Person

Christian Adams

Passenger of Flight 93
Christian Adams

Quick Facts
Significance:
Flight 93 Passenger
Date of Birth:
05/27/1964
Date of Death:
09/11/2001

Age: 37
Hometown: Biebelsheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Occupation: Deputy Director, German Wine Institute
Reason for travel: Business

A Fulbright grant recipient and a well-regarded figure in the wine industry, Christian Adams was en route to San Francisco on September 11 for an event promoting German wines. Holding degrees in viticulture, wine making, and marketing from universities in Germany and from the University of California at Davis, Adams was responsible for worldwide promotion of his country’s wines for the German Wine Institute in Mainz. A colleague recalled Adams’ thoughtful manner and his depth of knowledge of the wine business. Adams, a resident of Biebelsheim, Germany, was survived by his wife and two children.

"He was unique. He was [...] so impressive because he would do anything. He, he looked to, to me for direction. "What do you need?" He was always ready to do whatever it took to get the job done and, and totally without ego. He was just unconcerned with, himself, personally, and how he might appear personally. He was just ready and willing and able to do anything to get the job done. Extremely intelligent and reliable, so that I knew if I had any questions, if I had any, needed to know anything at all, I could turn to him and he always had an answer. But, he was, again, because he was so, without ego or self-effacing, if you will, he would be perfectly willing to say, "I don't know," if he didn't know." [1]

-Carol Sullivan, colleague and friend of Christian Adams

This corkscrew belonging to Christian Adams was recovered by the FBI in September 2001 at the crash site near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 

Image of damaged corkscrew recovered at the crash site
NPS/FLNI 8444
 

"He should be remembered with a smile and a laugh. He should be remembered as someone who was always there for the people that he cared about, as someone who was kind, considerate, intelligent - all of those things. But mostly, with a smile and a laugh." [2]

- Carol Sullivan, colleague and friend of Christian Adams

Each year on September 11, members of the German Consulate present a wreath at Flight 93 National Memorial in honor of Christian Adams. 

A white wreath draped with German Flag and text sits in front of a white marble wall inscribed with the names of the passengers and crew member of Flight 93NPS Photo/ B. Torrey 9/11/2019

Footnotes

[1] Flight 93 National Memorial Oral History Collection/OH 492
[2] ibid

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Last updated: January 8, 2026