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- American and CR Smith Museum will make the 9/11 collection available to
the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and provide additional support
through The Never Forget Fund
- Airline supporting future 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center
through Pentagon Memorial Fund
FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines and the CR Smith Museum are honoring
those on board Flight 11 and Flight 77 and the thousands of lives lost in the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by making the airline and museum’s 9/11 collection
available to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and providing
financial support through The Never Forget Fund. American is also supporting the
future National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center through
financial contributions and the donation of artifacts from the airline’s
care related to the events at the Pentagon.
“9/11 forever changed our airline, our industry and our world,” said American’s CEO Robert Isom. “Over the years, our team has worked to honor the legacy of those lost, preserve their memories and shed light on the remarkable showing of care, resilience and humanity that followed that dark day.”
Ensuring generations never forget
Since opening to the public in May 2014, more than 27 million visitors to
the National September 11 Memorial & Museum have viewed artifacts related to
American, including aircraft fragments, team member identification cards and
boarding passes recovered at Ground Zero that help tell the story of the day
and its lasting effect.
These artifacts on long-term loan to the Museum have helped to support its
important mission to preserve the history of the events of Sept. 11 while
ensuring future generations understand the profound effect of that day.
Expanding access to American’s 9/11 collection
The CR Smith Museum, located on American’s Robert L. Crandall Campus in Fort
Worth, Texas, currently houses more than 1,000 additional artifacts connected
to the events of Sept. 11 and the extraordinary outpouring of support that
followed from the aviation industry and global community.
“While these items have served as a powerful educational resource for our team members and the public who have visited the CR Smith Museum over the past several years, their appropriate home should be where they can reach the broadest possible audience and contribute to the ongoing mission of remembrance and education,” continued Isom.
American and the CR Smith Museum plan to make additional artifacts from
their collections available to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum,
whether through donation or an expansion of the current long-term loan. These
additional artifacts include items such as:
- A flag passed from flight deck to flight deck of American’s aircraft as a
symbol of resilience, unity and support in the weeks following Sept. 11
- Memorial quilts crafted in honor of those lost
- Hundreds of pieces of correspondence from around the globe that
demonstrate an outpouring of support for those lost, the airline and the
aviation industry
"With over 100 million Americans born after or too young to remember 9/11,
our mission to ‘never forget’ is even more essential,” said President & CEO
of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum Beth Hillman. “We are grateful to American
Airlines and the CR Smith Museum for supporting our commitment to remembering
the courage and resilience shown that day, honoring those who perished and
preserving the stories of September 11th for future generations.”
American is also supporting The Never Forget Fund in honor of the
25th anniversary of 9/11. Funds will support this year’s remembrance
programming and support the Museum’s mission of education.
Supporting the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center
American is also financially supporting the Pentagon Memorial Fund and its
mission to honor the 184 lives lost at the Pentagon on 9/11.
This year, the Pentagon Memorial Fund will mark an important milestone with
the groundbreaking of the Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center, a future
space dedicated to preserving the stories, lessons and lasting impact of the
attacks.
“We are incredibly grateful for American’s pivotal support in making the
Visitor Education Center a reality," said Executive Director of the Pentagon
Memorial Fund Joseph E. Kornhoff. “When complete, the Pentagon Memorial’s
Visitor Education Center will provide a permanent space to honor the victims
from that day and ensure that the courage, sacrifice and history of that day
are forever etched into the granite of time.”
As the project moves forward, American looks forward to exploring
opportunities to support the Visitor Education Center's mission to educate and
inspire future generations.
The airline and CR Smith Museum are exploring artifacts within their
collections that may help bolster the Visitor Education Center's efforts to
educate visitors about American's response to, and recovery from, the events of
that tragic day.
About American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL)
American Airlines is a premium global airline connecting more of the U.S. to
the world. With roots tracing back to an air mail carrier in the Midwestern
United States in 1926, American now operates more than 6,000 daily flights to
more than 350 destinations in more than 60 countries and serves more than 200
million customers annually. Powered by a proud and talented team of 130,000
aviation professionals, American’s team lives out the airline’s purpose of
caring for people on life’s journey every day.
The world’s largest airline proudly celebrates its centennial year in 2026,
reaching a milestone that reflects a century of innovation and the Forever
ForwardSM spirit that changed the industry and the world. American
introduced the first scheduled air cargo service, the first airport lounge and
the first airline loyalty program and continues to reinvent the customer
experience today. The airline is also a founding member of the
oneworld alliance, whose members serve more than 900
destinations around the globe.
Get the latest about American at news.aa.com and @AmericanAir.