Emotional Mark Wahlberg has reflected on the ‘gut punch’ of emotions he feels on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, after he narrowly avoided becoming a victim.Both Wahlberg, 55, and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, 52, were booked onto the doomed American Airlines Flight 11 that left Boston’s Logan Airport and flew into the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, killing all 92 passengers on board.In life-saving coincidences, Wahlberg and MacFarlane cheated death due to last minute changes of plans and being too hungover to fly, respectively.Al-Qaeda hijacker and ringleader Mohammed Atta, 33, alongside four other terrorists, took control of the aircraft, flying into the New York City tower at 8.46am local time.Just days earlier, Wahlberg had changed his plans and flown to Toronto when a friend asked him to view his film at the Toronto Film Festival, sparing his life. At the time, Wahlberg was criticized for claiming that, had he been on board, things may have played out much differently. Emotional Mark Wahlberg has reflected on the ‘gut punch’ of emotions he feels on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, after he narrowly avoided becoming a victim – pictured the day before the attacks in Toronto Nineteen Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four airliners in 2001. Two of the jets slammed into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, causing the iconic skyscrapers to collapse – killing 2,753 people – pictured hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 striking the south tower Both Wahlberg, 55, and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, 52, (pictured 2015) were booked onto the doomed American Airlines Flight 11 that left Boston’s Logan Airport and flew into the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, killing all 92 passengers’If I was on the plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did,’ he said at the time. ‘There would have been a lot of blood in that first class cabin and then me saying, okay we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.’He later issued an apology. ‘To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with, and to suggest I would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible. ‘I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as offensive; it was certainly not my intention.’As the world marked the 25-year anniversary of the atrocity, which killed almost 3,000 people, Wahlberg took to Instagram to reflect on his brush with death.’This anniversary is always a gut punch of emotions…words just can’t say it all’, he wrote, alongside a video of a waving American flag.In what would turn out to be a life-saving error, MacFarlane missed AA Flight 11 by mere minutes due to a hangover, after a night of celebrations at his alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design.Due to an incorrect departure time given by his travel agent – 8.15am instead of 7.45am, he arrived 10 minutes too late to board AA Flight 11. In 2003, MacFarlane reflected on the ‘sobering’ experience of learning how close he had come to dying. Just days earlier, Wahlberg had changed his plans to fly on AA Flight 11, and flown to Toronto when a friend asked him to view his film at the Toronto Film Festival, sparing his life – pictured 2013 At the time, Wahlberg was criticized for claiming that, had he been on board, things may have played out differently, with the star saying, ‘ ‘If I was on the plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did- pictured with wife Rhea Durham and their children in 2025 As the world marked the 25 year anniversary of the atrocity, which killed almost 3000 people, Wahlberg took to Instagram to reflect on his brush with death In what would turn out to be a life-saving error, MacFarlane missed AA Flight 11 by mere minutes due to a hangover, after a night of celebrations at his alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design – MacFarlane is pictured L with Walter Murphy in 2002’It was a very close call for me. The only reason it hasn’t really affected me as it maybe could have is I didn’t really know that I was in any danger until after it was over, so I never had that panic moment’, he said. After the fact, it was sobering, but people have a lot of close calls; you’re crossing the street and you almost get hit by a car… This one just happened to be related to something massive. I really can’t let it affect me because I’m a comedy writer. I have to put that in the back of my headHe quipped that drinking had ‘saved my life.’ Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell’s wife Leighanne was originally booked onto the fatal flight, but canceled her ticket the night before to spend more time with the singer.However, the band’s crew member and carpenter Daniel Lee was among the 92 victims killed aboard AA Flight 11. Lee was flying home from Boston to be with his wife Kellie for the birth of their second daughter.Two days later, Kellie gave birth to their daughter, naming her Allison Danielle Lee, in his memory.Nineteen Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four airliners on the nearly cloudless autumn day in 2001. Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell’s wife Leighanne was originally booked onto the fatal flight, but canceled her ticket the night before to spend more time with the singer – pictured with their son Baylee, 22 However, the band’s crew member and carpenter Daniel Lee was among the 92 victims killed aboard AA Flight 11 – pictured with wife Kellie, who gave birth to their second child two days after 9/11 Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 is seen seconds before striking the south tower of the World Trade CenterTwo of the jets slammed into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, causing the iconic skyscrapers to collapse – killing 2,753 people.A further 184 people died when another hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, while 40 passengers and crew were killed when those aboard United Airlines Flight 93 bravely fought back against hijackers, sending the plane crashing into an empty field in Pennsylvania. In the years after the attack, the death toll in New York rose to 2,996 as a result of the harm caused by exposure to the dust at Ground Zero. Thousands more still suffer long-term health problems, including emergency service workers who risked their lives to rescue as many people as possible.Osama bin Laden was responsible for the terror and destruction of that day, and the subsequent decades-long wars in the Middle East.Bin Laden founded Al-Qaeda in 1988, and admitted to orchestrating the 9/11 attacks. Satisfied with his work, he went to ground immediately after the attack and was hunted by the US and its intelligence partners for a decade, before being killed in his home and unceremoniously dumped in the sea.New York commemorated the 25th anniversary with a ceremony marked by controversy over President Donald Trump’s absence and right-wing outrage over the attendance of the city’s first Muslim mayor.In an unusual move, Trump was paying his respects at the Pentagon, rather than joining the event in New York, where hijacked planes destroyed the World Trade Center and killed most of the 2,977 total victims on that world-altering day.Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s four living predecessors – Republican George W Bush, who was in office during the attacks, and Democrats Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton – were gathering at the Ground Zero site in lower Manhattan. At 9.59am the South Tower began to collapse. Firefighters are seen running from the scene Bin Laden founded Al-Qaeda in 1988, and admitted to orchestrating the 9/11 attacksBereaved family members read out the names of all those killed, with a bell tolling to mark major moments in the attack, which sparked years of US involvement in Middle East wars and bitter controversy over Washington’s human rights record.Terry Strada, widow of victim Tom Strada, unleashed a stinging attack on Saudi Arabia, accusing it of complicity in the attacks, and denouncing former presidents who were in attendance.’You are missed more with each year that passes, but how can it be 25 years and still we have no justice for the role that Saudi Arabia played in your murder?’ she said in unscripted remarks broadcast live worldwide.