COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- While many can recall where they were on Sept. 11, 2001, one woman who now lives in Colorado Springs has unique connections to what happened on that tragic day.

Surya Iacono worked as a flight attendant for United Airlines for 13 years. She was based out of John F. Kennedy Airport in New York and knew many of the pilots who were killed when their planes were hijacked.

But her connection to 9/11 does not stop there.

"When they released the photos of the hijackers, I flipped, I absolutely flipped out," Iacono said. "That was this guy who had sat next to me for two and a half hours, who brutally murdered my friends on 9/11."

In October of 2000, the former flight attendant was on a flight from New York City to her home in Florida. She was sitting next to three men she described as "respectable" and "well-spoken."

"One sat next to me in 3B, the other two sat behind me," Iacono said. "They were dressed nicely."

The man who sat next to her was Al Hazenawi, who was later identified as one of the hijackers of United Flight 93.

"When we landed he said, 'Surya, thank you so much. You've been so kind and helpful to us. I want to give you something to remember me by,'" Iacono said. "He turned around and gave me a 10 Dirham from the United Arab Emirates. I still have it to this day."

Little did Iacono know that she was on the same flight as three terrorists who would later be responsible for the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.

"I never thought they could be terrorists," she said.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Iacono woke to her cell phone vibrating on her bedside table. She had missed nearly 30 phone calls from fellow flight attendants, calling to find out if she was okay.

"I called the United coordinator in New York City immediately," Iacono said. "I said, 'What's going on? Is anyone from United involved?' She said, 'Surya, we can't find two of our airplanes. They're missing. They're gone.'"

Iacono immediately turned on her television, but was not prepared for what she saw.

"They started showing video that said it was a United flight that crashed into the South Tower," she said. "I used to work Flight 175."

Iacono watched live coverage as Flight 175 crashed into the south World Trade Center tower, killing all 65 on board, including two of the pilots she had dinner with just weeks before.

"Why? Why would they do that to my friends?" Iacono said. "Why would they do that to people who had nothing to do with anything in the world? They were brutally murdered, brutally. How could our country let that happen?"

Though 10 years have passed, the loss of her friends and co-workers is something Iacono struggles with everyday.

"Even 10 years later, [these feelings] are just as strong as when 9/11 happened," she said. "I hope that no one has to live with those feelings that those families and people close to [the victims] are still feeling today because it is hard. Very hard."

The events on Sept. 11, 2001 inspired Iacono to become a filmmaker. She created the documentary "Green Cards for Al Qaeda," which will premiere Friday, Sept. 16 at the Lon Chaney Theater in Colorado Springs. It will be available on demand worldwide beginning Oct. 1.

Extended interview with Surya Iacono: