September 11, 2001 Remembrance

[Anonymous]

Chilling to read that transcript.

[Anonymous]

I was on Washington Blvd when the plane hit the Pentagon. Traffic was at a standstill and I was terrified but couldn’t get out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Todd: Hello… Operator…listen to me…I can’t speak very loud. – This is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco.. We have a situation here….Our plane has been hijacked…..can you understand me?

Lisa: (exhaling a deep breath to herself) I understand… Can the hijackers see you talking on the phone?

Todd: No

Lisa: Can you tell me how many hijackers are on the plane?

Todd: There are three that we know of.

Lisa: Can you see any weapons? What kind of weapons do they have?

Todd: Yes…. they don’t have guns….they have knives – they took over the plane with knives.
Lisa: Do you mean…like steak knives?

Todd: No, these are razor knives…like box cutters.

Lisa: Can you tell what country these people are from?

Todd: No…..I don’t know. They sound like they’re from the mid-east.

Lisa: Have they said what they want?

Todd: Someone announced from the cockpit that there was a bomb on board. He said he was the captain and to stay in our seats and stay quiet. He said that they were meeting these men’s demands and returning to the airport… It was very broken English, and… I’m telling you…it sounded fake!

Lisa: Ok sir, please give me your name.

Todd: My name is Todd Beamer.

Lisa: Ok Todd….my name is Lisa…Do you know your flight number? If you can’t remember, it’s on your ticket.

Todd: It’s United Flight 93.

Lisa: Now Todd, can you try to tell me exactly what happened?

Todd: Two of the hijackers were sitting in first class near the cockpit. A third one was sitting near the back of the coach section. The two up. front got into the cockpit somehow; there was shouting. The third hijacker said he had a bomb. It looks like a bomb. He’s got it tied to his waist with a red belt of some kind.
Lisa: So is the door to the cockpit open?

Todd: No, the hijackers shut it behind them.

Lisa: Has anyone been injured?

Todd: Yes, ..they…they killed one passenger sitting in first class. There’s been lots of shouting. We don’t know if the pilots are dead or alive. A flight attendant told me that the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded.

Lisa: Where is the 3rd hijacker now Todd?

Todd: He’s near the back of the plane. They forced most of the passengers into first class. There are fourteen of us here in the back. Five are flight attendants. He hasn’t noticed that I slipped into this pantry to get the phone. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane……….oh Jesus.. Help!

Lisa: Todd….are you ok? Tell me what’s happening!

Todd: Hello…..We’re going down….I think we’re going to crash……Wait – wait a minute. No, we’re leveling off….we’re ok. I think we may be turning around…..That’s it – we changed directions. Do you hear me….we’re flying east again.

Lisa: Ok Todd…. What’s going on with the other passengers?

Todd: Everyone is… really scared. A few passengers with cell phones have made calls to relatives. A guy, Jeremy, was talking to his wife just before the hijacking started. She told him that hijackers had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center……Lisa is that true??

Lisa: Todd…..I have to tell you the truth…..it’s very bad. The World Trade Center is gone. Both of the towers have been destroyed.

Todd: Oh God —help us!

Lisa: A third plane was taken over by terrorists. It crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Our country is under attack….and I’m afraid that your plane may be part of their plan.

Todd: Oh dear God. Dear God…….Lisa, will you do something for me?

Lisa: I’ll try….if I can….Yes.

Todd: I want you to call my wife and my kids for me and tell them what’s happened. Promise me you’ll call..

Lisa: I promise – I’ll call.
Todd: Our home number is 201 353-1073…….You have the same name as my wife…Lisa….We’ve been married for 10 years. She’s pregnant with our 3rd child. Tell her that I love her…….(choking up)..I’ll always love her..(clearing throat) We have two boys.. David, he’s 3 and Andrew, he’s 1…..Tell them……(choking) tell them that their daddy loves them and that he is so proud of them. (clearing throat again) Our baby is due January 12th…..I saw an ultra sound…..it was great….we still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy………Lisa?

Lisa: (barely able to speak) I’ll tell them, I promise Todd.

Todd: I’m going back to the group—if I can get back I will…

Lisa: Todd, leave this line open…are you still there?……

Lisa: (dials the phone..) Hello, FBI, my name is Lisa Jefferson, I’m a telephone supervisor for GTE. I need to report a terrorist hijacking of a United Airlines Flight 93….Yes I’ll hold.

Goodwin: Hello, this is Agent Goodwin.. I understand you have a hijacking situation?

Lisa: Yes sir, I’ve been talking with a passenger, a Todd Beamer, on Flight 93 who managed to get to an air phone unnoticed.

Goodwin: Where did this flight originate, and what was its destination?

Lisa: The flight left Newark New Jersey at 8 A.M. departing for San Francisco. The hijackers took over the plane shortly after takeoff, and several minutes later the plane changed course – it is now flying east.

Goodwin: Ms. Jefferson…I need to talk to someone aboard that plane. Can you get me thru to the planes phone?

Lisa: I still have that line open sir, I can patch you through on a conference call…hold a mo…..

Todd: Hello Lisa, Lisa are you there?

Lisa: Yes, I’m here. Todd, I made a call to the FBI, Agent Goodwin is on the line and will be talking to you as well.

Todd: The others all know that this isn’t your normal hijacking. Jeremy called his wife again on his cell phone. She told him more about the World Trade Center and all.

Goodwin: Hello Todd. This is Agent Goodwin with the FBI. We have been monitoring your flight. Your plane is on a course for Washington, DC. These terrorists sent two planes into the World Trade Center and one plane into the Pentagon. Our best guess is that they plan to fly your plane into either the White House or the United States Capital Building.

Todd: I understand…hold on……I’ll…….I’ll be back..
Lisa: Mr. Goodwin, how much time do they have before they get to Washington?

Goodwin: Not long ma’am. They changed course over Cleveland; they’re approaching Pittsburgh now. Washington may be twenty minutes away.

Todd: (breathing a little heavier) The plane seems to be changing directions just a little. It’s getting pretty rough up here. The plane is flying real erratic….We’re not going to make it out of here. Listen to me….I want you to hear this….I have talked with the others….we have decided we would not be pawns in these hijackers suicidal plot.

Lisa: Todd, what are you going to do?

Todd: We’ve hatched a plan. Four of us are going to rush the hijacker with the bomb. After we take him out, we’ll break into the cockpit. A stewardess is getting some boiling water to throw on the hijackers at the controls. We’ll get them….and we’ll take them out. Lisa, …..will you do one last thing for me?

Lisa: Yes…What is it?

Todd: Would you pray with me?

They pray: Our father which art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive our trespassers,
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
Forever…..Amen

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me…

Todd: (softer) God help me…Jesus help me….(clears throat and louder)
Are you guys ready?……..
Let’s Roll……………………

I just watched an interview with Lisa (the phone operator Todd spoke to) and she explicitly says that she did not tell him about the WTC attacks because she wanted him to have hope. So at least a portion of this is fake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Todd: Hello… Operator…listen to me…I can’t speak very loud. – This is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco.. We have a situation here….Our plane has been hijacked…..can you understand me?

Lisa: (exhaling a deep breath to herself) I understand… Can the hijackers see you talking on the phone?

Todd: No

Lisa: Can you tell me how many hijackers are on the plane?

Todd: There are three that we know of.

Lisa: Can you see any weapons? What kind of weapons do they have?

Todd: Yes…. they don’t have guns….they have knives – they took over the plane with knives.
Lisa: Do you mean…like steak knives?

Todd: No, these are razor knives…like box cutters.

Lisa: Can you tell what country these people are from?

Todd: No…..I don’t know. They sound like they’re from the mid-east.

Lisa: Have they said what they want?

Todd: Someone announced from the cockpit that there was a bomb on board. He said he was the captain and to stay in our seats and stay quiet. He said that they were meeting these men’s demands and returning to the airport… It was very broken English, and… I’m telling you…it sounded fake!

Lisa: Ok sir, please give me your name.

Todd: My name is Todd Beamer.

Lisa: Ok Todd….my name is Lisa…Do you know your flight number? If you can’t remember, it’s on your ticket.

Todd: It’s United Flight 93.

Lisa: Now Todd, can you try to tell me exactly what happened?

Todd: Two of the hijackers were sitting in first class near the cockpit. A third one was sitting near the back of the coach section. The two up. front got into the cockpit somehow; there was shouting. The third hijacker said he had a bomb. It looks like a bomb. He’s got it tied to his waist with a red belt of some kind.
Lisa: So is the door to the cockpit open?

Todd: No, the hijackers shut it behind them.

Lisa: Has anyone been injured?

Todd: Yes, ..they…they killed one passenger sitting in first class. There’s been lots of shouting. We don’t know if the pilots are dead or alive. A flight attendant told me that the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded.

Lisa: Where is the 3rd hijacker now Todd?

Todd: He’s near the back of the plane. They forced most of the passengers into first class. There are fourteen of us here in the back. Five are flight attendants. He hasn’t noticed that I slipped into this pantry to get the phone. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane……….oh Jesus.. Help!

Lisa: Todd….are you ok? Tell me what’s happening!

Todd: Hello…..We’re going down….I think we’re going to crash……Wait – wait a minute. No, we’re leveling off….we’re ok. I think we may be turning around…..That’s it – we changed directions. Do you hear me….we’re flying east again.

Lisa: Ok Todd…. What’s going on with the other passengers?

Todd: Everyone is… really scared. A few passengers with cell phones have made calls to relatives. A guy, Jeremy, was talking to his wife just before the hijacking started. She told him that hijackers had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center……Lisa is that true??

Lisa: Todd…..I have to tell you the truth…..it’s very bad. The World Trade Center is gone. Both of the towers have been destroyed.

Todd: Oh God —help us!

Lisa: A third plane was taken over by terrorists. It crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Our country is under attack….and I’m afraid that your plane may be part of their plan.

Todd: Oh dear God. Dear God…….Lisa, will you do something for me?

Lisa: I’ll try….if I can….Yes.

Todd: I want you to call my wife and my kids for me and tell them what’s happened. Promise me you’ll call..

Lisa: I promise – I’ll call.
Todd: Our home number is 201 353-1073…….You have the same name as my wife…Lisa….We’ve been married for 10 years. She’s pregnant with our 3rd child. Tell her that I love her…….(choking up)..I’ll always love her..(clearing throat) We have two boys.. David, he’s 3 and Andrew, he’s 1…..Tell them……(choking) tell them that their daddy loves them and that he is so proud of them. (clearing throat again) Our baby is due January 12th…..I saw an ultra sound…..it was great….we still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy………Lisa?

Lisa: (barely able to speak) I’ll tell them, I promise Todd.

Todd: I’m going back to the group—if I can get back I will…

Lisa: Todd, leave this line open…are you still there?……

Lisa: (dials the phone..) Hello, FBI, my name is Lisa Jefferson, I’m a telephone supervisor for GTE. I need to report a terrorist hijacking of a United Airlines Flight 93….Yes I’ll hold.

Goodwin: Hello, this is Agent Goodwin.. I understand you have a hijacking situation?

Lisa: Yes sir, I’ve been talking with a passenger, a Todd Beamer, on Flight 93 who managed to get to an air phone unnoticed.

Goodwin: Where did this flight originate, and what was its destination?

Lisa: The flight left Newark New Jersey at 8 A.M. departing for San Francisco. The hijackers took over the plane shortly after takeoff, and several minutes later the plane changed course – it is now flying east.

Goodwin: Ms. Jefferson…I need to talk to someone aboard that plane. Can you get me thru to the planes phone?

Lisa: I still have that line open sir, I can patch you through on a conference call…hold a mo…..

Todd: Hello Lisa, Lisa are you there?

Lisa: Yes, I’m here. Todd, I made a call to the FBI, Agent Goodwin is on the line and will be talking to you as well.

Todd: The others all know that this isn’t your normal hijacking. Jeremy called his wife again on his cell phone. She told him more about the World Trade Center and all.

Goodwin: Hello Todd. This is Agent Goodwin with the FBI. We have been monitoring your flight. Your plane is on a course for Washington, DC. These terrorists sent two planes into the World Trade Center and one plane into the Pentagon. Our best guess is that they plan to fly your plane into either the White House or the United States Capital Building.

Todd: I understand…hold on……I’ll…….I’ll be back..
Lisa: Mr. Goodwin, how much time do they have before they get to Washington?

Goodwin: Not long ma’am. They changed course over Cleveland; they’re approaching Pittsburgh now. Washington may be twenty minutes away.

Todd: (breathing a little heavier) The plane seems to be changing directions just a little. It’s getting pretty rough up here. The plane is flying real erratic….We’re not going to make it out of here. Listen to me….I want you to hear this….I have talked with the others….we have decided we would not be pawns in these hijackers suicidal plot.

Lisa: Todd, what are you going to do?

Todd: We’ve hatched a plan. Four of us are going to rush the hijacker with the bomb. After we take him out, we’ll break into the cockpit. A stewardess is getting some boiling water to throw on the hijackers at the controls. We’ll get them….and we’ll take them out. Lisa, …..will you do one last thing for me?

Lisa: Yes…What is it?

Todd: Would you pray with me?

They pray: Our father which art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive our trespassers,
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
Forever…..Amen

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me…

Todd: (softer) God help me…Jesus help me….(clears throat and louder)
Are you guys ready?……..
Let’s Roll……………………

I just watched an interview with Lisa (the phone operator Todd spoke to) and she explicitly says that she did not tell him about the WTC attacks because she wanted him to have hope. So at least a portion of this is fake.

You might want to keep in your lane bro. The FBI agent told him.

[Anonymous]

It doesn’t matter if the transcript is 100% correct. The point is - people in Washington, even more than in the rest of the country- owe a tremendous gratitude to the passengers on flight 93. They saved untold numbers of lives here in our city.

[Anonymous]

Ok, back to just remembering and not quibbling.

Did we get anything on the 93 black box? I don't remember

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, back to just remembering and not quibbling.

Did we get anything on the 93 black box? I don't remember

I’ve been listening to the Long Shadow podcast and I’m almost positive they said that the recording of what happened in the Flight 93 cockpit still has never been released.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was working in my Metro Center office when a colleague called and told me about the first plane. We saw the second plane hit and then watched the Pentagon burn from the roof deck. My boss was on the Hill for meeting and was taken to an underground bunker. We were very concerned about what could be hit next and feared for his life as well as our own.

My boyfriend (now DH) was at his office next to the Capitol. Phone lines and cell signals were jammed and it was very hard to make contact with anyone. We lived to together in an apartment in White Flint and had no idea how we could get home seeing as Metro was shut down and traffic was at a standstill everywhere. He eventually walked to my building because it seemed the safer choice. I managed to convince the VP of my company to squeeze us in to his already overcrowded car and we spent hours and hours just trying to head north out of the city.

I'm someone who's very good in high stress/panic situations and kept my composure, except I can still vividly remember feeling a feeling I had never experienced before. It was like the world was screaming but all I could detect was silence - similar to being exposed to a large blast/sound that temporarily renders you unable to hear.

This
My office was on K Street and when I emerged from my office building onto K (near 20th Street) soon after the 2nd tower fell, the sidewalks were flooded with people and there was bumper to bumper traffic inching by. Visually there was so much frantic activity yet, there was this thick layer of silence. Almost complete silence.

PP, until reading what you wrote just now I have never been able to fully describe what it was like that morning on K St.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok, back to just remembering and not quibbling.

Did we get anything on the 93 black box? I don't remember

Yes, they recovered one of the black boxes. It was used in the trial.

There is no transcript of Todd Beamer’s call with Lisa, the air phone operator. The call was not recorded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Working in NYC, just out of college. Terrified, couldn't get in touch with my parents, so much confusion. Will never forget that feeling. Think about the lives lost often.

This. Was walking to my office in midtown when the 2nd plane hit and mass confusion in the streets when people started to understand it was an attack rather than one plane being an accident.

[Anonymous]

It was the start of my senior year of college, and I was sleeping in my apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I had two roommates and both stayed with their boyfriends the night before, so I was alone. I had unplugged my phone (landline) so I could sleep late. I woke up around 10 am and went to my computer to check email and read the news. It felt surreal to try to piece together what was happening. I immediately starting AIMing with a few friends who were online, and they came over to gather and watch the news on TV in my living room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, back to just remembering and not quibbling.

Did we get anything on the 93 black box? I don't remember

I’ve been listening to the Long Shadow podcast and I’m almost positive they said that the recording of what happened in the Flight 93 cockpit still has never been released.

Colleague was a friend of the co-pilot of the American Airlines flight that hit the Pentagon. He went with the co-pilot’s father to listen to the recording from the cockpit when the high jackers took over the plane. They slit the throats with box cutters and they bled out. It was horrific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was working in my Metro Center office when a colleague called and told me about the first plane. We saw the second plane hit and then watched the Pentagon burn from the roof deck. My boss was on the Hill for meeting and was taken to an underground bunker. We were very concerned about what could be hit next and feared for his life as well as our own.

My boyfriend (now DH) was at his office next to the Capitol. Phone lines and cell signals were jammed and it was very hard to make contact with anyone. We lived to together in an apartment in White Flint and had no idea how we could get home seeing as Metro was shut down and traffic was at a standstill everywhere. He eventually walked to my building because it seemed the safer choice. I managed to convince the VP of my company to squeeze us in to his already overcrowded car and we spent hours and hours just trying to head north out of the city.

I'm someone who's very good in high stress/panic situations and kept my composure, except I can still vividly remember feeling a feeling I had never experienced before. It was like the world was screaming but all I could detect was silence - similar to being exposed to a large blast/sound that temporarily renders you unable to hear.

This
My office was on K Street and when I emerged from my office building onto K (near 20th Street) soon after the 2nd tower fell, the sidewalks were flooded with people and there was bumper to bumper traffic inching by. Visually there was so much frantic activity yet, there was this thick layer of silence. Almost complete silence.

PP, until reading what you wrote just now I have never been able to fully describe what it was like that morning on K St.

I’d forgotten about that part. I metro’d gone from K and 15th and of course we did not know if the train might blow up or a tunnel crash but people were not screaming and were doing all they could to pack in tight so as many people as possible could fit on each outbound train.

[Anonymous]

^ home not “gone”

[Anonymous]

I was supposed to be in the WTC as I was working down town. But was in a conference in Vegas. My wife called me hysterical to turn on TV. I was hung over and like 530 am in morning.

We went to conference anyhow and after 30 minutes he said let’s take rest of day off. We meet in morning if anyone wants to go home my company will pay.

Well there were no flights. Amtrak has no Vegas stop. I could rent a car but that is crazy. My wife said stay. We did conference rest of week and I flew home that weekend. . First flight I could get. Man was airport empty. I flew into JFK and it was crazy security. Only folks stranded on a trip with a ticket purchase pre 9/11 could fly.

Folks in Vegas thought no big deal. Buy literally everyone left who was driving distance that day and by weekend a ghost town. Vegas got very scared as huge towers were a good terroist target.