The passengers of United Flight 93 initially knew little about what was happening.
Then the calls began.
Passengers used telephones to contact family members.
They learned about the World Trade Center.
They learned about the Pentagon.
They realized that the hijacking of their aircraft was probably part of the same operation.
The passengers now faced a terrible choice.
They could remain passive.
Or they could attempt to take control of the aircraft.
They chose to fight.
The decision was made with incomplete information and enormous personal risk.
The passengers and crew members moved towards the cockpit.
A struggle began.
The hijackers attempted to maintain control.
The passengers attempted to break through. The aircraft changed course.
It never reached Washington.
At 10:03 a.m., Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
All 40 passengers and crew members died. But the aircraft did not hit the intended target.
The 9/11 Commission concluded that the plane was likely headed toward the U.S. Capitol or White House and that the passengers’ resistance prevented the hijackers from completing their objective.
Flight 93 became one of the defining stories of courage on September 11.
THE TOWERS FALL
At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed.
It had stood for decades.
It disappeared in seconds.
A gigantic dust cloud swept through Lower Manhattan.
People ran through streets covered in ash.
Inside the disaster zone, emergency workers were trying to survive.
Others were still attempting to help.
The North Tower remained standing.
For another 29 minutes, it burned.
At 10:28 a.m., the North Tower collapsed.
The two structures that had defined the New York skyline were gone.
The destruction was so complete that photographs from Ground Zero were difficult to comprehend.
Steel beams were twisted.
Concrete was pulverized.
Cars were buried.
Roads disappeared beneath debris.
And the air itself was filled with dust.
The area would soon become known around the world as Ground Zero.
Be the first to comment