The coordinated terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 unfolded at nightmarish speed. At 8:46 a.m., the first plane struck the north tower of the World Trade Center. Sixteen minutes later, a second jet hit the south tower. At 9:37 a.m., an airliner crashed into the Pentagon. Within hours, thousands of people were dead, including hundreds of first responders who rushed to the scene to help.
But after events calmed down and the extent of the damage was relieved, it became clear that there was at least one element of al Qaeda’s terrorist plot where the damage had been mitigated – with the fatal crash on United Airlines Flight 93.
Like the other three hijacked planes on September 11, Flight 93 was overtaken by al Qaeda operatives with the intention of crashing it into an American center of power – in the case of Flight 93, presumably the White House. or the US Capitol. But instead of hitting its target, the United jet fell in a field in rural Pennsylvania. As all 44 people on the plane were killed, countless people who might have perished in Washington were spared a passenger uprising – a heroic struggle undertaken with all low-tech weapons they and the cabin crew could pull together.
Brendan Koerner, author of The sky is ours, a book on domestic airline hijackings in the 1960s and 1970s, says that in the hundreds of cases he studied for his book, he never encountered anything like the Flight 93 passenger uprising.
MORE: September 11: Photos Of The Worst Terror Attack On American Soil
“The attitude of the passengers tended to be that the airlines would give the hijackers what they wanted, so there were relatively few threats to the passengers,” Koerner says. “There aren’t really many examples of passengers involved.”
HISTORY looks back on a timeline of how the passengers on Flight 93 kept their plane from hitting Washington.
7:39 a.m. to 7:48 a.m .: Terrorist Council, probably a short man
The alleged United Airlines Flight 93 hijackers: (LR, top to bottom) Ahmed Alnami, Ahmed Ibrahim A. al-Haznawi, Ziad Samir al-Jarrah and Saeed Alghamdi.
FBI / Getty Images
On the morning of September 11, four terrorists boarded United Airlines Flight 93 at Newark International Airport: Ziad Jarrah, a trained pilot; and three others, who were trained in unarmed combat and would help storm the cockpit and control the crowd. All four were seated in first class.
There was one less hijacker on Flight 93 than the five-man crews who requisitioned the other three planes, leading the 9/11 Commission report to speculate that the hijacking of United Airlines was operating with an incomplete team. This commission speculated that a fifth hijacker – Mohammed al-Qahtani – was refused entry into the country in early August at Orlando International by a suspicious immigration official, who believed that al-Qahtani wanted to extend the duration of his visa and live in the United States.
8:42 am: The flight leaves late
UA 93 left its Newark International gate at 8:01 a.m., one minute later than scheduled. But heavy traffic on the runway delayed take-off for about 42 minutes.
As a result, one of the flights (Flight 11) was hijacked nearly half an hour before UA 93 left the runway, and both World Trade Center towers would be hit before the pirates of the air flight 93 have taken control of their aircraft.
READ MORE: September 11: Six lanes of uncertainty reigned aboard Air Force One
9:24 am: airline dispatcher warns United 93 of cockpit intrusion
As several hijackings took place across the country, United Airlines dispatcher Ed Ballinger sent a warning text message to pilot Jason Dahl: “Beware of any intrusion into the cockpit – two air conditioners [aircraft] hit the World Trade Center. “
Dahl, apparently confused, replied, “Ed, confirm the last mssg plz – Jason.”
Flowers are placed along the name wall dedicated to Captain Jason Dahl at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pa. On September 10, 2011.
Nicholas Kamm / AFP / Getty Images
9:28 am: United 93 is hijacked
As it flew 35,000 feet over eastern Ohio, United 93 suddenly lost 7,000 feet as terrorists rushed into the cockpit. In the cockpit, the captain or the first officer could be heard shouting “Mayday!” and “Get out of here!” in a radio transmission.
Some time before 9:30 am: hijackers kill a passenger in first class
Tom Burnett, a first class passenger on the flight, called his wife from the back of the plane at 9:30 a.m. to report the hijacking. During the call, Burnett told his wife, Deena, that a passenger was stabbed in front of the other passengers. On a subsequent call a few minutes later, he told her that the passenger had died.
READ MORE: On September 11, Heather Penney attempted to bring down Flight 93 on a Kamikaze mission
9:32 am: hijacker Ziad Jarrah threatens passengers via intercom
“Ladies and Gentlemen: This captain, please sit down and remain seated. We have a bomb on board. So sit down.
9:35 a.m .: Jarrah redirects the jet’s autopilot to Washington, DC
Around the same time, the cockpit recordings pick up the sound of a flight attendant pleading for her life, then shut up.
WATCH: Todd Beamer’s “Let’s Roll” Story
9:35 a.m. to 9:55 a.m .: passengers and crew call their relatives
For about 20 minutes, the passengers and the crew relayed information about their hijacking… and were informed of the grim news on the ground. The planes had, by this point, struck both the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. The passengers knew they expected a similar fate.
Passenger Jeremy Glick told his wife Lyz that passengers were voting on whether or not to storm the cockpit in an attempt to get back on the plane.
“I have my breakfast butter knife,” he would have joked.
Burnett told his wife the passengers would wait until they were over a rural area before attempting their action.
Air hostess Sandra Bradshaw boiled water, to throw at the hijackers.
Those on the flight who couldn’t communicate with loved ones left heart-wrenching voicemails instead. Flight attendant CeeCee Lyles called her husband, told him she loved him, and asked him to take care of her children.
“Are you guys ready?” one of the passengers, Todd Beamer, could be overheard saying to the others during a call with a telephone operator. “Let’s go ride.”
READ MORE: Behind White House 9/11 order to shoot down US airliners: ‘It had to be done’
9:57 am: The passenger revolt begins.
The cockpit voice recorder picked up the sound of passengers trying to break through the door: screams, banging and the sound of dishes and glass. In response, Jarrah tried to shut off the oxygen and began to throw the plane left and right, to throw the passengers off balance.
9:58 a.m. Jarrah ordered another hijacker to block the door.
9:59 a.m .: Jarrah began to hop on and off the plane, again hoping to neutralize the onslaught of passengers.
10:00 am: Hijackers discuss crash early
Still about 20 minutes from their target, the hijackers admitted that they would soon lose control of the plane.
“Can we finish?” Jarrah asked one of the other hijackers in the cockpit.
“Not yet” was the response. “When they all arrive, we finish.”
In the background, a passenger shouted to another, “In the cockpit. Otherwise, we will die!
READ MORE: 5 Ways 9/11 Changed America
10:01 am: The hijackers decide to crash the plane
Jarrah again asked the other hijacker if he should run over the vehicle. This time he was told, “Yeah, put it in and pull it down.
Jarrah pulled the control dial sharply to the left, causing the plane to fly upside down, then crash to the ground at a speed of 580 miles per hour.
It was 10:03 am
Twenty-five minutes later, the second tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.
WATCH: “9/11: The last minutes of flight 93” will begin on Friday, September 11 at 8 / 7c.
