Missing a flight usually feels like a tragedy. For Seth MacFarlane, it turned out to be exactly the opposite.
On September 11, 2001, the creator of Family Guy had a ticket for American Airlines Flight 11, which departed from Boston bound for Los Angeles.
The night before, he had been drinking, woke up hungover, and, in addition, his travel agent had given him the wrong departure time. MacFarlane arrived about 10 minutes late, when the doors were already closed, and was unable to board.
Upset about missing the flight, he stayed at the airport and eventually fell asleep. When he woke up, he discovered that the same plane had been hijacked and had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It was the first plane to hit one of the Twin Towers that morning.
He was 27 years old and, over time, he himself has said that he does not interpret it as a sign or destiny, but rather as a brutal coincidence that ended up saving his life.
What at the time seemed like merely a delay ended up separating him by minutes from one of the most remembered tragedies in recent history.