The Heroes Of United Flight #93

On that fateful Tuesday morning on September 11, 2001, I sat watching the “Today Show.” After the first World Trade Center tower was hit, the network turned the cameras toward the towers. I sat in disbelief as I watched a plane crash into the second tower. And, I watched as both towers crashed to the ground, killing thousands of people. Soon, it was reported that a plane had also crashed into the Pentagon.

“Let’s roll”—I also remember the story of Todd Beamer and his rally call to the passengers of United Airlines Flight #93 on September 11, 2001. Recently, I reread the story that was based on historical records, and I would like to revisit the story from that viewpoint.

Flight #93 began to prepare for the early morning non-stop flight from Newark, New Jersey to San Francisco, California. It had seven crew members, and only 33 passengers with a capacity of 182. It is believed that the exact four planes were chosen for the attacks because of the normal low number of passengers on those particular flights.

However, Flight #93 was delayed for take off for more than 25 minutes (which may have changed the final story in history). Just four minutes after it departed, Flight #11 struck the North Tower. Soon, Flight #175 hit the South Tower, and at 9:37 a.m., hijacked Flight #77 crashed into the Pentagon.

The FAA ordered all aircraft to land at the nearest airport. By that time, Flight #93 was not responding to any orders. The terrorists had overtaken the cockpit, and turned the plane southeast on a course directed toward Washington, D.C. and would probably have targeted the Capital.

As the plane flew over the fields of Pennsylvania, the phone calls began. Using the seatback phones and cell phones, the passengers found out the horrifying truth that planes had crashed into the two towers and the Pentagon.

Todd Beamer, a 32-year-old husband and father, reached an emergency operator, and calmly described the situation unfolding inside the plane. Together, the passengers decided that if they did nothing, countless people on the ground could die. They made a decision— they would fight back.

The men and women aboard Flight #93 reportedly gathered near the front of the aircraft preparing to storm the cockpit and stop the hijackers before the plane could possibly reach Washington, D.C.

Then came the words history would never forget: “Let’s roll.” The cockpit recordings and investigations afterward revealed violent sounds of crashing, shouting, and the struggle that filled the aircraft as the hijackers desperately maneuvered the plane to stop the revolt — but the passengers kept fighting.

At 10:03 a.m., Flight #93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Everyone aboard was killed, and the plane never reached its intended target.

We will always be grateful for Todd Beamer’s final rally call, “Let’s roll,” and the courage of the passengers on United Flight #93. In September, 2001, I wrote these words in my personal notes: “A DAY TO REMEMBER—On September 11, 2001, foreign terrorists attacked America by crashing hijacked planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon… America may never be the same!” I believe my personal statement that I wrote in 2001 is still true. America may never be the same!