Flight 587 families mark 24th anniversary

Family members of the victims of the Flight 587 crash gathered for an annual memorial service on Wednesday in Rockaway. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

Families of the victims of Flight 587, which went down in Queens 24 years ago this week, commemorated the anniversary of the crash in Rockaway on Wednesday.

The emotional annual event was also the last one for Mayor Eric Adams as his days in City Hall come to a close.

“This impact has continually brought about the level of pain, but when we host this event each year, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on our loved ones, to remember not only lives that they lost, but the lives that they live,” said Adams. “As the mayor, throughout my time in office, I am so pleased that you allow me to come here each year and join you as you memorialize those that you have lost.”

“During times like this, we lean on our faith and we lean on each other,” Adams added. “It's so difficult to imagine back then, when we were weeks away from 9/11, the terrible collapse of our twin towers down at Ground Zero. Just weeks later, we saw this horrific crash of Flight 587.”

Adams spoke briefly and then joined Belkis Lora, who leads the community of families who lost loved ones in the crash, to lay flowers at the memorial on Beach 116th Street in the Rockaways.

“I would like to express my special thanks to Mayor Adams for [his] support throughout the years, we appreciate the support,” said Lora.

On Nov. 12, 2001, just about two months after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, Flight 587 crashed on the Rockaway peninsula shortly after it took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Members of the community joined Mayor Eric Adams to remember victims of Flight 587, which crashed in Queens in 2001. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

It was later determined that the crash occurred after a pilot overcorrected the rudder controls on the aircraft after getting caught in wake turbulence from another plane that took off a few minutes before it.

All 260 people on board died in the crash, as did five people on the ground in the Belle Harbor section of Rockaway.

The passengers were on their way to the Dominican Republic, and many of the victims’ families lived in Washington Heights in Manhattan.

Adams has attended the event the last three years, missing 2022’s memorial for the SOMOS conference in Puerto Rico.

His predecessor, Mayor Bill de Blasio, also attended several memorials during his tenure, but turned up late in 2014, which drew some ire from the victim's families.

Like Adams, de Blasio turned up during his last months in office when he was a lame duck mayor.

“I will continue to keep you in my prayers as I transition to the next level of my journey on leaving the mayor’s office,” Adams said.

For the families of the victims, the memorial, less than a mile from where Flight 587 crashed, is a yearly memorial of loved ones they lost.

“All our loved ones may be gone as a memory, but they live on in our hearts and we honor them today,” said Lora. “We remember that it's been 24 years since that fateful day. We have continued with our life, but their beautiful memory is safe with us every day.”

Some, like Darwin de la Cruz, have grown up without family members they now barely remember.

“I still miss them a lot,” said de la Cruz, who lost his aunt and father in the crash. “I find myself still thinking about them every day. I feel them watching me from above, they will always be in my prayer and in my heart.”

In the years since, the family members have formed a community around their shared grief.

“From that sorrow, a community rose, united in mourning, steadfast in memory and committed to honoring those we lost,” said Jesse Figueroa. “We honor the families who have carried this burden with grace and first responders who answered the call with courage. Let this day remind us that remembrance is an act of love. May we continue to lift each other, speak their names and ensure their legacy lives on.”

Flight 587 crashed in the Rockaway peninsula 24 years ago, Wednesday.  Photo by Howard Schwach/Courtesy of The Wave

For the Rockaway community, the crash is still imprinted on the minds of locals.

Just two months before 587, the peninsula lost 59 residents in the Sept. 11 attacks.

“That day saw the lives of 265 people - including 5 people on the ground, in their homes - cut tragically short, and left a deep scar on a community that had already lost so much in the 9/11 attacks just two months prior,” said local Councilmember Joann Ariola in a social media statement. “As always, the resilience and determination of the people of Rockaway showed through and the neighborhood recovered, but the memories still remain.”