHT 93 TAKING ACTION IS JUST SOMETHING THAT OUR NATION WILL NEVER FORGET. I HAVE CHILLS EVERY TIME WE WATCH THESE STORIES BACK. I GET CHILLS AND I KNOW WE ARE ALL GOING TO BE WATERWORKS TOMORROW WHEN WE SAY GOODBYE TO YOU. YOU’VE COVERED A LOT OF BIG, BIG STORIES, NOT JUST IN PITTSBURGH, BUT AROUND THE NATION. JUST AMAZING TO SEE THAT FOOTAGE. YEAH, IT’S IMPORTANT TO GET NEWS OUT THERE EVEN WHEN IT’S BAD NEWS, BECAUSE THAT’S WHEN PEOPLE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. AND YOU WERE ON THE GROUND FOR, WHAT, ABOUT A WEEK? WE STAYED THERE FOR A LONG TIME. YEAH. AND THEN AS WE TALKED ABOUT YESTERDAY OR EARLIER THIS WEEK, THE Q CREEK MINE DISASTER TAKING PLACE LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER THAT. YEAH. RIGHT AWAY. THAT SAME COMMUNITY AGAIN IN THE SPOTLIGHT THE VERY NEXT YEAR. BOTH OF THOSE STORIES WERE SIGNIFICANT TO M
The day that changed the world: Michelle Wright’s coverage of the 9/11 attacks
Wright anchored coverage from Somerset County, near the scene of the crash of United Flight 93
Updated: 6:50 AM EST Feb 26, 2026
It was the day that changed the world forever. September 11, 2001.After the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the crash of United 93 in Somerset County, Michelle Wright helped guide Pittsburgh through the aftermath.Wright anchored coverage from near the scene of the crash of Flight 93, bringing viewers every development in the investigation.Twenty years later, she returned to the story, co-hosting “Chronicle: Remembering 9/11” alongside Mike Clark.
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. —
It was the day that changed the world forever. September 11, 2001.
After the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the crash of United 93 in Somerset County, Michelle Wright helped guide Pittsburgh through the aftermath.
Wright anchored coverage from near the scene of the crash of Flight 93, bringing viewers every development in the investigation.
Twenty years later, she returned to the story, co-hosting “Chronicle: Remembering 9/11” alongside Mike Clark.