Skip to content

featuring historical research, writing, and media at st. mary's university

  • World History

    World History

    Menu
    • World History
    • Pre-Classical History (to 600 BCE)
    • Classical History (600 BCE-600 CE)
    • Post-Classical History (600 CE-1492 CE)
    • Early Modern History (1492-1789)
    • Modern History (1789-1914)
    • Global History (1900-present)

    From the Ancient World

    The Battle of Zama: Rome's Vengeance

    Posted by Davis Nickle12/01/2020

    From the Modern World

    The Holy See Takes On The Fight Against Climate Change

    Posted by Victor Rodriguez11/30/2020

    Regional Histories

    Menu
    • African and African American Studies
    • Latin American Studies
  • US History

    Early America

    Menu
    • US-Three Worlds Meet (to 1620)
    • US-Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763)
    • US-Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
    • US-Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
    • US-Civil War & Reconstruction (1850-1877)

    BLACK LIVES MATTER- A Change in America

    Posted by Jakob Trevino11/05/2020

    Untold Stories of Mexican-American Lynchings

    Posted by Paul Garza12/09/2019

    The Warren Commission Report: Conspiracy Theories Addressed on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

    Posted by Samuel Vega04/11/2020

    CARELESS: Excluding DACA Recipients from the Covid-19 CARES Act

    Posted by Genesis Vera11/30/2020

    Trump vs The Vote: What Really Happened in the 2016 Election?

    Posted by Kendall Guajardo11/30/2020

    America's Greatest Escape: Alcatraz

    Posted by Shea Slusser11/12/2019

    “I don't understand what you are saying, speak English.”: Tener un acento extranjero afecta la percepción.

    Posted by Lyzette Flores11/08/2020

    Brian Kemp, The Puppeteer of His Own Election

    Posted by Alexa Montelongo12/01/2020

    Phineas Gage: An Ordinary Man

    Posted by Stephanie Cerda10/02/2019

    The Pacification of My Lai

    Posted by Sterling Henarie11/28/2020

    The Shock Heard Around The World: Milgram's Experiment

    Posted by Ava Rodriguez05/10/2019

    Calculating the Death of Learning

    Posted by Sabrina Doyon11/08/2019

    The Wet Railing that Solved the Clarence Hiller Murder Case

    Posted by Diamond Davidson04/07/2019

    Perseverance in Preservation: The Hundred-year Historical Development of Woodlawn Lake Park

    Posted by Mario Sosa05/13/2019

    The Brutal Murder of The Black Dahlia

    Posted by Saira Locke10/15/2019

    The Old Spanish Trail in Southern Arizona

    Posted by John Cadena05/09/2019

    Movimienta Chicana: The Voice of Dolores Huerta

    Posted by Allison Grijalva11/04/2020

    Remembering Ranchos De Las Cabras: The Forgotten Outpost of Mission Espada

    Posted by Shine Trabucco05/07/2019

    To Love A Serial Killer

    Posted by Krystal Rodriguez04/17/2019

    Colonias in the Rio Grande Valley: La Monjita en la Bicicleta

    Posted by Angela Perez11/01/2020

    Walter Cronkite: The Most Trusted Man in America

    Posted by Lesley Martinez04/07/2020

    The Genesis Block of Bitcoin

    Posted by Pablo Ruiz12/08/2019

    How the Soviet Union Compelled the United States to Build the World's Fastest Jet: The Lockheed A-12 OXCART

    Posted by Nathaniel Bielawski05/07/2020

    Hope and Grief: Robert Kennedy's Speech on the night of Dr. King's Assassination

    Posted by Matthew Swaykus05/12/2019

    A Company of Heroes: The Story of the Band of Brothers

    Posted by Amanda Gutierrez11/30/2020

    The Untold Fight of Muhammad Ali: The Strength Behind Each Punch

    Posted by Audrey Uribe12/13/2019

    Was Ted Bundy a Sociopath or a Psychopath?

    Posted by Maria Cossio11/23/2020

    Billie Jean King: Ruler of the Court

    Posted by Charli Delmonico12/09/2019

    Rocket Falcon 1: The Art of Failure

    Posted by Bruno Lezama10/03/2019

    “Find a miracle, hold onto it, and keep going.” The Story of Elizabeth Smart

    Posted by Mia Hernandez11/07/2020

    Contemporary America

    Menu
    • US-Industrial United States (1870-1900)
    • US-Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
    • US-Great Depression & WWII (1929-1945)
    • US-Postwar United States (1945-early 1970s)
    • US-Contemporary United States (1968-present)
  • Themes

    SPICE Categories

    Specialty Categories

    Special Themes

    Menu
    • Social History
    • Political History
    • Environmental History
    • Cultural History
    • Economic History
    Menu
    • Art History
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Gender Studies
    • Human Rights
    • Public Health and Medicine
    • International Relations
    • Linguistics
    Menu
    • Military History
    • Music
    • People
    • Psychology
    • Religion
    • Science & Technology
    • Sports
    Menu
    • Catholic Heritage
    • The Year 1968
    • COVID-19
    • Social Justice
    • Spanish Language
  • Showcase

    Showcase Editions

    • Vol 1 – 2016
      • Vol 1 No 1 Aug-Sep 2016
      • Vol 1 No 2 Oct-Nov 2016
    • Vol 2 – 2017
      • Vol 2 No 1 Jan-Feb 2017
      • Vol 2 No 2 Mar-Apr 2017
      • Vol 2 No 3 Aug-Sep 2017
      • Vol 2 No 4 Oct-Nov 2017
    • Vol 3 – 2018
      • Vol 3 No 1 Jan-Feb 2018
      • Vol 3 No 2 Mar-Apr 2018
      • Vol 3 No 3 Aug-Sep 2018
      • Vol 3 No 4 Oct-Nov 2018
    • Vol 4 – 2019
      • Vol 4 No 1 Jan-Feb 2019
      • Vol 4 No 2 Mar-Apr 2019
      • Vol 4 No 3 Aug-Sep 2019
      • Vol 4 No 4 Oct-Nov 2019
    • Vol 5 – 2020
      • Vol 5 No 1 Jan-Feb 2020
      • Vol 5 No 2 Mar-Apr 2020
      • Vol 5 No 3 Aug-Sep 2020
    Menu
    • Vol 1 – 2016
      • Vol 1 No 1 Aug-Sep 2016
      • Vol 1 No 2 Oct-Nov 2016
    • Vol 2 – 2017
      • Vol 2 No 1 Jan-Feb 2017
      • Vol 2 No 2 Mar-Apr 2017
      • Vol 2 No 3 Aug-Sep 2017
      • Vol 2 No 4 Oct-Nov 2017
    • Vol 3 – 2018
      • Vol 3 No 1 Jan-Feb 2018
      • Vol 3 No 2 Mar-Apr 2018
      • Vol 3 No 3 Aug-Sep 2018
      • Vol 3 No 4 Oct-Nov 2018
    • Vol 4 – 2019
      • Vol 4 No 1 Jan-Feb 2019
      • Vol 4 No 2 Mar-Apr 2019
      • Vol 4 No 3 Aug-Sep 2019
      • Vol 4 No 4 Oct-Nov 2019
    • Vol 5 – 2020
      • Vol 5 No 1 Jan-Feb 2020
      • Vol 5 No 2 Mar-Apr 2020
      • Vol 5 No 3 Aug-Sep 2020
  • About

    Course Readings

    Article Indexes

    About Us

    Menu
    • Course Readings – SC 3300 – Nash
    • Course Readings – SMC 1301 – Wieck
    • Course Readings – PO 4334 – Dr Celine
    Menu
    • Course Readings – HS 2321 – Whitener
    • Course Readings – HS 2322 – Whitener
    • Course Readings – SMC 1301 – Whitener
    Menu
    • Our Article/Author Index
    • Award Winning Articles
    Menu
    • Our StMU History Media Project
    • Our Faculty Consultants
    • Our Writers
    • Contact Us
  • Descriptive Article, Political History, United States History, US-Contemporary United States (1968-present)
  • April 15, 2018

9/11: The Heroes of the Doomed Flight 93

What is left of Flight 93/Courtesy of Pinterest
What is left of Flight 93/Courtesy of Pinterest
Timothy ODekirk

Timothy ODekirk

It was a bright, beautiful morning in New York on September 11, 2001. Beautiful weather makes for a perfect day for air travel, which many people had in mind on that day. Many people, like Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, and Jeremy Glick, chose air travel due to either business meetings, vacations, or just returning home to visit family. However, four out of the thirty-seven passengers on their flight had a different intention on booking a flight on that September 11. When Todd Beamer boarded the plane, he sat in an assigned first-class seat in Row 10.1 While Jeremy Glick approached Row 11, he called his wife, Lyz, to say goodbye and to let her know that he would call her when he landed.2 Mark Bingham began to settle in his first class row in seat 4D, just a couple of rows in front of Todd and Jeremy. Sitting in the first row of the plane was Ziad Samir Jarrah and behind him were three other Muslim passengers.3 The flight was scheduled to depart at 8.00 a.m, but there was a delay, and the plane eventually took off at 8:43, just three minutes before an alleged plane flew into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Planes from the eastern part of the United States had been hijacked, and it was no coincidence that the plane that the three men were on was going to be in the same turmoil as well. Their flight was United Airlines Flight 93, a flight that will be forever infamous in American history. However, it’s what the passengers on board the doomed flight did that made the hijacking of the plane unique from the other three hijackings that took place on that day.4 

Image of Todd Beamer, hero of Flight 93 | Courtesy of Pinterest

A few days before that Tuesday morning, Todd Beamer was planning to schedule a flight to San Francisco for a business meeting. While scheduling his flight, Todd was originally going to book a flight for Monday night, the night before the tragic event. However, Todd and his wife, Lisa, just returned home to New Jersey from a week-long business trip in Italy, so he wanted to spend some time with his young sons, David and Andrew, before he departed to San Francisco. Due to this, Todd made the decision to book a flight on United Airlines Flight 93. A few hours earlier on that Tuesday morning, at 5:45, Lisa was awakened by an alarm clock that Todd had set for his flight. When he was ready, he drove off to Newark International Airport for his flight on the condemned Boeing 757.5

Several days before that horrific Tuesday, 32-year-old Mark Bingham decided to book a flight towards the west coast. Just like Todd Beamer, Mark planned to fly to San Francisco a day earlier; however, celebrating his roommate’s birthday and having a hangover the next day, prevented him from that. Due to his mother’s occupation as a flight attendant, Mark had two flights on September 11 that were available to him: one at 7:00 and one at 8:00. Mark set his alarm for 6:00, but he did not wake up until thirty minutes later, causing him to miss the earlier flight and make it barely on time for the later one. If only he had made that 7:00 flight!6

Before September 11, 31-year-old Jeremy Glick was booking a flight to San Francisco for a business trip. However, for Jeremy, there was nothing usual about the flight that he was about to board. Ironically, just like Todd Beamer and Mark Bingham, Jeremy was originally scheduled for a different flight on Monday due to his flight being cancelled. Consequently, Jeremy chose the 8:00 flight on United Airlines Flight 93.7

At 8:42 United Airlines Flight 93 departed from Newark International Airport. The north tower of the World Trade center was already hit by American Flight 11 at this time, resulting in air traffic control casually alerting pilots in the air: “Beware, cockpit intrusion.” About thirty minutes later, around 9:25, most of the thirty-seven passengers on board the large Boeing 757 were either dozing off or reading for the long flight ahead of them. The exceptions were the four unusually suspicious individuals in the front of the plane that some of the passengers in first class could not help but notice. Around this time, Ziad Samir Jarrah and three other passengers on board began tying red bandannas around their heads, which seemed bizarre to Mark Bingham and some other first-class passengers. The four individuals hastily rushed towards the cockpit of the plane. When they entered the cockpit, the pilots were communicating with Air Traffic Control, when all of a sudden Jarrah and his three other men appeared out of nowhere. Through the microphone, air-traffic control could hear a struggle ensue between the pilots and the perpetrators. The pilots were heard shouting, “Get out of here! Get out of here!” Then, there was a sudden and eerie silence. The Arabic men most likely grabbed the flight attendant in the cockpit, proceeded to hold a box cutter to her throat, while the two other men grabbed the pilots from their seats and sliced their throats, killing them. By this point, it is safe to assume that these four Middle Eastern individuals were not just average passengers aboard a plane, or average hijackers for that matter. They were terrorists with only disastrous intentions in their minds, and there was no going back. After they ambushed the pilots, the hijackers had complete control of the plane. They then took the controls and began to turn the Boeing 757 around towards their intended target, the Washington D.C. Capitol Building. Meanwhile, one of the men, probably Jarrah, spoke into the intercom and told the passengers, “Hi, this is the captain. We’d like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board. We are going to turn back to the airport.” They said this while the voice recorder was recording them, quickly realizing that air-traffic control could hear them speaking to the passengers. Recognizing this mistake, the terrorists cut off all communication with air traffic control. During this time, anxiety began to loom among the passengers. Travelers such as Mark Bingham, Jeremy Glick, and Todd Beamer felt that something was awry. That’s when the three men and several other passengers began to walk towards the back of the plane and developed a strategy for what to do. This is when Jeremy Glick met with Mark Bingham and Todd Beamer, who both had the same idea. They were planning to ambush the hijackers. Though a risky scheme, the odds were not against them. They were all fit, they were over six feet tall, they weighed over two-hundred pounds, and they were athletic. Jeremy was an expert in judo, Mark played rugby, and Todd had the desire to always win, no matter the situation. Furthermore, there was also an off-duty pilot on board as a passenger; maybe the men could confront the hijackers, and the pilot could try to attempt to land the Boeing 757 safely.8  

Mark Bingham, hero of Flight 93 | Courtesy of Wikipedia

At 9:45, many passengers, including Jeremy Glick and Mark Bingham, began phoning loved ones before ambushing the terrorists. However, instead of calling his wife, or other loved ones that he may have had, Todd Beamer phoned Lisa Jefferson, an operator for GTE Customer Center, who effectively worked as a 911 operator for aircraft. She began to ask Todd a series of questions regarding the situation that he was in. Todd told Lisa Jefferson all of the details, both trying to stay as calm as possible. During their conversation, Todd told Lisa about their planned attack against the terrorists. Lisa tried to reassure Todd as much as possible throughout their conversation; however, she did not inform Todd about what was simultaneously occurring in New York with the other attacks. She wanted him to have as much hope as he could. When Todd was about to leave the air phone to ambush the hijackers, both he and Lisa Jefferson began to pray an “Our Father” together. After they prayed, all of the men were ready to attack the terrorists. Lisa Jefferson heard Todd yell “Are you guys ready? Let’s Roll,” and that is the last she heard from him.9

Around 9:57 the counterattack of Flight 93 took place. Todd, Mark, Jeremy, and other individuals aboard the plane, began to storm the cockpit of the Boeing 757. As the heroes attempted to confront the terrorists, the hijackers tried to hold the door of the cockpit in order to prevent the passengers from entering. After enough strength from the other passengers, the men forced themselves in the cockpit, where loud crashes and screaming could be heard on the cockpit voice recorder. The terrorists were outnumbered by the passengers; however, the hijackers were determined that people would die on that day. The terrorists began demanding each other for control of the plane, as the plane began to make a dive towards the surface. The Boeing 757 was plunging 90 degrees straight towards the ground, until it crashed in a rural field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The plane was almost completely destroyed and there were no survivors aboard the doomed flight.10

Crash site of United Flight 93 | Courtesy of Flickr

The deaths of Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Jeremy Glick, and all of the other passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 may have seemed lost for nothing. It may have seemed small compared to the number of casualties on that day in September, 9/11. However, their deaths were not in vain. Todd, Mark, and Jeremy knew that the situation did not look good and that they were probably not going to make it out of that plane alive; however, they were not going to let themselves die in fear, pain, and misery. They went down with a heroic battle against the terrorists. Furthermore, what makes Todd, Mark, and Jeremy, heroes was that they prevented the terrorists from ramming into another national landmark. Instead, thirty-seven lives were sacrificed to save hundreds by ambushing the terrorists on the doomed flight. Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, and Jeremy Glick were just three out of so many passengers aboard that plane who saved lives, by giving their own.11

  1. Jere Longman, Among The Heroes (New York: HarperCollins, 2002), 18. ↵
  2. Jere Longman, Among The Heroes (New York: HarperCollins, 2002), 19-20. ↵
  3. Karen Breslau, Eleanor Clift, Evan Thomas, “The Real Story of Flight 93,” Newsweek, October 3, 2001, 2-6. ↵
  4. Angie Cannon, Janet Rae-Dupree, Suzie Larsen, and Cynthia Salter, “Final Words from Flight 93,” U.S. News and World Report, October 29, 2001. ↵
  5. Angie Cannon, Janet Rae-Dupree, Suzie Larsen, and Cynthia Salter, “Final Words from Flight 93,” U.S. News and World Report, October 29, 2001. ↵
  6. Jere Longman, Among The Heroes (New York: HarperCollins, 2002), 27-28. ↵
  7. Jere Longman, Among The Heroes (New York: HarperCollins, 2002), 19-20. ↵
  8. Karen Breslau, Eleanor Clift, and Evan Thomas, “The Real Story of Flight 93,” Newsweek, October 3, 2001, 2-6. ↵
  9. Charlotte Faltermayer, “The Team Player,” Time International, December 31, 2001. ↵
  10. Karen Breslau, Eleanor Clift, and Evan Thomas, “The Real Story of Flight 93,” Newsweek, October 3, 2001, 2-6. ↵
  11. Karen Breslau, Eleanor Clift, and Evan Thomas, “The Real Story of Flight 93,” Newsweek, October 3, 2001, 2-6. ↵

Tags from the story

  • 911, Flight 93, September 11

Share this post

Share on facebook
Share on google
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on pinterest
Share on print
Share on email
Timothy ODekirk

Timothy ODekirk

Author Portfolio Page

Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Story of Dobie Williams

Throughout the history of the United States, there have been tens of thousands of murders,

Read More »

The Massacre at Columbine: How Boys Can Become Murderers

Winner of the Spring 2018 StMU History Media Award for Best Article in the Category

Read More »

This Post Has 85 Comments

  1. Avatar
    Emmett Pena 4 Oct 2020 Reply

    These men and other passengers on board are truly heroes. If they did not try to stop the terrorists, many more lives would have been lost on that solemn day. I really liked and found intriguing to learn about how Todd, Mark, and Jeremy ended up on United Airlines Flight 93 and their personal stories that led up to them over taking the plane from the terrorists.

  2. Avatar
    gene 11 Sep 2020 Reply

    where did the plane go???
    did it just disappear???
    where are the people???
    were they actually in the trees ???
    this are the questions that go though my mind
    like, what really happen up in the sky with that plane?

  3. Avatar
    Al 13 Mar 2020 Reply

    That picture is of a crash of Vladistock Avia Flight 352, a Tupolev TU-154M, which crashed in Burdanovka, Russia on 7/03/01, with 143 fatalities.

  4. Avatar
    Kerry 11 Feb 2020 Reply

    I’m a mother of two young boys so you can assume what most of our conversations are about, superheroes. I’m a strong believer in teaching ourselves, as well as the young ones around us, that we need to place ourselves second when it comes to those around us. Superheroes, kids admire them and would do anything to be one for even an hour on Halloween if they get the chance. But, there are REAL superheroes. I’d made the decision, prior to seeing this thread, that when my boys asked for a story tonight I would indeed tell them about superheroes. I remembered the images and first-hand accounts of what took place on September 11 because it has been tattooed on my brain. I explained what took place on that flight and asked them if they thought that a superhero would be brave enough to try and protect others on the flight and would they do everything they could to try protect others would are NOT on the plane as well. They obviously answered “yes”.

    Thanks to these precious men I was given the priceless privilege of telling my children that superheroes DO exist. I just wanted to share this here since we all seem to have the same hope that is making sure these heroes stay heroes as time goes on. I’ve made the decision to shift my focus onto people who deserve for their story to be told. My hope is that one day, my kids will be anxiously awaiting the moment when they can share the REAL superhero stories to their own children.

    It’s an honour to share their story and always will be.

Comments navigation

Previous commentPrevious

Leave a Reply to Kerry Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

StMU History Media

A Student Organization of St. Mary's University of San Antonio Texas

Sponsors

  • College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, St. Mary's University
  • Department of History, St. Mary's University
  • Department of Political Science, St. Mary's University
  • Center for Catholic Studies, St. Mary's University

Support Services

  • The Learning Assistance Center, St. Mary's University
  • Louis J. Blume Library Services, St. Mary's University
  • STRIVE Career Center, St. Mary's University
  • Academic Technology Services, St. Mary's University

About

  • About Us
  • Our Authors
  • Our Archive
  • Contacts

© All rights reserved

Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest