By Michael V. Cusenza
Area residents braved inclement weather Friday to mark the 20th anniversary of the American Airlines Flight 587 disaster at the memorial in Rockaway Park.
On Nov. 12, 2001, an Airbus A300B4-605R took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport destined for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. But AA Flight 587 crashed into Belle Harbor. All 260 people aboard the plane (251 passengers and nine crew members) were killed, along with five people on the ground.
“With the horrible tragedy of 9/11 still fresh in our minds, just two short months later New York faced another terrible plane crash when American Airlines flight 587 crashed in Belle Harbor 20 years ago,” State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said. “Today we remember the 260 people on the flight, along with the five people on the ground that lost their lives that day, and pray for the family and friends that they left behind.”
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) added, “The passing of time will never erase the pain and grief but our thoughts and prayers continue to be a source of strength for the families.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered remarks on Friday at the memorial.
“Twenty years ago, it’s extraordinary to imagine – it’s hard to believe 20 years have passed but we all can feel, right here, what it felt like those days just after 9/11, feeling that pain already. And then another tragedy, a tragedy felt from the Dominican Republic all the way here to Belle Harbor. 265 good souls lost. And that pain does not go away, but we still, even amidst the pain, appreciate all the people who came in that moment to try to help – the first responders, the people from the neighborhood who tried to help from that moment on. And then for 20 years since, the way you have all helped each other, you’ve been there for each other. You’ve created a community and out of the pain, you found something so good and noble.”
Photos Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
