John A. Ogonowski (February 24, 1951 – September 11, 2001) was an American pilot and an agricultural activist. A resident of Dracut, Massachusetts, Ogonowski was a leading advocate on behalf of farming in Massachusetts, particularly in aiding immigrant farmers from Cambodia,[1] whom he assisted as part of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. He was murdered by terrorists while piloting American Airlines Flight 11, which was subsequently hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the 9/11 attacks.
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Ogonowski went to secondary school at Keith Academy, Lowell, Massachusetts. He graduated from Lowell Technological Institute in 1972 with a bachelor of science degree in Nuclear Engineering. He was a pilot in the U. S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, flying C-141 transport aircraft.[2] From 1978 to the end of his life, Ogonowski flew airplanes for American Airlines.[3]
He was killed on September 11, 2001, while at the controls during the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11. Following his murder, his airplane was crashed into the World Trade Center.[4] It is believed that he was stabbed or his throat was slit in order for the hijacker pilot Mohamed Atta to take control of the plane and crash it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.[5] Before dying, he managed to engage the aircraft's radio system to allow air traffic control to listen to the terrorists' conversations in the aircraft's cabin.[5] His body was never found.[6]
Ogonowski was survived by his wife Margaret and daughters Laura, Caroline, and Mary Katherine.[4] His younger brother, Jim Ogonowski, who is also an agricultural activist, made an unsuccessful run for the United States House of Representatives in 2007.[7] His nephew, Cole Ogonowski, joined the Boy Scouts and is currently a life scout.
A remote controlled model aircraft flying field in nearby Tewksbury, Massachusetts, has been dedicated to Captain Ogonowski.[8] An alumnus of the Lowell Technological Institute, now the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Captain Ogonowski was posthumously presented an honorary doctorate at the 2003 commencement ceremony at Tsongas Arena. He was also a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity.[9]
The USAID Farmer to Farmer program was renamed the "John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter FTF Program" as part of the 2008 Farm Bill.[10]
At the National 9/11 Memorial, Ogonowski is memorialized at the North Pool, on Panel N-74 adjacent to the name of Kathleen A Nicosia, a friend and flight attendant also killed on board American Airlines Flight 11 that day.[11]