Community honors ninth anniversary of Flight 587 crash

Mourners and city officials will gather in Belle Harbor on Friday to mark the ninth anniversary of the Flight 587 plane crash that rocked the New York Dominican community and horrified the residential Queens neighborhood.

The plane, bound for the Dominican Republic, crashed at 9:16 a.m., killing all 260 passengers as well as five people on the ground. Coming just two months after terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers, many wondered if they were yet again under another attack.

“A falling plane is a horrific tragedy. You couldn’t imagine such a terrible thing happening,” said Councilman Eric Ulrich, who represents the neighborhood. “It really hit home for us here.”

Around 90 percent of the passengers were of Dominican descent, many from Washington Heights.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg will join the ceremony, which begins at 9 a.m. at the memorial site at Beach 116th Street and Rockaway Boulevard.