What made Flight 93 different was a decision reached somewhere over the skies of Western Pennsylvania, after passengers learned on cell phones that they were likely to be flown into a building as the fourth in a quartet of suicide attacks.
This is their Story:
The pilot was Jason Dahl, 43 of Denver. Homer would fly alongside him as first officer. Dahl was planning to take his wife Sandy to London for their fifth wedding anniversary on September 14, and by moving up his flight schedule, they would have more time together overseas. Sandy, a United flight attendant, went onto United's computer system and shifted him to Flight 93. The night before the left Denver, Dahl took his wife downtown and told her to pick a car she liked. What he hadn't told her was, when he got back home on Friday, he also was having a baby grand paino delivered. On September 10, Dahl flew as a passenger in business class on his way to Newark. He sat next to Rob Quillen, a businessman from Lincoln, Nebraska, who knew he was next to someone important when an attendant brought Dahl a beer before anybody else on the plane had been served. The pair struck up a conversation about the safety of flying. Quillen said his biggest fear was engine failure. Dahl told him that had happened to him but that he's made an emergency landing without trouble Dahl's biggest worry, as Quillen remembered it, was landing in the rain. The massive wheels could hydroplane.
Deborah Welsh was the purser--the key attendant who stands in front, makes announcements and oversees the others.
Wanda Green wasn't origionally supposed to be on Flight 93. The 49 year old divorced mother of two grown children had been scheduled to fly September 13, but Green, who also worked as a real estate agent, realized she had to handle the closing of a home sale.
Sandy Bradshaw, 38, would work the back of the plane in economy class. Ater the first of her two children were born two years ago--she also had a 16 year old stepdaughter, she had cut back on her workload.
Mark Bingham, had overslept and his friend woke him and he drove madly from Manhattan to Newark. United attendants reopened the door to the boarding ramp and let him on the plane.
At some point--the best estimation is about 40 minutes into the flight west--at least three of the hijackers stood up and put red bandanas around their heads. Two of them forced their way into the cockpit. One took the loudspeaker microphone, unaware it could also be heard by air traffic controllers, and announced that someone had a bomb onboard and the flight was returning to the airport. He told them he was the pilot, but spoke with an accent.
Deena Burnett was waking up at her home in San Ramon, CA. She's gone down to the kitchen to fix breakfast for her three daughters. The phone rang. She recalls it was around 6:20am or 9:20 Eastern Time. It was Tom. "Are you all right?" she asked. "No I'm on United Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco. The plane has been hijacked. We are in the air. They've already knifed a guy. There is a bomb on board. Call the FBI". Deena Burnett dialed 911.
Jeremy Glick picked up a GTE Airfone just before 9:30am and called his in laws in the Catskills. His wife, Lyz and daughter, were visiting. The family had been transfixed in front of a television, watching new coverage of airliners smashing into the WTC in New York. Glick's mother in law answered the phone. "Jeremy," she said, "Thank God. We're so worried." "It's bad news," Glick replied. He asked for Lyz. Lyz recalls no background noise. No commotion. He described the men as Arabic looking, wearing red headbands, carrying knives. One told passengers he had a bomb. Most passengers had been forced to the rear of the cabin. Glick's mother in law went to another phone and dialed 911. As Jeremy and Lyz spoke, New York state police patched in on the call. Glick asked his wife: Was it true that planes had been crashed into the WTC? Yes, she said. Glick thought so. Another passenger had been on the phone home and heard the same thing.
Around 9:30am Denna Burnett's phone rang again. It was Tom. "He didn't sound frightened, but he was speaking faster than he normally would," she said. He told her the hijackers were in the cockpit. "I told him a lot of planes had been hijacked, that they didn't know how many," she said. "You've got to be kidding, " he replied. "No," she said. Were they commercial planes, airliners, he asked her. She didn't know. "OK," he said, "I've got to go." He hung up. Deena looked at the television. The Pentagon suddenly appeared, a hole torn into it's side by an oncoming airplane. She wondered if it was her husband's flight, she started crying.
Alice Hoglan was visiting her sister in law, Kathy Hoglan, in Saratoga, CA, when the phone rang. It was 9:42 Eastern time. Kathy's nephew, Mark Bingham was on the line. "Alice, talk to Mark," Kathy said, handing her the phone. "He's been hijacked." "Mom? This is Mark, she knew he was flustered. "I want to let you know that I love you. I'm on a flight from Newark to San Francisco and there are three guys who have taken over the plane and they say they have a bomb," he said. "Who are these guy's". Alice Hoglan asked. There was a pause. Hoglan heard murmurs of conversation in English. Mark's voice came back. "You believe me don't you?" he asked. "Yes Mark. I believe you. But who are these guys?" There was a pause. Alice heard background noise. The line went dead.
Todd Beamer was near the rear of the plane, trying to use his company's Airfone account. For some reson, he couldn't get authorization for the call. Finally, he was routed to a Verizon customer service center in Oakbrook, Illinois. He told the operator his airliner had been hijacked. He was patched through immediately to Lisa Jefferson, a Verizon supervisor. It was 9:45am. Somewhere outside Cleveland, United Flight 93 had made a sharp turn and began flying east, toward Washington, DC.