Leslie Robertson, the lead structural engineer of the World Trade Center's infamous Twin Towers, was haunted by their collapse and the pain that followed 9/11.
Leslie Robertson, 90, the man who oversaw the construction of the Twin Towers that collapsed during the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, has stepped back into the public spotlight 17 years after devastating terrorist attacks plunged the whole nation into grief.
Beyond Anticipation
Ahead of the premiere of Leaning Out, a documentary about his engineering career, scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, Robertson told the New York Post that the Twin Towers “were designed [to withstand a] 707,” the largest jet airliner that existed in the 1970s, when the World Trade Center project debuted.
Unfortunately, a force majeure that then 34-year-old Leslie failed to foresee was two Boeing 767 jets fully loaded with fuel that caused a massive fire to the towers, weakening their structure.
Facing the Pain
A fellow architect says in the film that Robertson “had to defend himself” from attacks and criticism from other engineers, architects, and clients. But probably the most traumatic experience was meeting people who lost their close ones in the attack.
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“I got 1,000 letters from people, writing in support of my work,” Robertson said. “But I also had people come to my office who had lost someone there. They wanted…
