Crash of Flight 587 Remembered 24 Years Later

By Katie McFadden

On a blistery Wednesday morning, November 12, friends, family and co-workers of the victims of Flight 587 gathered in front of the memorial on Beach 116th Street, to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the crash and remember those who died.

On the morning of November 12, 2001, just two months after 9/11, American Airlines Flight 587 came crashing down in Belle Harbor, killing five neighbors in their homes, Helen and Thomas Concannon, Kathleen and Christopher Lawler and Franco Pomponio, plus 251 passengers and nine crew members on board the flight heading to the Dominican Republic.

Each year, the families, predominantly from Dominican Republic neighborhoods in New York, come to Rockaway to remember their loved ones at the memorial on Beach 116th Street. At 9:16 a.m., the moment the flight crashed, a bell was tolled, and a moment of silence was held. Pastor Gilford Monrose began the program and Lucy Vargas Bodden, Christian Santana, Megan Blanchard and others read the names of the 265 crash victims.

Mayor Eric Adams provided his remarks at his last Flight 587 ceremony before his term ends as mayor. “This impact has continually brought about levels of pain. When we hold this event each year, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on our loved ones, not only the lives that we lost but the lives that they lived. As the mayor, through my time, I’m so pleased that you’ve allowed me to come here each year and join you as you memorialize those you have lost. We continue to lift each other up in prayer. It’s difficult to imagine when we were weeks away from 9/11, the terrible collapse of our Twin Towers town at ground zero, just weeks later we saw this horrific crash of Flight of 587. You really lean on the resiliency of who we are as New Yorkers and Americans. We must continue to lean on each other during these difficult times,” Adams said.

He was followed by Ana J. Almanzar, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives and other who gave remarks, as well as Belkis Lora of the Committee in Memory of Flight 587, who gave final remarks and invited all to place flowers near their loved ones’ names on the memorial.