The Unlucky 9/11 Survivor

At 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, a plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. At 9:03 a.m. a second plane crashed into the South Tower. At 9:37 a.m. a third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, VA. At 10:04 a.m. a fourth plane crashed in a huge field in Pennsylvania, just 20-minutes shy of Washington, D.C. It is thought that the plane was headed to the U.S. Capital in D.C. but fliers fought the terrorists when they heard what was taking place.

A total of 2,977 people died in the attack. It remains one of the worst terrorist attacks to ever occur on American soil.

The four airplanes had been hijacked by al-Qaeda, an Islamic extremist group.

America was under attack and would soon spend the next 20-years at war with al-Qaeda and other terrorist extremist groups.

23 Survived

Only 23 people who were in or below the towers escaped death after the Twin Towers collapsed. That number includes 15 rescue workers sent in to help after the first plane crashed into the tower.

9/11 survivors were considered to be some of the luckiest people in the world. One of those fortunate survivors included a 26-year-old woman by the name of Hilda Yolanda Mayol. She was working inside a restaurant on the ground floor of the North Tower WTC on Sept. 11, 2001, when the attack occurred. Mayol heard the commotion going on around her and escaped the building without injury.

Mayol knew herself that she was fortunate to have survived the attack that claimed the lives of so many others.

Vacation in the Dominican Republic

Almost two months after the terrorist attack, Mayol’s mother and her two children departed the U.S. for a vacation in the Dominican Republic. Mayol would join them a couple of weeks later.

Mayol boarded American Airlines Flight 587 from JFK to the Dominican Republic on Nov. 12, 2001. About 10-minutes after takeoff at 9:16 a.m. the plane fuselage slammed into the ground at Newport Avenue and Beach at 131st Street in Queens, New York. All 260 passengers aboard the plane died.

All Passengers Aboard Flight 587 Died

Five people on the ground also died when the plane was destroyed. One engine fell on the intersection of Beach and 128th Streets; a second engine fell on the ground at a petrol station on Beach and 129th Streets.

Not Related to Terrorism

Many people speculated the crash was another terrorist attack since it occurred so soon after 9/11. Experts at the National Transportation Safety Board ruled the accident was caused by pilot error after he misused the plane’s rudder controls after experiencing turbulence after take-off.

Families Receive the News

Authorities broke the news of the plane crash to family members at the JFK Ramada Plaza, the same hotel used to house many 9/11 victims’ family and friends. The hotel became known as the “Heartbreak Hotel”.

On Nov. 12, 2006, a memorial to honor the memory of the 265 victims was erected at Rockaway Park at the south end of Beach 116th Street.

Thanks for reading! If you want more true crime stories, check out some of the titles below. Or, click here to visit the CM main page to take your pick of titles.

Sick Cases of Necrophilia

Mark Redwine Found Guilty of Son's Murder

Piper Hester Murdered by Father at 5-Weeks-Old

Man Kills Partner After She Reveals She's HIV Positive