How five men on the 88th floor saved dozens during the Twin Towers attacks

Cultures · Published 11 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: When American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 AM, Frank De Martini and his colleagues were already on-site. Instead of fleeing, they spent their final moments navigating smoke and debris to rescue dozens of trapped occupants before the building collapsed.

Frank De Martini was an American architect working for the Port Authority of New York, the agency responsible for managing the World Trade Center. Hired in 1993 to assess damage from the previous World Trade Center bombing, he eventually served as a construction manager, overseeing indoor layout changes for building occupants. During the morning of 11 September 2001, De Martini, his spouse Nicole, and various coworkers—specifically Carlos da Costa, Mak Hanna, Peter Negron, and Pablo Ortiz—occupied the North Tower's 88th floor.

When the plane struck the building at 8:46 AM, the elevators stopped, trapping many people inside. De Martini and his team began a desperate rescue mission, moving between floors to free those caught in elevators and stairwells. They successfully assisted a wide range of survivors, including elevator worker Daria Coard, various Port Authority staff, and employees from companies like MetLife and Cosmos. Their efforts were not limited to the 88th floor; they ascended to the 89th, 90th, and 91st floors, even freeing 18 people from the 91st floor, including Scottish painter Vanessa Lawrence.

The rescue mission was fraught with extreme danger. While many survived, some did not, such as Judith Reese, who was unable to escape despite help from coworkers. De Martini's crew faced increasing difficulty as they moved through the building. Ultimately, De Martini, Ortiz, Negron, and da Costa were killed when the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 AM. Only Mak Hanna survived the collapse, as he was assisting an elderly man downstairs at the time. It is estimated that 77 people survived the attacks because of the rescue efforts of the men involved.

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