Mary Frances "Frankie" Housley was the lone flight attendant on National Airlines Flight 83, which crashed after landing at Philadelphia International Airport on January 14, 1951. She led 10 passengers to safety, then returned to the burning cabin to save an infant. She died in the attempt and was later found holding the four-month-old baby in her arms.

Neerja Bhanot was an Indian flight purser. On 5 September 1986, she saved a large number of passengers onboard Pan Am Flight 73, which had been hijacked by four Palestinian terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization after it made a stopover at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. Around 17 hours into the standoff, after she opened an emergency exit door and began helping passengers escape from the plane, Neerja was shot and killed by the hijackers. Shortly afterwards, Pakistan's Special Service Group stormed the aircraft and captured all of the hijackers.