3 victims’ kin demand 9/11 justice

By Joe Dwinell - Monday, December 15, 2008 (BostonHerald.com)

Three families whose loved ones died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks learn today if their years of refusing to quit will finally pay off in a trial date so they can expose airline security failures that allowed mass murderers to bring a nation to its knees.

“I would like some truth and accountability, and I want the public to hear it,” said Mike Low, father of Sara Low, a flight attendant on American Airlines [AMR] Flight 11, the first jet to hit the twin towers.

The families of the late Mark Bavis, 31, Barbara Keating, 72, and Low, 28, will plead with Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Federal District Court in Manhattan today to allow an open trial against Massport, the airlines and security companies in Boston.

To date, nearly 3,000 families have agreed to more than $7 billion in private settlements that averaged $2 million each from the federal Victims Compensation Fund. Another 96 families initially held out for trial but have since settled.

Low said he won’t give in because he believes a courtroom trial will expose fatal mistakes made at Logan International Airport, where American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 left with hijackers on board.

“These three families are focused and adamant to tell their stories,” said Donald A. Migliori, the lead attorney on the case.

They also want a public archive established for all to learn from for generations, he added.

“Sara witnessed all the horrific carnage,” Low told the Herald in an exclusive interview. “She was active in identifying the hijackers and their weapons.”

Sara Low relayed information about the identities of the terrorists to another flight attendent who was making a cell phone call back to Boston aboard Flight 11 before it slammed into the north tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001.

“Parental pride far overrules any pain,” Low said, explaining what keeps him going.

He added that Sara, who had just moved into a new apartment in Boston, boarded her jet and bravely battled the hijackers almost immediately.

“In her last 30 minutes, she focused on her job,” said the soft-spoken Arkansas businessman.

For one retired Federal Aviation Administration official from Boston, the families are on the cusp of history.

“We owe them a debt of gratitude, especially for their efforts to create a public archive of information,” said retired FAA Special Agent Brian F. Sullivan.

Massport officials, named in the suits, have repeatedly refused all comment while any cases are pending.

“If (Hellerstein) sets the trial date, it will be huge,” Migliori said.