Madeline Amy Sweeney found her calling as a flight attendant a year after graduating from college. The Long Island native drove from Boston to California to start a career in fashion, and after a year, decided to instead become a flight attendant in Dallas.

After she and her husband, Michael Sweeney, wed in 1993, the American Airlines flight attendant settled in the Boston suburb of Acton, Massachusetts. In the winters she savored time skiing in Colorado and spent summers on the beach in Cape Cod with Michael and their two young children. Sweeney loved being a mother and normally kept a light work schedule in order to be with her children.

On Sept. 11, she took an extra shift to fill in for a colleague who had fallen ill. Her husband later recalled that she had called him before takeoff, disappointed that she was not able to take her kindergarten-aged daughter to the school bus.

Once in the air, the plane was overtaken by hijackers. Soon after, Sweeney called American Airlines Flight Service at Logan Airport. She reached her colleague and friend, service manager Michael Woodward, and calmly relayed information to him about the hijackers.

After reporting valuable information for about 20 minutes, her final words to Woodward were, “I see water. I see buildings. We’re flying low, we’re flying way too low.” Moments later, the aircraft crashed through the North Tower, killing all aboard.

Today Sweeney’s life and bravery are honored at the 9/11 Memorial with a white rose that marks what would have been her 51st birthday.

By Jenny Pachucki, 9/11 Memorial Content Strategist 

American Airlines flight attendant Betty Ann Ong loved her job. Based at Logan International Airport in Massachusetts, the San Francisco, Calif. native spent 14 years on the job and earned the role of head flight attendant. On the morning of Sept. 11, Ong was one of those aboard hijacked Flight 11 that crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Today, Feb. 5, a white rose placed in her name at the 9/11 Memorial marks what would have been her60th birthday.

Ong was the sort of flight attendant that sometimes skipped her breaks so she could tend to passengers. On overnight flights, she walked the aisles offering blankets. “She made me feel very much at ease and just kind of helped me along when I needed any guidance or suggestions. It was a real joy to work with Betty,” said Janna S., Ong’s coworker.

The morning of Sept. 11, Ong responded with courage and professionalism. Shortly after hijackers overtook the plane, she placed a call to the American Airlines reservation desk and reported, “The cockpit is not answering. Somebody's stabbed in business class, and, um, I think there's Mace and we can't breathe. I don't know, I think we are getting hijacked.”

Ong remained on the phone for 23 minutes, communicating the critical information her fellow flight attendants relayed to her until the plane crashed into the North Tower at 8:46 a.m.

When Ong’s family met with 9/11 Memorial Museum curators, they chose to donate items that represent her dedication to her career. They gifted one of her uniforms that she kept hanging in her closet at home, complete with several lapel pins and several photographs. One of the photographs depicts the brave young woman, dressed in her uniform, smiling as she holds a cup of coffee ready to report for work—just as she did on that September morning. 

By Jenny Pachucki, 9/11 Memorial Content Strategist