Heroes and Helpers

9/11 has become most known for American Airline Flight 11 and United Airline Flight 175 being hijacked and flown into the World Trade Centre. A third plane, American Airline Flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon.

The 9/11 attacks were a series of coordinated plane hijackings by al-Qaeda terrorists, with commercial passenger jets flown into the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan and the Pentagon building in Washington D.C.

However, a fourth plane, United Airlines flight 93 departing New Jersey with San Francisco as its destination, was hijacked with the terrorists likely intending to fly the plane into either the Capitol building or the White House. The hijackers were prevented from reaching their final target by the 44 passengers and crew on board, who upon learning of the plane attacks elsewhere in the country, rebelled against the hijackers. Although all passengers on board would lose their lives, their heroic actions prevented a much greater loss of life.

Approximately 42 minutes after the first plane hit the North Tower, 4 hijackers on board Flight 93 made their move into the cockpit where Captain Dahl and First Officer Homer were heard by air traffic controllers telling the intruders to get out. Both the Pilot and First Officer were stabbed and dragged to first-class, an announcement was then made by one of the hijackers instructing those on board to remain seated and stay quiet.

Shortly after passengers and crew were herded to the back of the plane, where one hijacker kept guard over the them. Two of the hijackers took control of the aircraft, while a fourth is believed to have remained with the injured pilots.

Upon learning of the fate of the other hijacked planes by calls to the ground, the 37 passengers held a vote and decided to revolt against the hijackers. A group of passengers rushed First-Class, some armed with boiling water to throw over the hijackers, and fought their way to the cockpit.

Calls to the ground made from onboard give an indication of how the tactics to overthrow the hijackers came into place. 3 men - Mr Glick, Mr Burnett and Mr Bingham formulated the plan to attack.

Another passenger, Mr Beamer, who was on the line to a supervisor for the on-flight service provider on the passenger phone, was heard as saying “You ready? Let’s roll”. Those last recorded words of his would go on to become a national slogan.

As the hijackers in the cockpit became aware of the revolt, the plane was maneuverered violently in an attempt to destabilise their attempts to regain control of the aircraft. The flight eventually nosedived into a field in Shanskville, Pennsylvania, 130 miles northwest of Washington DC. The hijackers and all of the passengers and crew on board were killed, but the actions of the passengers ensured that there were no other injuries on the ground.

The passengers, recognising their own fate, chose to use what would be their last actions to prevent the plane reaching its intended target, and an even more horrendous loss of life.

All passengers and crew on board Flight 93 were granted the Congressional Gold Medal on September 11th 2014. A public memorial also stands in the Pennsylvania field where the flight crashed, made of white marble and inscribed with the names of the victims and aligned with the flight path.

The then Vice President Dick Cheney who had authorised Flight 93 to be shot down claimed “I think an act of heroism just took place on that plane” upon learning of the crash.