Madeline Amy Sweeney

Madeline Amy Sweeney
Born	December 14, 1966(1966-12-14)
Died	September 11, 2001(2001-09-11) (aged 34) New York City, New York, U.S.
Other names	Amy Sweeney
Occupation	Flight attendant

Madeline Amy Sweeney (December 14, 1966 – September 11, 2001), known as Amy Sweeney, was an American flight attendant on board American Airlines Flight 11 which was hijacked and flown deliberately into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Flight 11

On September 11, 2001, Sweeney was asked by American Airlines to take an extra shift, because the other crew member who was assigned to the position was ill.^[1] Normally, she would only work on weekends.

During the hijacking, she used an airphone to call American Airlines flight operations center. She reached an operator and then Michael Woodward, the manager on duty who was also a friend for the previous decade. She relayed information about the hijackers' seats, and described them as Middle Easterners. She also reported that two flight attendants, the pilots, and a first class passenger had been stabbed. She reported that the hijackers had jammed their way into the cockpit and that there was mace in the first class cabin, and how they struggled to breathe. She also stated that the cockpit was not answering their phone. During the last minutes of the call, she said that the aircraft was flying erratically and that they were descending very rapidly.

Sweeney was 34 years old when she was killed. She had been a flight attendant for twelve years. She was survived by a husband and two children, ages 4 and 6. They lived in Acton, Massachusetts.

Legacy

Sweeney’s name is located on Panel N-74 of the National September 11 Memorial’s North Pool, along with those of other passengers of Flight 11.

On February 11, 2002, Sweeney was commemorated in a series of new annual bravery awards initiated by the Government of Massachusetts. 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.^[3]

The first recipients were Sweeney and her colleague Betty Ong, who had also relayed information about the hijacking to personnel on the ground. Pilot John Ogonowski also received a posthumous award for turning a radio switch on, which allowed ground control to listen to remarks being made by the hijackers. They were all residents of Massachusetts. Relatives of all three accepted the awards on their behalf.

At the National 9/11 Memorial, Sweeney is memorialized at the North Pool, on Panel N-74.^[4]

Quotations

In her nation's darkest hour, she responded with a selfless bravery that illustrates the very best of human nature. She was empowered by her ability to shed light where none existed.

—Jane Swift, Acting governor of Massachusetts, presenting the award to Sweeney's children.

She calmly and in a detailed fashion told us that Flight 11 had been hijacked, which was nothing short of a miracle.

—American Airlines flight services manager Michael Woodward, who took the call from Sweeney.

She would have said she was just doing her job.

—Michael Sweeney, her husband, a police officer.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Madeline Amy Sweeney

• "The last moments of Flight 11". BBC. September 21, 2001
• "Extract: 'We have some planes'". BBC. July 23, 2004
• Sheehy, Gail. "Stewardess ID'd Hijackers Early, Transcripts Show". The New York Observer. February 16, 2004