Flight 93 Deliberately Crashed by Terrorists

U.S. investigators now believe that a terrorist at the controls of United Flight 93 on September 11 was responsible for deliberately crashing the plane in the Somerset field rather than allowing the passengers to take control of the cockpit, according to the Associated Press. Based on an analysis of still-secret cockpit recordings and buried deep within the pages of an 858 page joint Congressional report on 9/11, this finding counters the popular perception that the plane went down as passengers who - with Todd Beamer's now-immortal words, "Let's roll" - rushed the cockpit and struggled with the terrorists over the controls.

As far as I'm concerned it was a matter of seconds either way. Whether the plane was crashed because the passengers were trying to break into the cockpit, or because they had already made it in and were trying to regain control of the plane, Flight 93 still went down in that field because of the unselfish heroism of the thirty-three passengers and seven crew members aboard. The FBI agrees, saying that the new theory doesn't mean the passengers weren't heroes. "While no one will ever know exactly what transpired in the final minutes of Flight 93, every shred of evidence indicates this plane crashed because of the heroic actions of the passengers," FBI spokeswoman Susan Whitson said today.

In response to the Congressional report, the Families of Flight 93 issued the following statement:

"The findings in the FBI Director's report are based on limited and questionable interpretations of the tapes as they have been from the beginning. Until someone can produce specific translations of these tapes that are more than theory, then it appears there is sufficient evidence to support the heroic acts of the passengers and crew in bringing Flight 93 down.

We continue to maintain our position as families that this terrorist act, as planned, was thwarted by the efforts of these forty heroes.

The main point is that the plan did not succeed. The plane did not hit the intended target. If the passengers and crew were not shouting, throwing dishes, and banging to get into the cockpit, who was? Our people were fighting back. They were all fighers, resistors, and in every sense of the word, heroes."

Related Resources:
Flight 93 - Photos, Memorials & Tributes