Sara Elizabeth Low of American Airlines Flight 11: Tracey Alderete Remembers

Sara Elizabeth Low

(Image from Boston Herald)

Eight years ago, American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City at 8:46 local time, killing hundreds in the tower and all 92 people aboard the plane, including flight attendant Sara Low, a 28-year-old woman from Batesville, Arkansas whom my brother Tim knew.

Every year since my brother told me that he knew Sara Low, I've posted a 9/11 memorial entry about her. Today, I want to draw readers' attention to a memory of Sara Low posted on my blog March 7th this year by Tracey Alderete, a woman who met Sara Low in San Francisco two days before 9/11:

I was with my best friend, who is an American Flight attendant and worked the flight to San Francisco two days before 9/11. I got to know Sara along with several other flight attendants from Boston on that flight. I must say it was my most favourite flight in memory (I fly a lot with my friend) as they all were so fun and just plain hospitable to me. I joked with Sara to stop bringing me food (all the crew were filling me up with drink and food) and asked her if she was trying to fatten me up like a Christmas goose! I rode with them all to the Hilton here in SF and later that night met for drinks at Red Room on Sutter. We ate at a little Thai restaurant around the corner. I took several photos of the group and one that haunts me still -- Sara looking so beautiful in SF. Sara wanted to go dancing and through much talk and some of the crew being tired, we didn't go but I wish we had now. The following day we all somehow ended up biking in Golden Gate Park, by chance running into each other at different locations. The day was so beautiful with perfect warmth and sunshine. We ate at Cha-cha's and then headed back to the hotel to get the crew van to SFO and back to Boston. Again the flight was super fun with the crew (in my opinion the best Hub of crew in American) laughing and having great conversations. When we landed at about 7 am in Boston, the weather was gorgeous as if San Francisco had come back with us. We were all on the train platform going back to the city. Sara was excited because she had just moved into a new place and her mom was coming up to help decorate it. Sara said she was going home to sleep as she was picking up a flight to LA the next morning for someone else. We all hugged and said we should all get together for drinks soon or on another flight which ever came first.

Sara was one of the most naturally beautiful women I had the greatest fortune to have met, though briefly, and she is permanently etched in my heart. She was a radiant person and we all have been robbed of a very unique, extremely kind young woman.

I lost several flight attendant friends that day and they each are so special in my heart. I wish I had met Sara earlier I know we would have been friends, you just got that feeling when talking to her. Luckily my best friend, who like Sara picked up a flight for someone else, . . . ended up getting grounded in Vermont.

We talk about Sara and the others when we fly together, they are always in our thoughts. Thank you for posting this page with regards to Sara!

As I told Ms. Alderete when she posted this, all thanks is due her for this heartfelt story about Sara Low the final two days before September 11th, 2001. I am merely the messenger.

For some, the vivid memory of that dreadful day is fading, and I suppose that it is with me as well, but take some time at least to think of Sara Low and the others who died eight years ago today.