From the Mayor's Desk: September 12, 2025

Late August and early September bring important anniversaries to our community, region, and nation. My City Council colleagues and I recently joined to reflect on the tragedy of the Cerritos Air Disaster, which occurred on August 31, 1986. This week, we also paid our respects to the victims and first responders of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. These infamous days must never be forgotten and require our observance.

Nearly 40 years ago this past Labor Day weekend, a small Piper Cherokee plane collided mid-air above the City with a large Aeromexico DC-9 plane. The Piper Cherokee fell to an unoccupied playground while the DC-9 crashed and exploded in a residential neighborhood. A total of 82 lives were lost, including all passengers and crew members of both planes, as well as Cerritos residents and visitors.

A granite memorial inside the Cerritos Sculpture Garden honors the 67 people aboard the two planes, along with 15 people on the ground, who died. This memorial, which was installed in 2006, symbolizes the comfort and serenity that we wish for those who lost loved ones on that fateful day.

Adjacent to the Sculpture Garden in front of the Cerritos Sheriff’s Station sits the Tribute to Public Safety memorial, which was dedicated this past March. Inside the public safety and first responder plaza is a monument to September 11, 2001. We will never forget the tragic events and heroic actions that morning that forever changed our nation. The lives lost and sacrifices made amid the attacks in New York City, Arlington, Virginia, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, are memorialized here.

My City Council colleagues and I, our staff, and community join in mourning the loss of life from the Cerritos Air Disaster and September 11, 2001, attacks. I want to commend those involved in approving, designing, and installing the public works of art that memorialize these events here at the Cerritos Civic Center. We value the opportunity for reflection and invite you to visit these memorials at a time of your choosing.