What Must Have Happened On United Flight 93-9/11 Hijacking .

I was at the Newark International Airport in the US in November last year.The Airport must not be mistaken for the airports in New York  because Newark is in New Jersey ( New York and New Jersey are different but adjoining states ).While at the airport ,I picked up a book about the 9/11 hijackings of the 4 flights –which have made them the most infamous hijackings of our times.I knew  I was at a place which would  never be forgotten in the history of modern times .Four flights were hijacked on that fateful day -2 from Boston,1 from Washington and one from Newark.It was from Newark that the most daring attempt to wipe out the the symbols of American power –either the Capitol(which houses the American Parliament) or the White House was made.There is a difference of opinion as to which was the target –Osama bin Laden wanted the plane  to target the Capitol ,but Mohammad Atta thought the White House would be a easier target .However  it was the guts and the character of the people inside the plane that perhaps altered the course of modern history .Because if either of the two targets had been hit –the retaliation could have been very severe –maybe akin to the Americans dropping the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the Japanese dared to bomb Pearl Harbour in 1945 .

I read the book on my long haul from Newark to Frankfurt ,and then after a brief shopping spree at the Frankfurt Airport ,I plunged into the book again ..By the time I landed in Dubai ,I had finished the book and started writing my blog .I am now reproducing what I jotted down hastily on my Blackberry notepad.The account is from the evidence that was available from the voices recorded at the ATCs and from the flight recorder of United Airlines Flight 93 .The intense struggle inside Flight 93 is brought to life mainly because it was the only aircraft whose voice recorder did not melt –the voice recorders of the other 3 melted as they hit their desired targets.We have some recordings of those flights as well –but they are fewer in number and detail .

Amy Sweeney was the flight attendant on Flight 11 which took off from Boston to Los Angeles at 7.59 am .Her last words   to a question “What can you see outside the window ?” .

were: "I see water. I see buildings. We are flying low. We are flying very, very low. We are flying way too low. Oh my God we are flying way too low. Oh my god!"

Those were the last words from American Flight 11 before it crashed into the North Tower of the WTC at 8.46:40.with tons and tons of fuel (since it was flying a long distance ).Obviously nothing remained –we all saw the tower come down like a pack of cards .

Peter Hanson was on Flight 175 which also took off on the same Boston Los Angeles route at 8.14

At 9:00, Peter Hanson made a call to his father.

"It's getting bad, Dad. A stewardess was stabbed. They seem to have knives and Mace. They said they have a bomb. Passengers are throwing up and getting sick. The plane is making jerky movements. I don't think the pilot is flying the plane. I think we are going down. I think they intend to go to Chicago or someplace and fly into a building. Don't worry, Dad. If it happens, it'll be very fast. My God, my God.”

As the call ended abruptly, Lee Hanson heard a woman's scream.He was sweating –all those years of carrying Peter as a infant ,of teaching him the basics of life ,of the fights and good times flashed before his eyes .Was it the last time a father had heard a son call him “Dad”?  He turned on the television, and  watched as a second plane hit the South Tower at 9.03:11. .I had just got back from my evening walk in Jagdishpur and yelled out to Sangeeta as I switched on the TV “Sangeeta –look at that .Oops its so dangerous looking .!!” And as we watched –the second plane came and rammed into the second WTC tower .We were watching it live as smoke billowed upwards like a nuclear mushroom.The world seemed to be coming to an end .

Lee Hanson  knew there was no way Peter would survive .Like the WTC Tower –his world seemed to collapse before his eyes .

American Flight 77 took off from Washington for Los Angeles at 8.20am and the last routine exchange took place at 8.51am. The cockpit crew were killed and plane was hijacked over the next three minutes. Just two people are known to have made calls and much less detail is available than for the other three planes.It crashed into the Pentagon ,the American Defence Headquarters .

The most gripping detail is available for the famous battle for control of United 93 – because it took off 42 minutes late from Newark for San Francisco at 8.42am, its passengers were to learn all about what had happened in New York and  its cockpit voice recorder was also recovered, while the other three were destroyed in the fireballs when they crashed.By this time everyone was aware of what was happening .

At 9.19am, a United Flight dispatcher Ed Ballinger began to issue warnings to 16 flights crossing the country: "Beware any cockpit intrusion – Two A/C [aircraft] hit World Trade Center".Like all of us ,he was by now aware of the horrendous damage that had been done to the WTC Towers by the two planes crashing into it .

The message was transmitted to United 93 at 9.23am and received in the cockpit at 9.24am.

Two minutes later, pilot Jason Dahl responded with an air of puzzlement  "Ed, confirm latest mssg plz – Jason".

Before he received an answer, the hijackers attacked at 9.28, and as the aircraft lost altitude, air traffic control picked up two radio transmissions from the cockpit.Captain Jason Dahl

 declared "Mayday" (Mayday is a distress signal sent out by ships and aircrafts ).There were   sounds of a struggle.It can be concluded that the terrorists had entered the cockpit and were overpowering the pilots

Thirty-five secs later, shouts of "Get out of here"  and “Mayday,Mayday,Mayday”,are repeated .The pilot was trying his  best to beat off the challenge .But it appears it was in vain .But not before he had put the plane off from its automatic controls .The plane it seemed –had now to be navigated manually .!!The terrorists were probably not upto it .In his dying moments Jason had  his nation uppermost in his mind .The terrorists were “lost” in air .!!

By 9.32, the terrorists were at the controls and a hijacker attempted to communicate with passengers.Jason Dahl was apparently alive because he could be heard moaning as the terrorists spoke

"Ladies and gentlemen. Here's the Captain, please sit down, keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board. So sit."

 A woman, presumably first-class flight attendant Debbie Welsh, is heard struggling with the hijackers before being killed or otherwise silenced, followed by one of the hijackers saying in Arabic, "Everything is fine. I finished."

Again, the message was broadcast to ATC.

At least 10 of the 33 passengers and two flight crew began calls from in-flight air phones and mobiles that lasted for the next 30 minutes, providing a dramatic account of the desperate struggle inside the plane as the hijackers turned it around and headed for Washington where their target was believed to be the White House or Capitol.In less than 10 minutes they would be over their target .The 40 passengers  must have decided to revolt .And they must have put their heads together and arrived at this conclusion .It appears to have been a democratic decision because Jeremy Glick  called his wife and told her the flight was hijacked by three dark-skinned men who  looked "Iranian", wearing red bandanas and wielding knives.^[He also told her that they had voted to tackle the terrorists to try to regain control on the plane.Everything we  are taught throughout our lives was being put to test .I am sure all the passengers must have thought “we wont go down without a fight ,we will act collectively ,and we will make sure that even if we die –the terrorists wont get to their target .The nation  must have become far far bigger  for them than the self .

At 9.57am, several ended calls, saying the revolt was beginning. "Everyone's running up to first class. I've got to go. Bye," said one.

Thomas Burnett told his wife, "I know we're all going to die ... There's three of us who are going to do something about it."And here is what Lauren Grandcolas who was pregnant  have say to her husband before perishing along with the foetus (she voice  messaged him)

“Jack ,pick up Sweetie.Can you hear me ?Ok .I just want to tell you –there is a little problem with the plane .I am fine .I am totally fine .I just want to tell you how much I love you”.And she went silent forever .

And Todd Beamer was apparently heard saying "Let"s roll!" – a totemic call to action.

The black box captured the sounds of a sustained assault on the cockpit over the next six minutes. Ziad Jarrah, who was flying the plane, told another hijacker to block the door as he rolled the aeroplane to the left and right.in a attempt to throw them off balance .

Eight seconds before 10am, he pitched the nose up and down as he tried to shake off the revolt amid sounds of ongoing fighting. At 26 seconds after 10, a passenger is heard shouting: "In the cockpit! If we don't, we'll die," followed shortly afterwards by another yelling "Roll it!"

This is widely believed to have referred to an attempt to smash open the cockpit door with a service trolley.Oh –the service trolleys .We remember all of them carrying the yummiest of food ,the rarest of whiskies and wine ,and the most attractive things for sale (including Swaroski Crystals).It was now being used as a weapon .

At 10.01, Jarrah repeats "Allah is the Greatest!" before asking another hijacker: "Is that it? Shall we put it down?"

His ally replied: "Yes pull it down".

Jarrah rolled the plane onto its back, with shouts of "Allah is the Greatest" continuing in the cockpit.

The counter-attack could still be heard as the Flight 93 plunged downwards, crashing just after 10.03 into an empty field in Pennsylvania, 20 minutes' flight time from Washington.

Jarrah's objective was to crash his airliner into symbols of the American Republic He was defeated by the alerted, unarmed passengers of United 93.

When I boarded my flight back to India from the Newark Liberty Airport (the name was changed in honour of the unarmed passengers who fought to save the symbols of the American Nation),I had made sure that I went and saw the gate A17  from where the fateful flight had been pushed back for take off .A American flag now flies over the gate as  mark of respect for the brave men and women who perished fighting .I watched the passengers line up .Many years back –there must have been a queue as well .And among the innocent men and women there must have been 4 dreaded terrorists .And the flight must have taken off –with none ever suspecting what was to follow .Just like me , when I was taking off  .I was going back home –and as I flew over the Statue of Liberty ,the air attendant came to me with the service trolley .

“A drink for you Sir”

I was looking at the service trolley .

“Sir ,a drink for you”,she repeated with a wonderful smile

“No thank you –maybe after a couple of hours”,I replied .

Her eyes danced and twinkled .She looked confused as I continued to look at the service trolley.She “rolled” it past me  .I continued to read .I am off in June to Pennsylvania to the site of the crash .As expected –the Americans have built a memorial .They respect their past .