Aaron Brown, a veteran television news anchor whose steady hand helped guide CNN viewers through the unfolding tragedy of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has died.
Brown died Sunday of pneumonia in Washington, D.C., where he lived, family spokesperson Molly Levinson said. He was 76.
Brown began his career in Minneapolis as a radio talk show host. His career in TV began in Seattle before he was named the founding anchor of ABC's “World News Now.” He also anchored “ABC's World News Tonight Saturday,” and was a reporter for “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,” “Nightline," and other ABC news programs.
But it was at CNN where he made a lasting mark — even before he was supposed to be on the air.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Brown started his career at the network earlier than expected, anchoring from a Manhattan rooftop as the attacks were happening. When the second tower fell that morning, Brown responded with the horror most viewers no doubt felt.
“Good lord,” he said. “There are no words.”
His coverage of the attacks earned Brown the Edward R. Murrow Award. He also won three Emmy awards during his career, along with other honors.
Brown’s quirky, cerebral 10 p.m. CNN newscast “NewsNight” had a following with fans who enjoyed his commentaries and “The Whip,” a quick review of top international stories, but he lost ratings ground to Greta Van Susteren of Fox News.
Brown left CNN during a shakeup in November 2005, when his time slot went to rising star Anderson Cooper.
Looking back at this time at CNN, Brown said he was confronted by the challenge of doing serious journalism while also being in a “very ratings-driven environment.”
“I don’t want to get into the business of indicting cable TV, but some of what went on was just television, not journalism,” he told The Associated Press in 2008.
“I didn’t practice the ‘high church’ of journalism all the time, but I think there was some sense that I was uncomfortable in that other, tabloidy world, and I think viewers knew that and I couldn’t pull it off," Brown said in that 2008 interview.
After leaving CNN, Brown taught for years at Arizona State University as its first Walter Cronkite professor of journalism. In 2008, he came back to TV on PBS’ "Wide Angle," a weekly public affairs show.
“Aaron got to do the work that he loved - and he felt lucky to do that work as part of a community of people who were dedicated to good journalism and who became good friends,” Brown’s wife, Charlotte Raynor, said in a statement.
She noted that Brown worked varying shifts over his career, but “he always found a way to make both ordinary and special times with our daughter Gabby and me."
Brown is survived by his wife, Charlotte Raynor, a daughter, two grandchildren, a sister and a brother.
Salter reported from O'Fallon, Missouri. Rico reported from Atlanta.
FILE- CNN news anchor Aaron Brown poses in the network's New York studios in this Oct. 18, 2001 file photo. (AP Photo/Gino Domenico, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The pilot of a small plane attempted to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff before crashing through the roof of a building in Southern California, according to air traffic control audio that includes panicked gasping and a woman’s voice saying, “Oh my God,” moments before the crash.
The crash Thursday left two people dead and 19 injured. Authorities haven't yet identified the dead or confirmed whether they were on the plane.
The plane had just taken off from the Fullerton Municipal Airport when the pilot told the air traffic control tower, “Immediate landing required.”
The pilot initially told the air traffic controller that he planned to land on Runway 6. The air traffic controller then told another aircraft to turn away from that area and told the pilot he could land on either Runway 6 or 24. The pilot responded that he was going to land on Runway 24 instead. Moments later, panicked gasping and an “Oh my God” could be heard just before the audio went quiet.
Federal investigators said the aircraft asked for a return to the airport at about 900 feet (274 meters). It crashed about 1,000 feet (305 meters) short of Runway 24, through a sprawling furniture manufacturing building owned by Michael Nicholas Designs.
According to a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report, the aircraft crashed under “unknown circumstances.” The plane is registered to a resident of Huntington Beach.
Eleven people were taken to hospitals, while eight were treated and released at the scene, police said. The injuries ranged from minor to very serious, said Michael Meacham, Fullerton deputy chief of fire operations. The two people who died were believed to have been on the plane and have not been identified.
Security camera footage from Rucci Forged, a wheel manufacturer across the street, shows the plane was tilted on its side as it dove into the building, causing a fiery explosion and a black plume of smoke.
Chris Villalobos, an airport operations worker, said the airplane’s owner was a regular at the airport with his own hangar and had frequently taken off from there.
The FAA identified the plane as a single-engine, four-seat Van’s RV-10, a popular home-built airplane sold in kit form. Investigators said the aircraft was built in 2011.
The airport in Fullerton has one runway and a heliport. Metrolink, a regional train line, is nearby and flanks a residential neighborhood and commercial warehouse buildings.
The Fullerton City Council posted a statement on social media calling the crash a “solemn tragedy.”
“The City of Fullerton is committed to providing support for all those affected and working with the agencies involved to uncover the details of this incident,” Mayor Fred Jung said in the statement. “We are grateful for the strength of our community and the compassion we show one another in times of crisis.”
Another four-seat plane crashed into a tree a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) from the airport in November while making an emergency landing shortly after takeoff, The Orange County Register reported. Both people on board suffered moderate injuries.
Fullerton is a city of about 140,000 people about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles.
People stand outside of a building where a plane crash occurred Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Workers stand near police lines at the scene of a small plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
A firefighter enters a building where a plane crash occurred Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Firefighter stage outside a building where a plane crash occurred Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Firefighter walk down a ladder outside a building where a plane crash occurred Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Firefighters load a person onto an ambulance after a small plane crashed into a commercial building on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Firefighters stage outside a building where a plane crash occurred, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Firefighters respond to a commercial building where a small plane crashed on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A woman is carried on a stretcher near the site of a plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
