We Will Never Forget

LGA Domicile Chairman CA Mike Burr and LGA Domicile Vice Chairman CA R Scott Heckenberger led a contingent of APA pilots to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum this morning, including CA Bill Fallon, FO Scott Torrence, FO Beau Culpepper, and FO Peter Zepp.

By some measures, 16 years is a long time. A child born 16 years ago is now halfway through high school and eligible to get their driver’s license.

But for those of us who remember Sept. 11, 2001, 16 years doesn’t seem very long at all. Our memories of that day remain vivid. They always will.

Some of us lost close friends in the attacks. And even if you didn’t personally know anyone who died, we all felt and continue to feel a deep sense of loss.

Sept. 11 will never be just another date on the calendar. Instead, it will always serve to remind us of the worst, and the best, of human nature.

The murder of nearly 3,000 men, women and children represents pure evil. Yet on that same day, we also witnessed absolute bravery, selflessness, and dignity in the face of certain death.

Four American Airlines pilots were killed in the attacks: Captain John Ogonowski and First Officer Tom McGuinness on American Airlines Flight 11, and Captain Charles Burlingame and First Officer David Charlebois on American Airlines Flight 77.

Thirteen American Airlines flight attendants were also killed. Our colleagues at United Airlines suffered similar losses with the destruction of Flight 93 and Flight 175.

Like all of the innocent people who were killed that day, they were simply going about their business with no inkling of what would happen. We will never forget them.

We will never forget the ultimate sacrifice made by hundreds of first responders in the immediate aftermath. What they did in their efforts to help others is absolutely astonishing.

We will never forget the courage of our pilots and flight attendants when air service restarted, at a time when there was very little reliable information about aviation security. They saved our airline, our industry, and a way of life.

And we will never forget the willingness of the men and women who serve in our nation’s armed forces who continue risking everything to fight terrorism and defend our freedom.

God bless them all, and God bless America.

Vice President FO Tim Hamel represented APA this morning at the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial in Grapevine, Texas. Click here to watch his remarks.

American Airlines Flight 11

Pilots: Captain John Ogonowski and First Officer Thomas McGuinness

Flight Attendants: Barbara Arestegui, Jeffrey Collman, Sara Low, Karen Martin, Kathleen Nicosia, Betty Ong, Jean Roger, Dianne Snyder, and Madeline Sweeney

Non-Rev Passengers: Laurie Neira and Renee Newell

American Airlines Flight 77

Pilots: Captain Charles Burlingame and First Officer David Charlebois

Flight Attendants: Michele Heidenberger, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth Lewis, and Renee May

Non-Rev Passengers: M.J. Booth, ret. Captain Wilson “Bud” Flagg, Dee Flagg, and Eddie Dillard

United Airlines Flight 93

Pilots: Captain Jason Dahl and First Officer LeRoy Homer

Flight Attendants: Lorraine Bay, Sandra Bradshaw, Wanda Green, CeeCee Lyles, and Deborah Welsh

United Airlines Flight 175

Pilots: Captain Victor Saracini and First Officer Michael Horrocks

Flight Attendants: Robert Fangman, Amy Jarret, Amy King, Kathryn LaBorie, Alfred Marchand, Michael Tarrou, and Alicia Titus

Non-Rev Passengers: Marianne MacFarlane and Jesus Sanchez