She walked out of The World Trade Center on 9/11 but then died in a plane crash. 25 years later, her family still mourns

Hilda Mayol, who had just evacuated from the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks, later died in a plane crash aboard American Airlines Flight 587.

The crash occurred shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, with the aircraft descending into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, New York. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the cause was pilot error, involving unnecessary and excessive rudder movements that led to loss of control.

Mayol’s daughter, Yari Mayol, and the rest of her family publicly recount her story for the first time 25 years after the crash, reflecting on her life, her duties to her family, and her final moments.

The majority of Flight 587’s 265 occupants were Dominican, and several people on the ground were also killed when the plane crashed into a residential area in Queens. A memorial wall in Belle Harbor honors Mayol among the victims.

In the Dominican Republic, Mayol’s sister Iris Joshua and family described the sudden, painful news and the long process of identification and burial, followed by ongoing memorials and annual remembrance services.