Today marks the 43rd anniversary of the American Airlines Flight 191 tragedy. This Chicago routine domestic flight ended tragically when an engine detached during takeoff causing 273 people to lose their lives. San Diego local resident and former American Airlines stewardess, Ann Clark-Durkin, also known as “Airline Annie”, memorializes the loss of her 10 co-workers from San Diego aboard the flight forty-three years ago. Ann diligently visits the memorial plaque at the San Diego Air & Space Museum on the anniversary every year to commemorate the lives and memory of her friends who perished. Today, she visits for the 43rd time to recall this solemn day in which she lost her colleagues 4 hours just before she was to report to her own shift as a stewardess.
For more information please contact the San Diego Air & Space Museum Education Department.