FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -
"When I think of Flight 11, I'm getting goosebumps right now," Dan Preciado said.
Every September 11th, Pastor Dan Preciado stops in his tracks to reflect.
"I had flown Flight 11 every time that year, at least five or six times," he said.
American Airlines Flight 11 was the one that crashed into the World Trade Center's north tower.
That morning, Preciado was sitting on the tarmac in L.A. on a plane bound for Boston.
"The person next door, he had a Blackberry, and he said, oh my goodness, the plane hit the towers," Preciado said. "I had no idea what was going on. A few minutes later, the pilot comes on, says we need to exit the airplane."
Then, an engineer for a data-storage company, Preciado flew to Boston a lot.
Flight 11 was always his flight home.
But rescheduling at work had him leaving later than normal.
Dan still has his plane ticket from that day.
He holds onto it as a reminder of how grateful he is.
Two years ago, he walked away from the corporate world and is now Pastor Dan at the Glad Tidings Church in Hanford .
"It makes me feel that God had a plan on my life. He had a plan for my life and that man wasn't going to interrupt his plan," Preciado said. "I think about my boys and I'm thinking, to grow up without a father is tragic, it's tragic. And I'm glad that that's not their testimony, that they lost their dad on September 11th."
