After nearly a quarter-century, the identity of one more soul lost in the horrors of September 11, 2001, has finally been laid bare. **Barbara A. Keating**, 72, who perished aboard American Airlines Flight 11—hijacked and flown into the North Tower—has been formally identified through advanced DNA testing. For 24 years, her remains were among over 1,100 victims yet unknown. Now her name can rest among those remembered, her story finally complete.
Now confirmed by the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Keating is one of three victims whose remains were matched this summer, helped by breakthroughs in DNA science able to work with long-degraded samples. The others are **Ryan D. Fitzgerald**, a 26-year-old foreign currency trader in the South Tower, and a woman whose identity is being withheld out of respect for her family. AP News reports.
Barbara Keating was a retired nonprofit executive and church volunteer from Palm Springs, California. She was returning home on Flight 11, traveling from Boston to Los Angeles, when the hijackers took control. That plane was the one that struck the North Tower at approximately 8:46 AM, beginning one of the darkest chapters in American history. The Guardian detailed how this identification grew out of relentless efforts by scientists, family members, and forensic experts.
Her son, **Paul Keating**, 61, said he still remembers waving goodbye to her at Boston’s Logan International Airport that morning—unaware of the tragedy that would follow. He described this confirmation as both a relief and a reopening of old wounds. “It brings something of full circle,” he said, “I hope the same for other families still waiting.” UNILAD Tech covers his reflection, and the thousands of hours that have gone into preserving debris, recovering remains, and developing techniques to reveal identities once lost to time.
“24 years later, she has a name again.”— @SomeUser
Keating’s background was modest but full of love. Before 9/11, she survived breast cancer twice; she lost her husband in 1983 to a brain tumor. In retirement, she committed herself to her church, to volunteering, and to being a grandmother. UNILAD reports that she was deeply respected in her community for kindness, empathy, and a steady smile.
The path to her identification was slow. In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the towers, chaos and destruction made it impossible to recover many remains in a usable form. Over the decades, however, preserved fragments, personal effects, and biological material were stored, cataloged, frozen, and continuously reanalyzed. As DNA extraction and matching technologies improved, particularly methods effective on very degraded samples, what was once impossible became possible. The New York Times explains that these breakthroughs have opened doors for dozens more potential identifications.
“It’s been a long fight, but science hasn’t given up on them.”— @ScienceWatch
Because of this new identification, the total number of those positively identified in the 9/11 attacks has risen to 1,653 out of 2,753 people who died. That still leaves roughly 40% whose remains have not been matched. The Guardian confirms that this update underscores both how far the forensic effort has come, and how much more work remains.
For Barbara’s family, this identification is deeply personal. The presence of her name on the 9/11 memorial no longer stands alone—it now has confirmation that there were remains, and they belong to Barbara. It brings clarity for mourning, but also closure. For many who have lived with absence, it is both painful and necessary.
Officials say they will not stop until every fragment that can be identified is identified. Efforts continue at the Fresh Kills landfill, Ground Zero debris archives, and across labs in New York. The vow is to bring names to the nameless, peace to those still waiting—decades after the moment that changed a nation.
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