On 25th Anniversary of 9/11, ALPA Pilots Renew Call for Flight Deck Security

Ceremony Honors Those We Lost

Twenty-five years ago, four hijacked airliners changed the course of an industry and a nation. On Friday, September 11, ALPA pilots, staff, flight attendants, and community members returned to the union's Remembrance Garden in McLean, Virginia, to mark that quarter-century and honor the crewmembers of United Flight 93, United Flight 175, American Flight 11, and American Flight 77. This milestone anniversary served as a poignant reminder of how far aviation security has come and the work that still remains.

“Twenty-five years ago, our country changed in a single morning,” said Capt. Jason Ambrosi, ALPA’s president, opening the ceremony. “Today, we gather, as we have every September, to remember and honor those we lost.”

Ambrosi noted that a quarter-century removed from the attacks, a growing share of today’s pilots were not yet alive to witness them firsthand. Two ALPA members in attendance, he pointed out, were born on September 11, 2001, itself. “Their understanding of that day is shaped not by memory, but by the history books and personal experiences of those who lived through it,” he said. “As time marches on, it should be matched by our resolve to never let that commitment fade. Our collective cause is to carry forward the significance of that moment in history.”

That significance is built into the ground beneath the ceremony itself. Dedicated on the fifth anniversary of the attacks in 2006, ALPA’s Remembrance Garden was constructed with a 10-ton center stone quarried near the Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, split to represent the fractures the attacks left behind, along with sections of the Pentagon's outer wall and steel I-beams recovered from the World Trade Center site. “Like the stone and steel before us, our commitment to preventing another tragedy like this will persist,” said Ambrosi.

A Vow That Shows Up in the Work

Ambrosi traced that commitment through 25 years of ALPA’s advocacy for stronger aviation security. “In the years right after the attacks, we made a vow: we would not forget. And we will never forget our responsibility to make sure something like this could never happen again,” he said.

That vow, he said, is what pushed ALPA to fight for hardened flight deck doors and to help establish the Federal Flight Deck Officer program, which has since trained and armed thousands of pilots to serve as a last line of defense on roughly one million flights a year.

Ambrosi also used the anniversary to spotlight the security gap that took far too long to close. In 2023, after more than two decades of pressure from ALPA and others, the FAA mandated secondary flight deck barriers on newly manufactured passenger aircraft. Airlines and manufacturers have continued seeking delays since, and just last month the FAA denied a Regional Airline Association request to exempt Embraer 170/175 aircraft from the requirement.

“Secondary barriers on new aircraft are the law of the land. Now, we need those remaining airlines and manufacturers to finish the job and equip all newly manufactured aircraft with secondary barriers.” Ambrosi said, adding that the mandate for new aircraft is not enough on its own. “Every plane already in service, already carrying passengers, is still allowed to fly without a secondary barrier. A quarter-century removed from September 11, that’s a gap we shouldn't live with.”

ALPA is calling on the FAA to move forward with rulemaking requiring airlines to retrofit their in-service fleets, so that flight deck protection does not depend on which aircraft happens to show up at the gate.

A Tradition of Remembrance

United ALPA Master Executive Council chair Capt. Brian Noyes also addressed those gathered in the garden, continuing a tradition of remembrance that has marked the anniversary since the memorial’s dedication two decades ago.

As the names of the crewmembers and other employees aboard the four hijacked flights were read, Capt. Wendy Morse, ALPA’s first vice president, tolled a bell for each, while F/O Tyler Hawkins, ALPA vice president–administration/secretary, and Capt. Wes Clapper, ALPA vice president–finance/treasurer, placed a wreath before the garden stones.

Ambrosi, who was scheduled to fly out of Atlanta on the morning of the attacks, told attendees he remembers that day “like it was yesterday.” Closing the ceremony, he reflected on what the union’s promise to “never forget” continues to mean, 25 years later: “We will never forget the lives lost that day, and those who lost loved ones. We will never forget the first responders continuing to suffer negative health impacts because of their bravery. We will never forget how our country stepped up to rise from the ashes. We will never forget that our industry can change in one morning, and we will be vigilant at all times. That is our commitment at ALPA. We will put the safety of our members, the traveling public, and the communities under our wings first.”

Photo Gallery