Flight Attendant Delivers Moving Words At Post 9/11 Labor Conference

AFA-CWA Member's Speech Moves Conference Attendees

Below is a speech Karen Nakaoka (Aloha Airlines AFA Council 54) wrote and delivered at the 2002 Labor Assistance Professionals Conference in Las Vegas. At the conference, there were many peer assistance programs from other trades who provided their view of what 9-11 was like and how impactful it was for them to build, work near or within the twin towers, and then see them come down.

The words ''Flight Attendant" were never mentioned during the many days of presentations. Karen put action behind our collective disappointment that yet another 9-11 discussion occurred without mention of flight attendants. Karen stayed up late one night, wrote a speech, asked for time on the conference agenda to deliver it, and sent a very humble but powerful message to the peer assistance, steelworkers, transit workers, firemen, autoworkers and machinists in the audience.

Those in the conference that day will tell you that not a dry eye in the room could be found, and that Karen was the first and only speaker to receive a standing ovation.

Karen's Summer 2002 Speech

"Over the past few days you have shared your experiences from September 11th and your strength and your courage are inspirational. You have helped us to see things from your perspective. One thing that I hadn't thought of is that of course you loved those buildings, your heart and soul went into building them and as we heard someone say - they weren't supposed to come down.

Flight Attendants have a similar love for the airplanes that we fly however; we go to work every day knowing that something could go wrong. We are prepared to deal with irate passengers and medical emergencies. We know that airplanes have mechanicals and... sometimes fall from the sky. In our system flight attendants face fires, evacuations, turbulence, air rage, births, deaths and numerous other safety incidents. For years we thought we were prepared for anything that would come our way. Never did we imagine that our planes, our place of work, the place where we spend so many hours of our lives would be used as weapons against our own country. Never did we imagine that our flight attendants would be the first line of defense in a war.

On September 11th we lost 33 crew members, our brothers & sisters, all Union members. Although we don't know exactly what happened, every flight attendant has been able to put ourselves on those planes. We know the configurations, we know the duties and we can - and do imagine what those flight attendants, pilots and passengers were faced with on that horrible day. The one thing we are certain of is that these brave Union workers faced their destiny with courage. They were taking care of their duties and their passengers until the very end as that is what we do."

When the airline system was shut down, we had peers on layovers stranded all over the world. It was the Union EAP who rushed to support them. In some cases we were supported by our carriers. In some cases not. It didn't matter. We did what we do best we reached out to help our flying partners. It didn't matter what carrier you worked for or who needed help - The Union EAP was there.

When the FAA allowed air traffic again, the flight attendants and pilots were called back to duty. Aloha Airlines, where I work, was the first airline in the United States to return to flying. Like all of you, our lives and jobs had been changed forever. Flight Attendants and pilots mustered up the strength to get back on the planes so that we could return our passengers to their homes and families. All the while flight attendants were wondering if we would be hit again. We were wondering, would we be next? We had tears and fears, but we love our jobs and we needed to get back on the planes and serve the public. There are still some who cannot do it. They sit in grief and pain. AFA EAP continues to be there for them and pray for healing.

In return for our dedication to our profession we have been faced with massive furloughs, bankruptcies and concessions. We have been put into a position of having to fight for safer skies, for both you and I. There are new FAA training mandates but most airlines are doing the minimum because saving money is more important than saving lives. It is a battle that the Airline Unions continue to fight.

As the flight attendants in this room have learned of your experiences we are amazed at how you were able to respond to the needs of your members and their families. It makes us additionally proud to be a part of the Union family.

What we wanted to do is to take the opportunity, sitting here with all of you, to honor the airline crews who gave their lives on September 11th. We feel that they too - are unsung heroes and deserve to be recognized. In addition we need to recognize the flight crews throughout the airline industry for the courage and commitment they display everyday as they get on the aircraft to take each and every one of us where we need to go.

Thank you for sharing with us, and thank you for allowing us to share with you."

© 2002 Published with permission - Karen Nakaoka, Aloha Airlines AFA-CWA Council 54 - HNL 

By Sara Kehaulani Goo & Dan Eggen | Washington Post
Wednesday, January 28, 2004

The hijackers of Sept. 11, 2001, blasted Mace or pepper spray at flight crew members and passengers to keep them away from the cockpits and wielded knives in their orchestrated takeovers of the aircraft, according to a report issued yesterday by the commission investigating the attacks.

The report provides the most comprehensive picture yet of what it called the "common strategy" the terrorists used to commandeer the four airliners that were flown into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. At a hearing yesterday, the 9/11 commission played publicly for the first time dramatic portions of a taped phone call from American Airlines flight attendant Betty Ong, revealing the fear and confusion aboard AA Flight 11 after the hijackers stabbed at least two crew members before crashing the plane into the North Tower.

In its report on what happened aboard the jets, the commission concluded that the hijackers made bomb threats on at least three of the four planes and shot pepper spray on at least two flights. Passengers calling from cell phones noted the use of box cutters on only one flight, the report said. The commission also said it was skeptical of an earlier report that a gun was aboard one plane.

At yesterday's hearing, the commission focused on evidence gathered from at least 11 passengers and flight crew members who communicated with family members, employers and friends from the doomed flights. The hearing culminated with the taped calls from Ong, the American Airlines flight attendant, who used an onboard phone.

The report said the various calls from passengers and flight crew members indicated that they were aware that their planes had been hijacked but were unable to confirm that a terrorist was in the pilot's seat because many of them had been moved to the backs of the aircraft.

Some callers noticed erratic plane movements. A passenger aboard UA Flight 175 predicted that hijackers intended to fly the plane into a building, the report said. A passenger on AA Flight 77, which hit the Pentagon, had learned of the fate of two other flights, 11 and 175, which had crashed into the World Trade Center towers.

In the final minutes of AA Flight 11, Ong was able to reach American Airlines operations specialist Nydia Gonzalez in Cary, N.C. Gonzalez testified that the 23-minute call is "etched in my memory for the rest of my life."

F/A Ong: Somebody is stabbed and, um, I think...[unclear] can't breathe...I don't know. I think we're getting hijacked.
American Airlines operations male voice: What seat are you in? Ma'am are you there?
F/A Ong: Yes.
Operations: What seat are you in?
Operations female voice: Ma'am what seat are you in?
F/A Ong: [Unclear] We were supposed to go to LA....the cockpit is not responding and..
Operations: What seat are you sitting in right now? What's the number of your seat?
F/A Ong: Okay I'm in the jumpseat right now. I'm in 3R.
Operations: Okay. Are you a flight attendant? I'm sorry, did you say you were the flight attendant?
F/A Ong: Hello? You need to speak up, I can't hear you.
Operations: What is your name?
F/A Ong: Okay. My name is Betty Ong. I'm a flight attendant on Flight 11.
Operations: Okay.
F/A Ong: The cockpit is not answering their phone. And there is somebody stabbed in business class...and they can't breathe in business class or something. Somebody's got Mace or something.

On the tape, an unidentified operations specialist says that Ong is on Flight 12, then corrects himself and asks about the stabbed flight crew members. Ong responds by telling him, "Number 1" and "Number 5" have been stabbed, apparently referring to a first-class flight attendant and a purser. During the call, Ong's voice sounds concerned but calm and the plane's engines can be heard humming in the background.

On a second call played yesterday, American's Gonzalez talks with a 911 dispatcher alerting him to the stabbing reported aboard Flight 11. Gonzalez keeps Ong on the other line, at times asking for more details.

The call ends:
911: We have contacted air traffic control...He turned the transponder off and we don't have a definitive altitude for him.

After Gonzalez listens to information from the 911 dispatcher, she checks the other line to reach Ong.

Gonzalez: What's going on, Betty? Betty, talk to me. Betty, are you there? Betty? Have we lost her? I think we might have lost her.

Some family members of the victims, who attended the hearings, said the tapes provided some closure. "All the visions I had of what he must have gone through...were made real," said Rosemary Dillard, whose husband, Eddie A. Dillard, was aboard Flight 77. "I appreciated it. It was hard to listen to."

Staff researcher Margot Williams contributed to this report.