Flight 93 is a 2006 television film, directed by Peter Markle, which chronicles the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93 during the September 11 attacks. It premiered on January 30, 2006, on the A&E Network and was re-broadcast several times throughout 2006.
Plot[]
On the morning of September 11, 2001, passengers board the aforementioned Boeing 757 flight of the same name at Newark Liberty International Airport, including Tom Burnett, Jeremy Glick, Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Lauren Grandcolas, Donald Greene, Nicole Miller, and Honor Elizabeth Wainio. Four al-Qaeda terrorists Ziad Jarrah, Saeed al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Haznawi and Ahmed al-Nami, also board the flight. The plane takes off, bound for San Francisco, California.
In the air, the hijackers make their move; after a passenger is fatally stabbed and the "bomb" is revealed causing mass panic among passengers, the hijackers stab a flight attendant knocking her unconscious before wrestling their way into the cockpit and attack the pilots. Both pilots take actions to interfere with the hijackers, First Officer LeRoy Homer Jr. courageously sending out a mayday call and Captain Jason Dahl switching the output of the pilots' microphones from the cabin address speakers to the radio transmitter so that Jarrah's attempts to communicate with the passengers would instead be heard by air traffic controllers and deliberately kicking his foot against the plane's yoke, putting the plane on autopilot. Both pilots are knocked unconscious and dragged from the cockpit. Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
Aboard United 93, the passengers learn from family members via airphone of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon; they decide to take action organizing a revolt against the hijackers. Their plan is empowered with the knowledge that passenger Don Greene has experience in flying.
Learning that passenger Donald Freeman Greene had experience in flying, the group pin their hopes on him being able at least to control the plane. After passengers arm themselves, pray, and make final phone calls to loved ones, Todd Beamer says, "Let's Roll!". They start their counter-attack, running down the aisle with a food cart. Jarrah shakes the plane violently to throw the passengers off balance, but nonetheless they continue their assault, overpowering Ahmed al-Nami, who is outside the cockpit. After boiling water is thrown at him, al-Nami is killed by Mark Bingham with a blow to the head with the hot water container. Seeing the passengers getting nearer, al-Ghamdi, Ziad and al-Haznawi prepare to crash the plane, knowing they'll never reach their intended target. The passengers manage to breach the cockpit with the food cart. As the passengers wrestle with al-Haznawi and al-Ghamdi to get in the cockpit, al-Haznawi and al-Ghamdi tell Jarrah to simply crash the plane, rather than to carry on with the rest of their mission. Meanwhile, down below, a farmer is fixing his tractor when he hears the engines of Flight 93 getting closer. He then takes cover as the Boeing 757 rolls over on its side, dangerously flying over the barn at a low altitude. Jarrah puts the plane into a nosedive as the passengers finally gain entrance into the cockpit. The plane inverts, crashing into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and killing everyone on board. After that, neither the plane nor the ongoing cockpit assault are seen for the remainder of the film. ATC can be seen and heard desperately calling for any response from Flight 93. Emergency workers then come by to investigate the crash area (denoted by the crater). Soon, time passes and the crater disappears.