Im sure many of you have heard, but for those of you who havent…
A man on the plane that crashed in PA made a call to his wife shortly before the crash. He said that he and several other men had voted to attack the terrorists and attempt to regain control of the plane. It looks like they at least did something cause Im sure its intented target was not a vacant field. Also I heard that the plane striking the pentagon was originally intended for the white house and there may have been a similar call indicating that men had decided to attack the terrorists. I hope we can find out who these men were so they can be honored for their heroic acts. They are true T-Men. How many of us would do the same, I hope I would.
-Jason
There was a post on another thread that asked what had happened to Americans that they would just sit in their seats next to their wifs and child and let 5 terrorists armed with knives kill them. Well, I think that person got their answer loud and clear with these stories. Just like those people who chose to jump from the WTC instead of burn, they chose how they died, or rather in this case, died fighting. I will die standing rather than on my knees begging for my life. These are the everyday heroes who I hope will get their due honor, along with the fallen rescue workers and the men and women who are still digging in the rubble for survivors.
Mark Bingham, one of the men, was an ex-rugby player from California. I have more info about him at home and will post it later.
there’s a lot of speculation that US shot down the plane and deny it cuz of the innocent people that die. But they were going to die either way, might as well save some lives.
I agree with you completely! That’s the problem with today’s men, they’re a bunch of cappacuino drinking, spandex wearing, nutless wonders. I know most people think of the military as a wasted expense that isn’t really appreciated until it’s too late. As a current military member myself, I take pride in knowing that everyday I am taking part in the defense of all of our citizens, whether they deserve it or not, in the US. I don’t see how any man(military or not) would let a couple of sand sticks take over a plane with a couple of knives. I know I would have personally done all I could to disarm the men, even if it met sacrificing my life for others. I think every American should be ready to lay down their life for the freedom and way of life our country has enjoyed for so long. So for everyone out there, I hope these events will make people realize that it’s everyone’s duty to protect our wonderful nation. GOD BLESS T-MEN & WOMEN of the MILITARY! Also a thanks to the brave men who did all they could during Tuesday’s devastating events, your country is grateful!
Tuesday night my ex-girlfriend told me just this story. A friend of hers was on that flight and called his wife to tell her good-bye. He then said they were going to fight. He and the others are true heroes.
From the reports I have heard, wreckage from the Pennsylvania flight was found in two distinct locations, several miles apart. This is apparently a very unusual pattern of wreckage if the plane had merely been crashed into the ground – it is indicative of a mid-air explosion. There were also reports, via cellular phones, that the terrorists on the Penn. flight were holding something that looked like (and was claimed to be) a bomb. This would seem to indicate that the terrorists on perhaps all 4 flights were armed with more than just box-cutters and knives. In addition to the fact that the passengers on at least two and maybe three of the flights most likely had no idea that the terrorists were on a suicide mission, the failure of the passengers to attempt to overpower knife-wielding terrorists is certainly understandable if the terrorists were armed with explosives. I am sure more details will come to light in the coming days and weeks. It seems clear that the passengers on the Pennsylvania flight knew that they were all going to die and that they would be used to kill hundreds, if not thousands of others. It is clear that they acted as they must – with courage and bravery. It is clear that their actions saved countless additional lives. I am sure the passengers of the other three planes would have acted similarly had they known their fate.
Sincerely,
Matthew A. Levy
Written by a former team mate of Mark’s…
Yes, he was a rugger and a valued teammate. Mark Bingham (Hoglen is his mom’s name, the news has been getting his name wrong) played for all four years for Cal Rugby, and later was a member of the Olypmic Club, a Northern California Division 1 team, during its renaissance in the mid-90s. This past year he has been instrumental in helping to get our team, the San Francisco Fog, off the ground, while living in both San Francisco and New York.
Mark was an incredible man, and packed a lot of life into 31 years. Not even three weeks after dislocating his shoulder in a rugby match, he ran with the bulls in Pamplona–and had the same shoulder gored by a bull! That’s the kind of guy he was.
Rugby was an essential part of his life. He had been playing since he was 16. He loved the game, and it formed his character: tough, calm under pressure, always supportive of his mates (“with you” was his life’s motto), and always a gentleman.
I have absolutely no doubt that the reason that plane did not make its target was in part due to him. He was not one to passively
experience life. I’m sure looked death straight in the eye and said, “Bring it on.”
CNN has footage of his mom talking about the phone call he made to her at:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/trade.center/multimedia.html
You’ll have to scroll down a bit to find it. Mark loved his mom more than anyone in the world.
– Derrick Mickle - San Francisco Fog R.F.C.
I’m not a big guy, but in a case where you have 3-6 hijackers armed with box cutters and butter knives, I would do all I could to stop the madness. And I would hope others on the plane would also lend a hand. It’s amazing that something like this didn’t happen on the two jets that hit the World Trade Center buildings. I can understand that people would be frozen in fear, but if you know you’re going to die, why not risk your life to save other lives and maybe even your own. The heroes on the other two jets that didn’t make their original destinations deserve to be recognized and their families honored. Their are many more amazing stories that we haven’t heard yet. Hopefully, more will prevail.
As Matt Levy intimated, it 's doubtful the terrorist would be so stupid as to tell the passengers of their fate.It’s likely that they thought they were to land at JFK airport and
then once the WTC was in sight, the pilots were knifed, and from there it would be like driving a car.
Well, I think Matt and Mike are right; the passengers had no idea, or little awareness of the terroists’ intentions. They may have told the passengers, “OK, we have a bomb but relax - we are going to land soon and demand money, etc., etc”. Easier to try to battle them if you’re back on the ground.
AFTER THE ATTACKS: UNITED FLIGHT 93; On Doomed Flight, Passengers Vowed To Perish Fighting - The New York Times more reports about the heros on flight 93. i’m SURE there were people who did the same on the other flights if they were able. until there is evidence to the contrary i will continue to believe that. flight 93 could not possibly have been the only flight with courageous people on board.
There were some very brave guys on that plane. Who knows what could have happened if it reached its destination? One thing’s for sure, I bet people will react much differently to terrorists if they attempt to hijack a plane.
dude, show the people on the first two planes some respect,
1: they didnt know they were a suicide bomb, and thus thought it was a “ordinary” hijacking, where the usual demands are made and typical movie shit we all see…blah blah
2: watching a few trained killers slit some throats would take some of the stuffing out of you, these terrorists i can imagine were not stamp collecters and refer to 1:
3: well, there is no 3,id like to think that anyone on either on the two planes would have done what the men did on the flight which crashed in the woods. if they had known thier final destination.
4: i can imagine that even people who suspected that they were going to die would still bury thier heads in the sand and hope they woke up soon, those men who stormed the terrorists were true heros imo.
here’s the link
Wife of Plane Crash Victim Shares His Final Phone Conversations From Hijacked Plane
Source: kcbs
Publication date: 2001-09-12
(KCBS) – Bay Area business executive Tom Burnett lost his life when United Flight 93 wentdown in Pennsylvania. That jetliner was one of the four hijacked Tuesday, and meant to hit some sort of target.
Tom called his wife, Deena Burnett four times during the hijacking, letting her know what
was going on and doing what he could to prevent another disaster.
Deena spoke with KCBS Anchors Stan Bunger and Susan Leigh Taylor Wednesday morning about her husband and the actions he took before that plane went down.
“The first call was just general information,” she said. “He was on flight 93. There were hijackers on board, and someone had been stabbed.”
”He said they were talking about flying the airplane into the ground,” said Deena. “I told him about the World Trade Center plane… He was surprised. I could tell that he was alarmed and trying to piece together the puzzle, figure out what was going on, and figure out something to do about the situation.”
”He called back a few minutes later and provided mostly repetitive information, that the hijackers were in the cockpit, and the guy they had knifed was deceased. He said (he and
some others) were going to do something.”
Deena said much of her final conversations with her husband are part of the FBI investigation, and she could not comment on everything that was said.
She said most of the calls occurred between about 6:30 and 7:15 – about a 45 minute time frame.
Deena said her husband is the type of person who works to right a situation. “He had every
intention of solving his life and coming home,” she said. “He was gathering information and coming up with a plan.”
”It was so characteristic of Tom that I just have to laugh. He’s a fighter, and I know he went down fighting.”
Many people are calling Tom a hero, and Deena said, “he would laugh at that, because he thought that the word hero was so overused. But, I appreciate that, because he was always
a hero to me.”
I always thought Charlton Heston was this delusional old fart who thought he was Moses. But now I am slowly changing my beliefs, thinking that the NRA have good arguments to keep their arms at all times. If a few passengers had guns on that plane, they would have immediately cornered those Arabs and took them out. I know that the thought of everyone carrying firearms in an airplane sounds scary, but if our rights to carry guns are restricted, they will eventually fall in the wrong hads. I know those terrorists didn’t use guns, but still, a weapon is a weapon, and they could have been easily taken out if some of the passengers had access to weapons and knew how to use them correctly.
As to the comment about passengers being armed, as i understand it, hunters used to be able to pack their guns in the overhead cabinets years and years ago. At the very least armed federal sky marshals, armed pilots, and secure that door to the cockpit!
"I know that the thought of everyone carrying firearms in an airplane sounds scary, but if our rights to carry guns are restricted, they will eventually fall in the wrong hads. " Wrong. I am for the right to bear arms, but in special cicumstances, special conditions apply. “I know those terrorists didn’t use guns, but still, a weapon is a weapon, and they could have been easily taken out if some of the passengers had access to weapons and knew how to use them correctly.” The last thing i would want is a bunch of vigilantes, or people, trained or not, firing guns, of all things on an airplane. You do realize that people cannot runaway on an airplane. When a window is broken, suction will draw in anyone who is not strapped in, also requiring an emergency landing. You propose a flying carnage mobile. Now, instating an non-uniformed, fed. marshall aboard every plane Could prevent most all hijacking disasters, except when a real bomb is involved, and it would help us gain security, and gain it without infringing on liberty.
the ‘security person one every plane’ is a good idea…except these people knew so much about these flights that that security person would have been the first one killed. as for guns on planes? even if we only let citizens carry guns (that’s doubtful) all terrorists would need to do is find a willing citizen to bring it on for them. the sick part of this is that there HAD to have been people in the airlines helping them. my father worked for an airline for over 10 years, and told me that there is NO WAY all the info these guys had could have been obtained without people on the inside. the planes were hijacked useing weapons that were not even illegal to have on a plane. any blade smaller than 4 inches is allowed. the people on all four flights are heros…people who knew they were going to die used their last minutes calling 911 to give ‘play by play’ those who called their relatives to tell them they loved them…simply remembering a phone number under that kind of stress is remarkable. hopefully none of us will ever know what we would do
If I were able to gather myself for a moment and think rationally, here’s what would happen: If we were still on the ground, cool. Let it take it’s course. If we’re in the air, fuck this. I’m not gonna buy anybody’s bullshit about turning around and going back to a fucking airport and I don’t care if they’re carrying needlepoint needles or fucking rocket launchers. They want us to die. If they needed us to be on the ground, we never would have left the ground. Now that we’re in the air, it’s a fight to the death, bro. I don’t believe a fucking word they say. I would have been right with my fellow t-men, no question. I fly on business from time to time and for the rest of my life I will be mentally preparing myself for situations such as this whenever I am about to step foot on a plane. God forbid, but if the time comes, I hope that I am t-man enough to steer that plane into an empty piece of nothing.