# He Escaped From the 78th Floor on 9/11

From **Meaningful People** by Meaningful Minute.

- **Published:** Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:34:00 +0000
- **Duration:** 01:05:19
- **Audio:** https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/meaningfulpeoplepodcast/9.11.mp3?dest-id=1900811
- **Page:** <![CDATA[https://meaningfulpeoplepodcast.libsyn.com/he-escaped-from-the-78th-floor-on-911]]>
- **TorahApp:** https://torahapp.org/share/p/3P_meaningful-people/e/%3C!%5BCDATA%5B43defaec-562a-4846-b889-bf5496ff270e%5D%5D%3E

<![CDATA[<p>As we mark 25 years since September 11, we're revisiting Ari Schonbrun's extraordinary story of survival. Ari worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 101st floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower. A series of seemingly ordinary delays left him running late that morning, placing him on the 78th floor when the first plane struck. Thrown to the ground by the impact and surrounded by smoke, fire, and chaos, Ari began searching for a way out.</p> <p>That search brought him to Virginia, a severely burned coworker who begged him not to leave her. Ari made her a promise and helped her down dozens of flights of stairs, refusing to abandon her even as they fought to escape with their lives. In this deeply moving conversation, Ari recounts the decisions, strangers, and extraordinary moments of Divine Providence that led them out of the tower, and how surviving September 11 forever changed his faith, his priorities, and the way he understands why he was spared.</p> <p> </p> <p>Timestamps:</p> <p>0:00 Intro</p> <p>1:04 Not Taught in School</p> <p>4:50 A Beautiful Tuesday Morning</p> <p>11:25 First Plane Hits</p> <p>14:08 A Woman Screaming for Help</p> <p>17:03 Finding a Way Out</p> <p>19:04 A Phone Call in the Stairwell</p> <p>21:36 Is There a Paramedic in the Building?</p> <p>25:32 Finds Out it's a Terrorist Attack</p> <p>29:20 Breaking Down in His Brother's Arms</p> <p>32:38 Go Hug the People You Love</p> <p>34:40 Twenty People, A Hundred Messages</p> <p>35:45 Daddy's Got to Work</p> <p>38:00 One Mitzvah at a Time</p> <p>43:33 Only Four Survived</p> <p>47:20 The Smoky Taste the Next Morning</p> <p>50:44 Find Your Mission</p> <p>57:33 Can You Come In at 11?</p> <p>59:30 Cantor Fitzgerald's Promise</p> <p>1:01:19 Whispers and Bricks</p>]]>