@defense_diaries It’s only redd that’s saying ‘they’re refusing’ and that could be his interpretation of what could be holding out to their beliefs… 🤷♀️
Madeline Amy Sweeney knew the plane had been hijacked. Instead of panicking, she started gathering information.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, the 35-year-old American Airlines flight attendant was working aboard Flight 11, a Boeing 767 traveling from Boston to Los Angeles.
Not long after takeoff, something was terribly wrong.
The cockpit stopped responding.
Passengers were being attacked.
Crew members were injured.
The aircraft was no longer under the control of its pilots.
As chaos unfolded around her, Sweeney managed to connect to an American Airlines operations center using an Airfone. On the other end was supervisor Michael Woodward.
What followed would become one of the most important eyewitness accounts from inside a hijacked aircraft.
Sweeney didn't waste precious moments focusing on her own fate.
Instead, she began relaying information.
Carefully.
Clearly.
Methodically.
She described the men who had taken over the plane.
She gave their seat assignments.
She reported injuries among passengers and crew.
She explained that a passenger had been stabbed.
Every detail mattered.
Even as she faced the reality that she might never leave the aircraft alive, she continued feeding information to authorities.
According to later accounts, Woodward was struck by how calm and composed she remained. Her voice was steady. Her descriptions were precise.
Then she provided information that would later prove critical to investigators.
She identified Mohamed Atta as one of the hijackers and supplied details about the others involved.
As Flight 11 headed toward New York City, Sweeney stayed on the line, continuing to report what she could see.
At 8:46 a.m., the plane slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Everyone on board was killed.
Sweeney was just 35 years old.
The information she provided during those final minutes became some of the earliest and most valuable evidence available to investigators trying to understand what had happened.
She couldn't regain control of the aircraft.
She couldn't stop the hijackers.
She couldn't save herself.
But she could help others understand what was unfolding.
And she did.
Until the very end.
Madeline Sweeney left behind her husband and two young children—her son, Jack, who was four, and her daughter, Anna, who was seven.
They never saw her again.
Yet in the face of unimaginable circumstances, she chose to remain focused, courageous, and selfless.
Trapped aboard a hijacked plane with no way out, Madeline Amy Sweeney spent her final moments ensuring that the world would know exactly who had taken control of Flight 11—and what was happening inside it.
Today, a man with advanced dementia I've cared for two and a half years looked at me and said:
"I don't know your name, but I know you make me feel safe and happy."
🥹🥹🥹
At 8am on Monday please join us to support the children who were the victims of this unthinkable and heartbreaking 💔 crime!! Wear your white, bring posters and now it’s our turn to show support for the true victims in this case. Cora, Dawson and Callan 🤍🤍🤍 Justice for them
Highfields Lido, #Nottingham, c.1938. Commissioned by Jesse Boot and opened in 1924, Highfields Lido was at the time the largest in England. It remained open until the end of the summer season in 1980 and was demolished in 1990. Credit: https://t.co/GbVqM2FxHe
🚨Thomas Tuchel on England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.
🗣️ “I have to say it because everyone watched the same match. The referee and VAR completely lost control of this game. In a World Cup semi-final, mistakes like these are unacceptable. You work four years for moments like this, and then crucial decisions are handled with unbelievable incompetence.”
“The challenge on Anderson? How is that not given? The offside decisions? The fouls ignored? VAR had every angle, every replay, every opportunity to correct obvious errors and they still failed. If technology cannot get the biggest decisions right on the biggest stage, then what exactly is it there for?”
“I don’t want excuses because England also made mistakes, but don’t ask me to stay silent when my players are denied fair decisions. We are told to respect referees, yet who takes responsibility when they get it completely wrong? Nobody. They apologise after the tournament while our dream is already over.”
“This is a World Cup semi-final, not a training match. The standards should be the highest in football, yet tonight they were nowhere near good enough. One bad decision can change history, and England were forced to play against both Argentina and a refereeing performance that simply wasn’t at the required level.”
“Argentina are a fantastic team and they punished our mistakes, but I refuse to pretend the officiating had no impact. It did. The referee and VAR created controversy from the first whistle until the last, and that should embarrass everyone responsible.”
“England leave with heartbreak. Not only because we failed to reach the final, but because every player will always wonder what might have happened if the biggest match of their lives had been officiated properly. That is impossible to accept.”
🚨 GRAVÍSSIMO 🚨
Consta no regulamento da FIFA a EXPULSÃO do torneio para a seleção que fizer manifestação política
E os jogadores argentinos festejam a classificação à final com uma faixa sobre as Ilhas Malvinas violando o regulamento da FIFA.
A seleção argentina deve ser expulsa do torneio ? @FIFAcom@FIFAWorldCup
🚨 JUST IN 🚨
England have asked for an investigation into referee Ismail Elfath following their controversial 2-1 loss to Argentina. The referee refused to give early yellow cards for multiple late challenges on the England players, including what should have been a straight red card for Enzo Fernández after he elbowed Elliot Anderson in the back of the head. And as soon as any contact was made on Messi, a yellow card was produced.
The referee has officiated Messi multiple times before, in which Messi has a 100% record, and could be seen in conversation throughout the match. Argentina looked to wind up the England players, seemingly knowing that there would be no punishment and were allowed to get away with it. The refereeing completely suited the style of the Argentinians, and exactly why it has been speculated that FIFA have allowed this to ensure that Lionel Messi made it to the final due to his stature within the US after his move to Inter Miami."