He was the Captain of American Airlines Flight 11, which was hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks.

[1][5] Ogonowski was also an avid farmer, who secured 150 acres of farmland on Marsh Hill Road in Dracut through the federal Agriculture Preservation Restriction program.

[1][6] Following his murder, ringleader Mohamed Atta took his seat to control the Boeing 767, and crashed it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

[5] His younger brother, Jim Ogonowski, who is also an agricultural activist, made an unsuccessful run for the United States House of Representatives in 2007.

[9] In 2002, Ogonowski and Flight 11 flight attendants Betty Ong and Madeline Amy Sweeney were the inaugural recipients of the Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery,[10][11] an honor that the Government of Massachusetts instituted to award annually at least one Massachusetts resident for displaying extraordinary courage in defending or saving the lives of others.