My Inspirational Visit to the Flight 93 Memorial

United Flight 93 departed Newark, New Jersey, twenty-five minutes late, at 08:42, on the morning of September 11, 2001. The twin towers of the World Trade Center were visible in the distance as the Boeing 757 taxied for takeoff. Forty remarkable passengers and crew were on their way to San Francisco. But four more passengers— male hijackers seated in first class— had other plans. What unfolded over the next 81 minutes is a story worth reading— even if you think you’ve heard it all before. And it was brought vividly to mind last weekend when I visited the Flight 93 Memorial in Stoystown, Pennsylvania. (Be sure to see the photos and videos at the end of this article.)

Memory of Flight 93

I’m old enough to remember 9/11 and watched the events unfold on live television from Washington, DC. But the two Marines who accompanied me to the Flight 93 Memorial are not. One was just a toddler— and the other was not yet born— when hijackers intentionally crashed three planes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.

The Marines heard stories from their parents about a fourth plane— United Flight 93. But I suspect— 23 years on— there may be people who don’t know, or forgot, the incredible details about Flight 93. It’s a story worth telling, about passengers and crew worth remembering.

The Human Toll of Flight 93

The passengers and crew aboard Flight 93 were aged 20 to 79 and included a Fulbright grant recipient, a Gold Star mom, and a church deacon. Also traveling were a future child psychologist, a rugby champion, and a former prosecutor for Scotland Yard. They were census workers, authors, educators, healers, students, art lovers, environmentalists, Veterans, and new parents. And all of them were important to the family and friends they left behind. In an odd twist of fate, there was even an ironworker who helped construct the World Trade Center.

United Flight 93’s Intended Target

The World Trade Center was still unscathed when Flight 93 departed. Just 21 minutes later, both towers were in flames. The Pentagon was hit 34 minutes after the second tower.

Flight 93 was rerouted mid-flight toward Washington, DC. That much is certain. But whether the hijackers were headed for the White House or the United States Capitol remains a matter of debate. Most analysts believe the hijackers planned to assault the Capitol, since both houses of Congress had just reconvened after the summer break.  

Lives Interrupted

Some of the passengers and crew weren’t supposed to be on the flight. Don and Jean Peterson switched to Flight 93 from a later departure, en route to Yosemite National Park. A thunderstorm canceled Nicole Carol Miller’s original flight, so the airline rebooked her on Flight 93 the next morning. Mark Bingham overslept, raced to the airport, and was the last to board. And Captain Jason Dahl rearranged his schedule so he could take his wife to London for their anniversary.

Double Tragedies

John Talignani was headed to California to join his family after his stepson died in a car crash while honeymooning. Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas— pregnant with her first child— had just attended her grandmother’s funeral. It bothers me that the baby isn’t included in the passenger count.

The Hijacking of Flight 93

Just 46 minutes into Flight 93, the terrorists— armed with knives and claiming to have a bomb— murdered one passenger and stormed the cockpit. The pilots fought the intruders, issued a Mayday, and kept an open mic on the flight deck so air traffic controllers could hear what was happening. Since flight recorders capture only the final thirty minutes of flight, the open mic yielded valuable insights about the assault.

Calls to the Ground

With the cockpit overpowered, the hijackers herded the passengers to the rear of the aircraft before withdrawing to the front of the plane and closing the curtain to the first-class cabin. Left unguarded, the passengers and crew began calling loved ones and the authorities. In those days, Airphones were installed in the seatbacks.

From 09:30 until 10:03, thirteen passengers and crew used Airphones and cell phones to connect with people on the ground. The information exchanged in the course of 37 phone calls informed authorities about Flight 93’s predicament— and alerted the passengers to the other hijacked planes. Within 6 minutes, the group huddled at the back of the plane knew their flight, too, was a suicide mission.

Flight 93 Fought Back

We know from those telephone conversations the passengers and crew voted to rush the cockpit and retake control of the plane. One of the flight attendants, Sandy Waugh Bradshaw, boiled water to throw at the hijackers. At 09:57, a team of passengers and crew charged through the first-class cabin toward the cockpit. At least one hijacker guarded the door. The flight recorder captured the sounds of a scuffle, breaking glass, and a terrorist yelling in pain. Then, at 10:00, the recorder captures the sound of a food cart ramming the cockpit door.

Foiled Plot

At least two hijackers were on the flight deck. After some initial confusion, they realized the passengers and crew were fighting back. The terrorist flying the plane began to roll the aircraft violently from left to right, apparently hoping to knock the group off their feet. When that didn’t work, he pitched the nose of the plane up sharply and then down to interrupt the counterassault. Another pilot in the area, and a witness on the ground, observed the plane’s erratic movements, which are confirmed by the flight data recorder.

Flight 93’s Final Moments

The sounds of struggle continue until the recording stops. There’s disagreement about whether the passengers and crew were able to breach the cockpit. A transcript of the flight recording reveals more breaking glass and plates, cries in Arabic and native English, and what reads like a fight for control of the yoke.

At 10:03, Flight 93 inverted, angled downward at 40 degrees, and crashed at full speed into an empty field at the edge of a grove of hemlocks. Otherwise, it would have reached the nation’s capital 18 minutes later.

Flight 93’s delayed departure ensured the passengers and crew learned about the other hijackings in time to fight back. If they hadn’t, the White House or Capitol would have fallen, too.

The Voicemail and Cockpit Recordings

Voicemail messages left by the passengers and crew of Flight 93 were used as evidence during the prosecution of co-conspirators in the attacks. A transcript of the cockpit recording is publicly available. But the FBI declines to release the actual audio, citing ongoing investigations. However, the victims’ families lobbied successfully to hear the recording privately and afterwards asked that it remain under seal. 
 

Honor Elizabeth Wainio

When I visited the Flight 93 Memorial on July 13, I spotted a collection of tributes at the base of the panel dedicated to Honor Elizabeth Wainio. A wooden block with the words “Love You More” was surrounded by a collection of seashells. A few of the larger shells were turned upwards to reveal words written on them in black marker. I leaned in to read them, and one inscription gave me chills. “Elizabeth, Love You + Miss You, Dad”. It was dated July 1, 2024— just twelve days earlier.

On my way out, I stopped to look at Elizabeth’s photo at the entrance to the memorial plaza. Then I looked up her bio at the memorial’s website. She was just 27 years old and en route to a business conference for employees of Discovery Channel Stores. And I learned she was among the passengers who spoke with a loved one on the ground before the crash. Elizabeth ended a nearly 5-minute call with her stepmother because the group was about to rush the cockpit.

The Flight 93 National Memorial

The field at Stoystown is the final resting place for the passengers and crew of Flight 93. A temporary memorial to the forty-one souls lost there appeared shortly after the crash. But it took ten years to begin construction of a permanent tribute. The visitor center finally opened in 2015, on a hill overlooking the memorial plaza.

The plaza’s main feature is the Wall of Names. It consists of 40 marble panels, each inscribed with the name of a passenger or crew member and arranged in alphabetical order. Near the beginning of the Wall of Names is a ceremonial gate made of hemlock that, on special occasions, allows access to the crash site. In the middle of the field stands a lone boulder that marks the edge of the now-level impact crater. The visitor center, Wall of Names, ceremonial gate, and boulder form a line that traces Flight 93’s final path. 

The Visitor Center

The visitor center is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, but the memorial plaza is open from dawn to dusk. The plaza’s long sloping wall— overlooking the field and stretching its entire length— replaced the chain link fence that once marked the perimeter of the crime scene. You can walk from the visitor center to the Wall of Names and then continue along the rest of the plaza. Alternatively, drive to the parking lot at the opposite end of the memorial plaza and walk the length of the plaza to reach the Wall of Names. 

I visited at dusk on a Saturday when the visitor center was closed. But informational panels at the plaza, and the memorial’s website, provided plenty of information to make the visit informative and meaningful. And sunset is an especially peaceful time to visit. It’s a somber, moving experience, and I preferred the solitude. 

The Tower of Voices

Near the main entrance to the site, take a moment to see the symbolic Tower of Voices. Opened in 2018, it stands 93 feet tall and holds 40 chimes— one for each passenger and crew member. Whenever the wind reaches 12 mph, the chimes remind passersby of the 40 voices silenced, but not forgotten, on that fateful September morning. Even the road from the main entrance to the memorial plaza is symbolic. It’s lined with 40 groves of 40 hemlocks apiece. 

Plan Your Visit to the Flight 93 Memorial

The Flight 93 National Memorial is located 65 miles from Pittsburgh and 130 miles from Washington, DC. Use the memorial’s official website to plan your visit. There is a lot of information there about the memorial itself, the flight, the passengers and crew, and the investigation that followed the crash. Some particularly helpful resources are found here. And at the bottom of the photo gallery below, you’ll find two videos that I thought were important to highlight.

Against All Odds

You may have read my article about the Czech martyrs in Prague who assassinated Reinhard Heydrich— the Nazis’ senior SS official in Czechoslovakia during WWII. In Stoystown, too, I stood at precisely the spot where historic events unfolded and again had goosebumps imagining what it must have been like that day. How would I have felt? Who would I have called, and what would I have said? What would I have done in their shoes?

The passengers and crew of Flight 93, like the Czech resistance fighters, were ordinary citizens who stood up to evil. In desperate, dangerous circumstances they risked everything and— against all odds— fought back. And they succeeded.

Final Thoughts

The heroic actions of the passengers and crew aboard United Flight 93 spared the Capitol or White House. Their sacrifice— and their families’  loss— is incalculable. The Flight 93 National Memorial stands as a permanent reminder of the debt we owe them. Theirs is a story worth knowing— and worth repeating.