Seth MacFarlane’s Narrow Escape on 9/11

Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, narrowly escaped being a passenger on one of the doomed flights on September 11, 2001. On that fateful day, he was booked on American Airlines Flight 11, the plane that would later crash into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Due to a combination of unfortunate events, he missed the flight by a mere 15 minutes, a twist of fate that saved his life.

Seth MacFarlane’s Narrow Escape

MacFarlane had been in Rhode Island the night before giving a lecture at his alma mater. After the event, he went out for drinks with some friends, which led to him waking up the next morning with a hangover. This delayed his departure for the airport. As a result, he arrived just minutes too late to board the plane.

A source told The National Enquirer, “By all rights, Seth shouldn’t be here. He missed the plane [to New York] because he was out boozing the night before the flight and got to the airport late.” This quote paints a stark picture of how a simple night of drinking may have kept MacFarlane from being one of the many victims of that tragic day.

In an interview, Seth MacFarlane reflected on the experience, sharing how close he came to being on that doomed flight. He said, “I was giving a lecture at my old College in Rhode Island and was, you know, went out for a few drinks afterward, was hungover the next day, and missed the flight.” He went on to describe how he arrived at the airport just in time to hear the news that the gate had closed. “I got to the counter, and they said, ‘I’m sorry, they just closed the gate. You’re too late.'”

After realizing he missed his flight, MacFarlane decided to rest in the airport lounge. “I went to sleep in the lounge and woke up 40 minutes later, and the flight had hit [the World Trade Center].” The reality of what happened hit him, but he said he didn’t dwell on it for long.

MacFarlane’s Pragmatic Perspective on Fate

When asked if this experience made him feel like he was “supposed to die” that day or if he now felt like he was “on borrowed time,” MacFarlane responded with surprising calmness. “My answer to all that is, it’s such a dull, boring answer because I’m so of the mindset that, you know, coincidences happen. I’ve missed other flights for the same reason, and, you know, I’m not much of a fate person.”

While many people might have been haunted by such a near-death experience, MacFarlane seemed to take it in stride. “It was rattling for the first few weeks, obviously,” he admitted. Yet, he didn’t allow the event to shape his outlook on life significantly.

His experience is particularly striking when compared to others’ stories from that tragic day. Many people who narrowly avoided disaster often feel a sense of guilt or an overwhelming sense of purpose. Yet, MacFarlane remained level-headed, seeing the event as a coincidence rather than an act of fate.

In that same interview, he also mentioned his tendency to be late for things, adding a bit of humor to the situation. “I’m late for everything,” he joked, contrasting with the interviewer’s own habit of punctuality. Perhaps, in this case, his lateness worked in his favor.

Watch the interview below: