How Pan Am Flight 759 forever shaped my life before it even began.
By Shaun Walker
Co-Founder & Creative Director, HEROfarm
Before I ever had a birthday, there was a day that almost made sure I’d never have one.
Every July 9, I remember 153 people I never met.
I wasn’t alive when Pan Am Flight 759 crashed in Kenner on July 9, 1982. But the tragedy has shaped every July 9 of my life.
Two days before the flight, my parents booked two seats to travel out of New Orleans. The afternoon before they were scheduled to leave, someone called my dad asking if he could DJ a wedding that Saturday.
It paid $150.
He said yes.
My parents postponed their trip until Sunday instead.
The next day, Pan Am Flight 759 departed New Orleans International Airport and crashed shortly after takeoff in Kenner, killing everyone aboard and several people on the ground.
of a $150
DJ gig.
That’s a strange sentence to say out loud.
Even stranger is realizing that someone I’ll almost certainly never know changed the course of my family’s future with a simple phone call.
Because of that call, my brother and sister didn’t lose their parents.
Because of that call, I was born two years later.
Because of that call, I get to write these words today.
I’ve spent my entire life wondering how many other stories begin with moments that seemed completely ordinary at the time.
The Ripple Effect
As HEROfarm’s Creative Director, I spend a lot of time thinking about impact.
Not just the impact of advertising, branding, or design. The impact we have on each other.
Every conversation leaves something behind. Every act of kindness does too. So does every missed opportunity.
Most of the moments that shape our lives don’t feel important when they’re happening. They’re just ordinary decisions made on ordinary days.
Until they aren’t.
The lesson isn’t that I was lucky.
It’s that we almost never know which ordinary moments become extraordinary ones.
That’s probably why I’ve always believed we should treat people well.
You never know what someone is carrying. You never know what a conversation means to them. You never know how one small act might echo through someone else’s life, or through generations that haven’t even been born yet.
The Lives I Remember Every Year
Every July 9, I quietly read every name.
I didn’t know any of the 153 people aboard Pan Am Flight 759. I didn’t know the eight people on the ground whose lives were also taken that day. They never knew me.
It takes just a few minutes, but I don’t rush through them. Every name deserves to be read at the same pace I’d hope someone would read mine.
It’s my small way of remembering that these weren’t names on a list. They were people. They had families, plans, dreams, and futures. If I’m going to spend a few minutes being thankful that I’m here, the least I can do is spend a few minutes remembering the people who aren’t.
The names below include the 153 passengers and crew members aboard Pan Am Flight 759 as released following the tragedy, followed by the eight people on the ground whose lives were also taken that day. Every year, I quietly read each one in remembrance.
Passenger and crew names shown as released following the Pan Am Flight 759 tragedy.
Also Remembered
These eight people lost their lives on the ground when Pan Am Flight 759 crashed into a Kenner neighborhood.
Including the eight people on the ground, 153 lives were lost in the Pan Am Flight 759 tragedy.
Why I Keep Sharing This Story
I don’t share this story because it’s about me. I share it because it’s about them. It’s about remembering a tragedy that forever changed so many families in our community, and being grateful for a life that almost never happened.
It’s also a reminder that we rarely get to see where the ripple effect of our actions ends. A conversation. A kind word. A simple decision. Most seem insignificant in the moment, yet they have a way of reaching farther than we’ll ever know.
Today, I’m the father of two young children. Every July 9, I can’t help but think about the fact that neither of them would be here if one ordinary phone call had gone differently in 1982.
The ripple didn’t stop with me.
Maybe that’s why “Do Great Work for Good People” has always meant more to me than a company philosophy. To me, it’s a reminder that every conversation matters. Every relationship matters. Every person matters.
Tomorrow, someone will make a phone call. Someone will decide to stop for coffee. Someone will say yes. Someone will say no. Most of those moments will feel completely ordinary.
One of them might change a life that hasn’t even begun yet.
That’s why I remember Pan Am Flight 759.
Learn More About Pan Am Flight 759
If you’d like to learn more about Pan Am Flight 759 and the people whose lives were forever changed on July 9, 1982, these resources provide additional history, remembrance, and perspective.
- Pan Am Flight 759 Crash — 64 Parishes (Royd Anderson)
- UPI: Original Passenger & Crew List
- Pan Am Flight 759 Memorial Community
- Pan Am 759 crash’s “Miracle Baby” made best of second chance — WWL-TV
- The Pan Am Flight 759 crash in Kenner: Pictures from the past — NOLA.com
- The Crash of Pan Am Flight 759: Analysis
Special thanks to filmmaker Royd Anderson, whose work documenting the story of Pan Am Flight 759 has helped preserve the memories of those lost and the lessons that continue to resonate decades later. His research and storytelling have played an important role in keeping this history alive.
Those interested in Royd Anderson’s work, including his documentary and writings on Pan Am Flight 759 and other books, may contact him at rcand@mygrad.loyno.edu.
About the Author
Shaun Walker is Co-Founder and Creative Director of HEROfarm. Born two years after the crash of Pan Am Flight 759, he shares this story each July in remembrance of those who lost their lives and in gratitude for the life he almost never had. A lifelong New Orleanian, he believes the smallest moments often leave the biggest impact, and that every story is ultimately about people.