Welcome back to Great Americans, a countdown to our country’s 250th birthday. We’re bringing you a writer we love on an American they love, every weekday between now and July 4. Today’s essay is something a little different—a remembrance of not one, but 36 great Americans.
In the final minutes of Flight 93, after learning that other hijacked planes had already been used as weapons, its passengers did something extraordinary. They took a vote. Facing almost certain death, they did not defer to the loudest voice or the strongest person in the cabin. They did not panic or submit. Instead, they gathered information, debated their options, and made a collective decision about how to act. It may be the most consequential act of democratic self-government in American history—and one of the least understood. —The Editors
Everyone who lived through the September 11 terrorist attacks knows the story of Flight 93. But I came to see this moment differently after visiting the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown, Pennsylvania, about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh, not far from the Maryland and West Virginia borders. My visit was transformative, perhaps the most profound history-based civics lessons I have ever experienced.
The visitor center, a concrete structure featuring large glass windows, overlooks the crash site and contains the memorial’s educational components. It’s a solemn place, with very little noise or chatter. The main exhibit features a precise timeline of Flight 93, with humanizing details that deepens the experience for those who steel themselves to read them. A careful perusal of the displays brings to light details easily forgotten after 25 years. These facts deserve our careful attention as we evaluate our collective civic engagement while celebrating the 250th birthday of our nation.
At 8:42 a.m., United Airlines Flight 93 departed Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, bound for San Francisco. At 9:28 a.m., the plane was hijacked by four men, a Lebanese citizen and three Saudi nationals, wielding knives, including at least one box cutter. After a struggle, the terrorists took control of the cockpit, incapacitating the pilot and co-pilot. A flight attendant and a first-class passenger were most likely murdered soon thereafter. The hijackers then forced the surviving 32 passengers and four crew members to the back of the plane.
This is where the terrorists made a tactical error. No doubt they believed that by keeping the passengers at the rear of the aircraft, they would have the freedom and the secrecy they needed to steer the plane toward its intended target in Washington, D.C. But they fundamentally misunderstood the United States and its citizens.
