Letter from 9/11 Flight Attendant Reaches Her Son 24 Years Later
Calm and resolute, she prayed with her spouse before ending the call with a final act of determination, declaring, “We’re getting ready to do it now. It’s happening!”
Though all 40 passengers and crew members perished when the plane crashed in a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, their resistance is believed to have prevented an even greater catastrophe in Washington, D.C. Lyles’s steadfastness that morning epitomized the strength she had shown throughout her life, both in her years on the police force and in her role as a flight attendant.
Airline workers participating in a wreath laying ceremony for their colleagues who were killed in the 9/11 attacks; photo taken in New York City on September 10, 2025. | Source: Getty Images
Over two decades later, her words — whether through a letter to her son’s kindergarten teacher or the remembrance of her final calls from the sky — continue to remind the world of her courage, her love, and her unshakable humanity.
