Mayor Bill de Blasio honors the victims of Flight 587 in Rockaway 18 years after the tragedy. Courtesy of de Blasio’s offi ce
Memorial service honors victims of Flight 587
tragedy 18 years after it crashed in the Rockaways
BY BILL PARRY
A memorial service was
held in Rockaway Park Tuesday
to mark the 18th anniversary
of the Flight 587 tragedy
that killed 265 people.
The American Airlines
flight heading to the Dominican
Republic crashed in the
Belle Harbor neighborhood
three minutes after taking off
at JFK Airport across Jamaica
Bay on Nov. 12, 2001.
“It was what appeared to
be a beautiful morning starting
out normal, and then a
shock, a tragedy as Flight
587 fell from the sky,” Mayor
Bill de Blasio said. “Two-hundred
sixty-five lives lost, and
countless hearts broken, and
families from Belle Harbor to
Santo Domingo felt their lives
were shattered.”
The mayor comforted family
members off the victims
as they gathered at the Flight
587 Memorial at the north end
of 116th Street where bells
rang at 9:16 a.m. to mark the
moment of impact. Investigators
would later determine a
broken rudder was to blame
after the pilot hit the wake
turbulence of a preceding
jet and lost control of the
aircraft.
“It’s 18 years later, but I
know from speaking with so
many of you that this day is
one of pain that is sharp and
vivid just as much as it was 18
years ago,” de Blasio said.
The aircraft slammed into
the ground at Newport Avenue
and Beach 131st Street.
The panic on the ground in
Belle Harbor was exacerbated
by fear of another terrorist
strike so soon after the
Sept. 11 attacks that brought
down the World Trade Center,
claiming the lives of so many
first responders who lived in
the Rockaways.
“Only two months after
our still grieving city and its
people witnessed the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,
Queens suffered another tragedy
when American Airlines
Flight 587 crashed into Belle
Harbor, killing 260 people on
their way to the Dominican
Republic, and five of my constituents
on the ground on
Nov. 12, 2001,” state Senator
Joseph Addabbo said. “On
this solemn day, the entire
Queens community remembers
all those who lost their
lives as well as the family and
friends that they left behind.”
A moment of silence was
observed and the names of
the victims were read during
the solemn memorial.
“If there is comfort to be
found, it is in each other,” de
Blasio said. “Families uniting
to support each other and
this community of people
brought together in tragedy.
But you have built something
together, a very special community
of love and warmth
that supports each other and
not just one day a year, but
throughout the year.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4538.
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TIMESLEDGER, N 2 OV. 15-21, 2019 QNS.COM
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