Flight 93

Flight 93 National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior National Memorial Pennsylvania A common field one day. A field of honor forever. THE TOWER OF VOICES (above) represents the voices of the passengers and crew members. A musical instrument holding 40 wind chimes, the tower stands 93 feet tall in homage to Flight 93. CREW MEMBERS CAPTAIN, JASON M. DAHL ° FIRST OFFICER, LEROY HOMER ° FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: LORRAINE G. BAY ° SANDY WAUGH BRADSHAW ° © PAUL MURDOCH ARCHITECTS AND BIOLINIA WANDA ANITA GREEN ° CEECEE ROSS LYLES ° DEBORAH JACOBS WELSH PA S S E N G E R S CHRISTIAN ADAMS ° TODD M. BEAMER ° ALAN ANTHONY BEAVEN ° MARK BINGHAM ° DEORA FRANCES BODLEY ° MARION R. BRITTON ° THOMAS E. BURNETT, JR. ° WILLIAM JOSEPH CASHMAN ° GEORGINE ROSE CORRIGAN ° PATRICIA CUSHING ° JOSEPH DELUCA ° PATRICK JOSEPH DRISCOLL ° EDWARD PORTER FELT ° JANE C. FOLGER ° COLLEEN L. FRASER ° ANDREW (SONNY) GARCIA ° JEREMY LOGAN GLICK ° KRISTIN OSTERHOLM WHITE GOULD ° LAUREN CATUZZI GRANDCOLAS AND UNBORN CHILD ° DONALD FREEMAN GREENE ° LINDA GRONLUND ° RICHARD J. GUADAGNO ° TOSHIYA KUGE ° HILDA MARCIN ° WALESKA MARTINEZ ° NICOLE CAROL MILLER ° LOUIS J. NACKE II ° DONALD ARTHUR PETERSON ° JEAN HOADLEY PETERSON ° MARK DAVID ROTHENBERG ° CHRISTINE ANN SNYDER ° JOHN TALIGNANI ° HONOR ELIZABETH WAINIO ° September 11, 2001 September 11, 2001, morning: Four commercial airliners are hijacked by al Qaeda terrorists in a planned attack against the United States. Two are fown into the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City. A third is fown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth plane, United Flight 93, a Boeing 757 bound for San Francisco, California, from Newark, New Jersey, is delayed 25 minutes before takeof. After 46 minutes fying, when over eastern Ohio, hijackers in frst class attack at 9:28 am, incapacitating the captain and frst ofcer. Hijackers turn Flight 93 southeast, headed for Washington, DC, most likely the US Capitol (below). Just before 10 am the plane is seen fying low and erratically over southwestern Pennsylvania. At 10:03 it crashes, upside-down, at 563 miles per hour into this Somerset County feld. There are no survivors. All 33 passengers, seven crew members, and four hijackers are killed. CHARTING THE ACTION OF THE PASSENGERS AND CREW This fight map depicts the delayed takeoff and then the hijacking of Flight 93 by terrorists. Six minutes of struggle kept the airliner from reaching its symbolic target in the Nation’s Capital. © LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, CAROL HIGHSMITH COLLECTION America Attacked The smoke plume from the crash explosion was photographed by a nearby resident (right). September 11, 2001, marked the frst time that terrorists used commercial airliners as weapons to destroy symbolic targets, commit mass murder, and spread fear. Al Qaeda had targeted the World Trade Center, commerce; Pentagon, military; and US Capitol, government. Hay bales covered with tributes from the families of the passengers and crew formed an early, informal memorial (far right) even as the FBI recovery work and search for evidence continued at the crash site (background photo). © VALENCIA MCCLATCHEY © JAMES BEE What happened on board Flight 93—why it crashed here and why it did not strike its target— revealed itself as a story of heroic action. When the terrorist-hijackers took over the plane, passengers and crew began phoning family, friends, and authorities to report the hijacking. Their calls—13 people placed 37 calls—told them of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Their plane, they now realized, was part of a planned attack. Passengers and crew then made a collective decision, by vote, to rush the terrorists and try to retake the plane. The frst volunteer fre fghters on the scene and local residents stand by the smoldering crater 15 minutes after the crash (right). At the direction of the coroner, the crater was backflled. A piece of fuselage (center) was one of the largest objects recovered. The cockpit voice recorder (far right) gave details of the diverted fight. The cockpit voice recorder became important evidence for the FBI in this, its largest-ever investigation. This was the only voice recorder recovered from the four hijacked aircraft to yield information. This “black box” gave critical information about the aircraft’s fnal moments and the struggle for control. Other evidence found here would enable the FBI to trace how the terrorist attacks were fnanced. © MARK STAHL FBI FBI Recovered from the crash site, the cockpit voice recorder captured the shouts, thumps, crashes, and breaking of glass and plates. The 9/11 Commission reported that the hijackers, although remaining in control of the plane, must have judged that the passengers and crew were mere seconds from overcoming them. To continued sounds of the counterattack, Flight 93 crashed into this feld. The crash site is 18 minutes fying time from Washington, DC. The action of unarmed passengers and crew thwarted and defeated the terrorists’ plan. © DALE SPARKS Tower of Voices Flight Path Walkway, Overlook, and Visitor Center Memorial Plaza and Wall of Names RENDERINGS—© PAUL MURDOCH ARCHITECTS AND BIOLINIA Flight 93 National Memorial is the nation’s memorial to the passengers and crew of Flight 93. The Tower of Voices stands in musical tribute at the gateway to the memorial. The Visitor Center Complex, on the hill above the crash site, introduces their story. The Memorial Plaza borders the crash site, which consists of the impact site (marked by a boulder) and debris feld. The felds and woods beyond are the fnal resting place for the passengers and crew; their remains are still present. A PARTNERSHIP PARK Congress designated the crash site as a national memorial in 2002. Paul Murdoch Architects and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects won the international design competition in 2005. The Memorial has been created through a public-private partnership including the Families of Flight 93, Friends of Flight 93, National Park Foundation, and National Park Service. To learn how you can support the memorial, visit www.flight93friends.org. VISITING THE MEMORIAL The Visitor Center Complex includes exhibits, a viewing window, a bookstore, the Flight Path Walkway, and Overlook. Call or check the park website for programs at the Learning Center. The complex connects with the Memorial Plaza by paved road and walkway. You can also explore the story of Flight 93 through outdoor exhibits, a cell phone tour, ranger-led programs, and conversations with rangers and park volunteers. WHILE YOU ARE HERE Water is available only at the Visitor Center Complex. • Be alert to changing weather. • Stay on roads and walkways. • Pets are allowed only in designated areas. • We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. • For firearms regulations ask a ranger or check the park website. Thank you for helping to honor and respect the story of Flight 93. MORE INFORMATION Flight 93 National Memorial is one of over 400 parks in the National Park System. To learn more about national parks, visit www.nps.gov. Flight 93 National Memorial PO Box 911 Shanksville, PA 15560 814-893-6322; www.nps.gov/flni ✩GPO:20xx—xxx-xxx/xxxxx Last updated 20xx Printed on recycled paper.