American Airlines Flight 11 in 9/11 attacks
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
American Airlines Flight 11, bound from Boston to Los Angeles with 92 people aboard.
Twenty-five years on, families are still burying remains and marking the day that reshaped U.S. aviation and security.
Background
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, 19 men hijacked four commercial planes bound for California from Boston, Newark and Washington, D.C. Two of them — American Airlines Flight 11 and United Flight 175 — departed Boston for Los Angeles, each carrying five hijackers. Flight 11 was the first to hit its target, crashing into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The 25th anniversary in 2026 has renewed attention on the flight, its crew and passengers, and the long process of identifying victims' remains.
How it unfolded
- Sep 10, 2001Tom McGuinness, co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, celebrated his 42nd birthday the night before the flight.
- Sep 11, 2001Flight 11 took off from Boston Logan International Airport bound for Los Angeles, carrying 76 passengers, 11 crew members, five hijackers and roughly 10,000 gallons of jet fuel.
- Sep 11, 2001 , shortly after 8:14 a.m.Air traffic controllers lost radio contact with Flight 11.
- Sep 11, 2001 , 8:19 a.m.Flight attendant Betty Ong called American Airlines personnel to report an attack aboard the flight, saying someone had been stabbed in business class and the cockpit was not answering; she stayed on the line for 23 minutes.
- Sep 11, 2001 , 8:46 a.m.Flight 11 slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center between floors 93 and 99, erupting in a fireball; the wreckage cut off all three emergency stairwells from the 92nd floor up, trapping hundreds.
- 2025A team of forensic researchers identified the remains of passenger Barbara Keating.
- Sep 10, 2026Barbara Keating's family planned to gather privately in Framingham, Mass., to lay her to rest.
- Sep 11, 2026Communities across the U.S. commemorated the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- FAA's Rocheleau said that initially that morning what happened 'didn't come up' as something intentional — 'It felt accidental.'
- Official
- FAA New York Center's McCormick relayed: 'We are under attack. Be prepared for anything.'
- Family
- Harry Ong, brother of flight attendant Betty Ong, said that as each September 11th approaches, 'the tension just builds up and the stress, sometimes debilitation. We never forget.'
- Acquaintance
- Greenberg, who knew passenger Danny Lewin, said it was 'a blow that I'll never forget. It's a day that I remember every day over the last 25 years.'
Still unverified
Danny Lewin is widely believed to be the first person killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; this characterization is described in the material as a widely held belief rather than a confirmed fact.