Madeline Amy Sweeney (December 14, 1965 – September 11, 2001) was an American

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

who was killed when

American Airlines Flight 11 American Airlines Flight 11 was a domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001 as part of the September 11 attacks. Lead hijacker Mohamed Atta deliberately crashed the plane into the North Tower ...

was deliberately crashed into the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

hijackers Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...

during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

American Airlines Flight 11

On September 11, 2001, Sweeney, who had been a flight attendant for 12 years, was asked by

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

to take an extra shift because the other crew member, who was assigned to the position, was ill. Normally, she would only work part-time on weekends. At approximately 7:15 a.m., before the plane had taken off, Sweeney made a

cellular telephone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive telephone call, calls over a radio freq ...

call to her husband Mike, from the plane – which he deemed to be "highly unusual". She was feeling low about being at work and missing out on a chance to see their five-year old daughter Anna, a kindergartner, off to school. Mike comforted her by saying she'd have plenty of days ahead to see their kids off to school. After the plane was hijacked, she relayed a report on the phone with manager Michael Woodward of the seat numbers of the hijackers, which later helped investigators to determine their identities. Sweeney said that one of the hijackers had shown her a device with red and yellow wires that appeared to be a bomb. At 8:46 a.m., Sweeney was on the phone with Woodward when the plane crashed into the North Tower: "I see water. I see buildings. I see buildings! We are flying low. We are flying very, very low. We are flying way too low. Oh my God we are flying way too low. Oh my God!" She was survived by her husband and their two children.

Legacy

On February 11, 2002, Sweeney was commemorated in a series of new annual bravery awards initiated by the

Government of Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is governed by a set of political tenets laid down in its state constitution. Legislative power is held by the bicameral General Court, which is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. The governo ...

. The annual Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery is awarded every September 11 to at least one Massachusetts resident who displayed extraordinary courage in defending or saving the lives of others. The first recipients were Sweeney, Flight 11 Captain

John Ogonowski John Alexander Ogonowski (February 24, 1951 – September 11, 2001) was an American pilot and an agricultural activist. A resident of Dracut, Massachusetts, Ogonowski was a leading advocate on behalf of farming in Massachusetts, particularly in ...

, and Sweeney's fellow flight attendant,

Betty Ong Betty Ann Ong (; February 5, 1956 – September 11, 2001) was an American flight attendant aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the first airplane hijacked during the September 11 attacks. Ong was the first person to alert authorities to the hi ...

, who had also relayed information about the hijacking to personnel on the ground. They were all residents of Massachusetts. Relatives of all three accepted the awards on their behalf. Sweeney is commemorated in the

National September 11 Memorial & Museum The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombi ...

on panel N-74 at the North Pool.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Madeline Amy American Airlines Flight 11 victims 1965 births 2001 deaths American Airlines people American terrorism victims Flight attendants People from Acton, Massachusetts