I Can't See New York Lyrics

Lyric discussion by andromedadust 

Cover art for I Can't See New York lyrics by Tori Amos

It's undoubtably about 9/11, but there's a little confusion in my mind about specific meanings. One of the biggest unclarified questions I have is about the "13,000 and holding." At first I thought it might be about how many people died in the crash, but that was only around 3,000. I'm wondering if it might be the plane's elevation, but the "holding" antagonizes that interpretation. You can't be "circling down" and still "holding" at the same elevation.

I'm also wondering about the meaning behind "crystal meth in meters of millions." Anyone have any ideas?