Thirty-seven passengers were on board United Airlines Flight 93 as it took off nearly 45 minutes late due to the heavy airport traffic. Hidden amongst these unsuspecting passengers were four men who planned to take over the craft and slam it into either the White House or the Capitol. The same day, three other plans had also been hijacked, two of them hitting the World Trade Center, and one hitting the Pentagon. As news of these hijackings made its way across the country, the FAA ordered that its pilots receive warnings to increase aircraft security. When United 93 received the message, pilot Jason Dahl responded in confusion, “Ed, confirm latest mssg plz-Jason” Two minutes later, the hijackers attacked, causing the plane to plummet several hundred feet. Soon after the plane was taken over, passengers began to call their loved ones and report what was happening. It wasn’t long before the surviving passengers and crew members decided to revolt, all running up to the cockpit to take on their attackers. As the passengers and crew members began breaking into the cockpit, the hijackers crashed the plane into an empty field in Shanksville, PA, roughly twenty minutes short of their intended target. Although the passengers did not successfully take over the cockpit, their actions prevented the hijackers from crashing the plane into one of our nation’s great buildings, thereby sacrificing themselves to save countless more innocent lives.
Summary by John M. and Mallory
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