Man Captured in Iconic 9/11 Photo Still Carries Briefcase
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Man Captured in Iconic 9/11 Photo Still Carries Briefcase
- Ed Fine, 83, was photographed carrying a black leather briefcase after escaping the World Trade Center on 9/11, an image that became a symbol of New York's resilience.
- Fine was on the 79th floor of the North Tower when it was struck, and he credits missing an elevator by seconds with saving his life.
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Ed Fine, now 83, continues to use the black leather briefcase he was famously photographed carrying in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The image, showing Fine covered in dust yet still clutching his briefcase, quickly became a powerful symbol of New York’s defiance and resilience in the face of unimaginable horror.
Fine was working on the 79th floor of the North Tower on September 11, 2001, when a Boeing 767 struck the building between the 93rd and 99th floors. He recounts a “bizarre coincidence” that led him to be in the tower that day, having taken an appointment originally set for his son. Fine believes missing an elevator to the 87th floor by mere seconds ultimately saved his life.
He had no idea the photograph had been taken until a friend contacted him after seeing it on the front cover of *Fortune* magazine. Fine, who lives in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, has kept both the briefcase and the suit he wore that day, seeing them as a message that “they won’t win.” His wife, Ingrid, 84, recalled not hearing from him for hours and not knowing if he was alive or dead. Fine rarely grants interviews but has spoken about his experience, emphasizing his good fortune to have survived when so many others did not.