Everything about United Airlines Flight 93 totally explained
United Airlines Flight 93 was a scheduled flight from Newark International Airport (now
Newark Liberty International Airport) in
Newark, New Jersey, to
San Francisco International Airport, then continuing on to
Narita International Airport near
Tokyo,
Japan, on a different aircraft. On
September 11,
2001, the
United Airlines Boeing 757-222, registered N591UA, was one of four planes
hijacked as part of the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It didn't reach its intended target, instead crashing in an empty field just outside
Shanksville, Pennsylvania, about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of
Washington, D.C. The
9/11 Commission (through testimony, tapes of passengers' phone calls, and the flight data recorders recovered from the crash) determined that crew and passengers, alerted through phone calls to loved ones, had overpowered the hijackers. The Commission concluded that the hijackers crashed the plane to keep the crew and passengers from gaining control.
Passengers
Hijackers
The hijackers were reported to be the following:
Of these,
Ahmed al-Haznawi was the only hijacker selected on United Airlines Flight 93 by
CAPPS. His checked bags underwent extra screening for explosives, with no extra scrutiny required by CAPPS at the passenger-security checkpoint.
The other three flights hijacked on the same day involved five hijackers on each plane. As Flight 93 had only four, this has led to speculation of a
twentieth hijacker who ultimately didn't take part in the attacks.
The flight
The plane was a Boeing
757-222 on a morning route from Newark International Airport (now known as
Newark Liberty International Airport) in
Newark, New Jersey, near
New York City, to
San Francisco International Airport near
San Francisco, California (EWR-SFO). It had 182 seats but was carrying only 37 passengers (including the four
hijackers) and seven crew members: two pilots, the captain
Jason M. Dahl and his
first officer,
LeRoy Homer Jr.; and five flight attendants. Because one passenger had booked two seats, some early accounts said there were 38 passengers on board. The four hijackers were seated in first class.
The aircraft was scheduled to depart at 8:00 a.m. but didn't lift off until 8:42 due to routine heavy morning traffic. Had the flight departed on time, it would likely have been hijacked around the same time as the other flights, and there's little chance the passengers would have had time to organize a revolt.
By 9:02 a.m., the aircraft reached its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. This was approximately the same time that Jarrah began making announcements to the passengers, "Ladies and Gentlemen: Here the captain, please sit down keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board. So, sit." He gave little detail about the hijackers. Bingham was apparently cut off at the end of his brief call, and didn't return any of the phone calls from friends and family.
First-class passenger
Edward Felt dialed
9-1-1 from his cell phone from the lavatory of the aircraft seeking information. His call was answered by dispatcher John Shaw and Felt was able to tell him about the hijacking before the call was disconnected. There were reports of Felt hearing an explosion and seeing smoke coming into the bathroom from under the door. These reports were later reported to be false. The New York Times stated that, “the 911 dispatcher, John Shaw, and others who have heard the tape, including Mr. Felt's wife, Sandra Felt, say he made no mention of smoke or an explosion when he said, ‘We're going down.’”
A coach passenger,
Jeremy Glick, called his wife in
New York and reported that three men had hijacked the plane, one of whom had a red box strapped to his waist which they claimed to be a bomb. Jeremy asked his wife if it was true that planes had crashed into the
World Trade Center, as he'd heard from other passengers. He then stated that he was going to participate "in the charge (up the aisle to the cockpit)".
Linda Gronlund, who was traveling with her boyfriend, Joseph DeLuca, called her sister, Elsa. Gronlund told her about the hijacking, that the passengers knew about the World Trade Center, and had voted on a plan to take action.
Todd Beamer, another coach passenger, tried to place a
credit card call through a phone located on the back of a plane seat but was routed to a customer-service representative instead, who passed him on to supervisor
Lisa Jefferson. Beamer reported that one passenger was murdered and, later, that a flight attendant had told him the pilot and co-pilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded. He was also on the phone when the plane made its turn in a southeasterly direction, a move that had him briefly panicking. Later, he told the operator that some of the plane's passengers were planning to "jump on" the terrorists. According to Jefferson, Beamer's last audible words were "Are you guys ready?
Let's roll." Beamer was one of the passengers that tried to retake the aircraft from the
terrorists, with the intent of thwarting the terrorists' potential to use the aircraft as a weapon to kill civilians in
Washington DC or elsewhere. This term would later become the
war cry for those fighting Al Qaeda in
Afghanistan.
Honor Elizabeth Wainio called her stepmother, talking to her for 4 1/2 minutes. At the end of the call, she said that they were getting ready to break into the cockpit and she needed to hang up.
Other persons who made phone calls to relatives include
flight attendants CeeCee Lyles and Sandra Bradshaw. Passenger
Lauren Grandcolas called her husband, leaving him a message and telling him of the "problem on the plane". The flight attendants also made reference to using boiling water on the hijackers. What happened afterward is uncertain, but the
black box recordings revealed that the passengers didn't break into the cockpit before the pilot started aiming the plane down for a crash. Although there's no evidence that the passengers succeeded in entering the cockpit, their efforts likely thwarted the hijackers' intended goal.
Only two phone calls, one by Edward Felt and one by flight attendant CeeCee Lyles, came from
cell phones — both at 9:58 a.m, shortly before the plane crashed. At this point, the aircraft was ~5,000 feet above sea level The field near Shanksville where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed is at 2,350 feet
above sea level, and many
Appalachian mountain ridges exceed 3,000 feet above sea level in Somerset and
Westmoreland County. Both phone calls only lasted 1-2 minutes, and then were dropped. Subsequent media reports reported the time of impact as 10:03 a.m., as did 9/11 Commission Report based on when the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder stopped, along with analysis of radar data, infrared satellite data, and air traffic control transmissions.
Karl Landis, who was driving nearby, saw the plane as it "rolled slightly to the left and appeared to hit the ground at almost a 90-degree angle." Another witness, Eric Peterson, who was at a nearby auto shop, looked up when he heard the plane, "It was low enough, I thought you could probably count the rivets. You could see more of the roof of the plane than you could the belly. It was on its side. There was a great explosion and you could see the flames. It was a massive, massive explosion. Flames and then smoke and then a massive, massive
mushroom cloud."
The aircraft impacted at approximately 563 mph (906 km/h), at a 40 degree angle. The impact left a crater about 115 feet (35 m) wide and 10 to 12 feet (about 3.5 m) deep. There were no survivors among the 44 passengers, crew and terrorists (all were killed by the impact or had been previously killed during flight).
The only known photograph of the smoke plume from the crash was taken by real estate agent Val McClatchey. Conspiracy theorists have accused her of manufacturing the photograph.
While sifting through the wreckage, investigators reported finding a serrated belt-clip knife, as well as a
cigarette lighter with a concealed blade.
"Black Box" recorders
The
flight data recorder and
cockpit voice recorder were recovered on the afternoon of
September 13, buried 25 feet (8 m) deep at the impact site, but only transcripts have been released to the public. In April 2002, the
FBI allowed the relatives of the Flight 93 victims to listen to the tapes from the cockpit voice recorder. Further details were released by the
9/11 Commission in July 2004.
The
transcripts of the recording
were made public as part of the trial of
Zacarias Moussaoui, but the actual recording hasn't been released. At the start of the transcript, a woman is heard pleading for her life. This is thought to be the voice of a flight attendant.
The tape is reported to contain voices saying "
Allahu Akbar," shouts in
English that included "Let's get them!" and "We have to (muffled but probably "get") in the cockpit. If we don't, we'll die." Then, screaming and other sounds are heard, followed by silence. Sounds of crockery smashing have led to the conclusion that a service trolley was used as a
battering ram to force open the cockpit door.
Some of the hijackers retreated into the cockpit prior to the charge; those that didn't were likely killed in the counterattack by the passengers. Those in the cockpit can be heard praying, reassuring one another, and discussing on separate occasions, in Arabic, whether to use a
fire axe in the cockpit on those outside, or to cut off the oxygen to quell the charge. Jarrah said, "Is that it? Shall we finish it off?" Another hijacker replied, "No. Not yet. When they all come, we finish it off." Jarrah later said, "Is that it? I mean, shall we put it down?" to which another hijacker replied, "Yes, put it in it, and pull it down," then later "Pull it down! Pull it down!"
Jarrah forced the plane downward. The plane rolled upside-down and the hijackers said their final words. "Allah is the greatest! Allah is the greatest!" The recording stopped at 10:03:10 a.m.
The
9/11 Commission found from the recordings that, contrary to what many had believed, the passengers didn't succeed in entering the cockpit, though the Commission concluded that the hijackers must have believed that the passengers were only seconds away from overwhelming them and crashed the plane in direct response to the passengers counterattack.
Tape recordings of air traffic controllers when this event happened are revealed. At cleveland center, the last words to be understood were quotes that threatened there was a bomb on board. The grave of this flight and its people are now surrounded with a memorial.
Intended target
The hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 had turned the plane around and were heading towards
Washington, D.C. The
United States Capitol Building and the
White House are widely believed to have been possible intended targets. The
9/11 Commission Report cited the actions of the crew and passengers that prevented the destruction of the White House or the U.S. Capitol Building. According to an interview with captured
Al-Qaeda mastermind
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed as published in
The New York Times on
September 9,
2002, the target of Flight 93 was indeed the U.S. Capitol. Early speculation also mentioned
Camp David, near the town of
Thurmont in
Frederick County, Maryland, as a possible intended target.
Shoot-down order questioned
The 9/11 Commission reported that "authorities suggested that U.S. air defenses had reacted quickly, that jets had been scrambled in response to the last two hijackings and that
fighters were prepared to shoot down United Airlines Flight 93 if it threatened Washington". In fact, the commission reported a year later, audiotapes from
NORAD's Northeast headquarters and other evidence showed clearly that the military never had any of the hijacked airliners in its sights and at one point chased a phantom aircraft — American Airlines Flight 11 — long after it had crashed into the World Trade Center," according to
CNN.com. Furthermore, the closest fighters were about 100 miles away and were unarmed. Fighters also went after a
Delta Air Lines Flight 1989 which was suspected to be hijacked though it was later determined untrue and the plane was safe.
Aftermath
All those on board Flight 93 were nominated for the
Congressional Gold Medal on
September 19,
2001 (External Link). These awards have not been granted, but the crew and passengers of Flight 93 have been the subject of numerous other honors, including a government memorial passed on
September 10,
2002. The permanent memorial is expected to be completed in 2010–11. On
September 24,
2001, President
George W. Bush held a special meeting for the families of Flight 93's victims at the White House.
After September 11th, an
American flag was hung over gate 17A, from which Flight 93 departed at Newark airport. The flag still flies there today. There is also a private memorial to the crew in the United Airlines ramp agents' break room below the gate.
The
flight route designation for future flights on the same route was renumbered from Flight 93 to Flight 81 in October 2001 out of respect for those who died. Among some of the passengers to fly this route was Lisa Beamer, widow of Todd Beamer, to prove that Americans wouldn't stop flying because of what had happened. Melodie Homer, widow of
LeRoy Homer, flew this route in order to complete the flight that her husband was unable to do. Since then, United Airlines has renumbered all of its flights. As of
December 10 2007 the current flight number is 91 and uses an
Airbus A319 aircraft, although in the past an
Airbus A320 has also been used
(External Link). It is common for airlines to switch out aircraft, because of seasonal changes in passenger loads.
Todd Beamer's "
let's roll" became a national catchphrase, with
President Bush himself using it in several speeches.
Neil Young penned and recorded a song entitled "Let's Roll", which appeared on the studio album
Are You Passionate.
Shanksville and Somerset County have become much better known as the result of the crash. Somerset County now has a special council, run by the Somerset County Flight 93 Coordinator, which handles Flight 93 matters such as visitors' gifts and memorial services.
Beamer, Bingham, Burnett, and Glick were posthumously awarded the
Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 2002.
Bobby Labonte drove a 9/11 tribute car in 2002 with the phase "Let's Roll" on the hood of this stock car.
The crash was commemorated in ceremonies, public and private, on
September 11 2002 and 2003 at the field where the plane crashed.
After the crash the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey changed the name of Newark's airport from Newark International Airport to
Newark Liberty International Airport.
The Flight that Fought Back was a
Discovery Channel docudrama of the events that occurred on United Airlines Flight 93. It premiered at 9 p.m. on the 4th anniversary of September 11th.
Flight 93, a
TV movie based on the events on Flight 93, was broadcast on
30 January 2006 on
A&E.
United 93, an
Academy Award nominated and award-winning
theatrical film based on the same events, was released on
28 April 2006. The film was made with the full cooperation of all the families of the passengers.
Flight 93 National Memorial
A national
design competition was held to create a public memorial in the Pennsylvania field where Flight 93 crashed. The winning design for the Flight 93
National Memorial is called the
Crescent of Embrace. The site plan features a large crescent pathway with
red maples and
sugar maples planted along the outer arc.
The design has created some controversy because the terrorists who hijacked the airplane were
Muslim fundamentalists. The
crescent is a generally recognized symbol of Islam, and the Red Crescent is used as the Islamic equivalent of the
Red Cross. The crescent is represented on the flags of a number of countries with Muslim majorities. The architect asserts that there's no intent on referencing Muslim symbols (a sentiment that has been shared by several families of the victims) and is willing to discuss design modifications.
As of 2007, there's a temporary memorial at the crash site. People from around the world have left signs, flags, banners, license plates, and other items stitched to a fence. Numerous plaques from various officials and organizations have also been placed at the temporary memorial. Most notably, benches with the names of those who died face towards the location where the impact occurred.
West Coast Flight 93 Memorial
A Memorial has also been built in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, which was the plane's original destination and home to the SFO-based United Airlines Flight Crew.
The Flight 93 Memorial, Union City, California was originated, co-designed, created and built by Michael L. Emerson of nearby Hayward.
The Memorial was completed and dedicated on December 8, 2007.
Miscellaneous
Flight 93 also operated as a code-share flight with Air Canada as Flight AC4085.
The L.A. Guns song "OK, Let's Roll" from the album Waking the Dead is about the passengers on this plane. (External Link)
The band dc Talk reunited to record the song "Let's Roll", which was written to honor the heroes of Flight 93.
U.S. Route 219 was dedicated the "Flight 93 Memorial Highway" from Maryland to Cambria County, Pennsylvania on August 09, 2007 by State Department of Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler.
Melissa Etheridge recorded a song "Tuesday Morning" in tribute to Flight 93 passenger Mark Bingham. It appears on her CD entitled, "Lucky".
Marshall, Texas has a street called United Airline Flight Ninety Three.Further Information
Get more info on 'United Airlines Flight 93'.
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