A heroic ferry captain who helped hundreds of people escape Lower Manhattan on September 11th has died of a 9/11-related illness. Thomas Phelan, who went on to become a New York City firefighter died of cancer on Friday. On September 11th, he was working as a ferry captain for the Statue of Liberty when a pair of planes slammed into the World Trade Center. Phelan used his ferry boat as a rescue vessel, ushering hundreds to safety.