A NORTH-EAST born naval architect has spoken of his escape from the 91st storey of the World Trade Centre.

George Sleight, 63, was at his desk in the North tower when he heard the American Airlines Boeing 767 heading towards the building.

The plane ploughed into the building just a few floors above where Mr Sleight was working. There was a huge explosion after the impact and the office ceiling began to cave in.

He said: "I glanced out of my window and saw an enormous jet looming, it was incredible. It was less than two plane lengths away from me and I saw it for a split second.

"It was huge and seemed to be screaming straight at me.

"I couldn't see anyone inside the plane as it was very slightly above me and crashed into the floors above.

"There must have been few survivors in the floors directly above me. Of the people who survived I guess I was one of the people furthest up the tower."

Gateshead-born Mr Sleight emigrated to Canada in 1962 and moved to America four years later. For the past 15 years the father-of-three has worked in the World Trade Centre for the American Bureau of Shipping.

He survived the 1993 bombing in which six people were killed and 1,000 were injured.

As debris rained down on Mr Sleight, he ran for the emergency exit.

The stairwells became increasingly congested as hundreds of office workers fled, some of whom were badly burned.

After half an hour he reached the 25th floor where he saw the first firefighters going up the stairs to tackle the flames.

He said: "Their faces were grim as though they knew what they would be encountering when they got there.

"When I saw afterwards how the towers fell I knew those men wouldn't have made it. It was heart-breaking."

As Mr Sleight reached the ground floor an explosion ripped through the concourse of the North tower, showering him with debris.

He managed to get outside the building where he realised he had shrapnel wounds to his legs.

Within minutes of being strapped into a stretcher, the tower collapsed, burying thousands of people under tonnes of rubble.

He was taken to hospital where his wounds were stitched and he was allowed home within a couple of hours.

He is now recovering at home in New Jersey with his wife Elaine.

He said: "I am just thankful that I'm alive. I look at the pictures and say 'How did we get out there?'