Flight 93 (TV film)
Encyclopedia
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
, directed by Peter Markle
Peter Markle
Peter Markle is an American TV and film director. He has worked on Everwood, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and The X-Files as well as many other programs. He was director of the successful "Flight 93" in 2006 and he also directed the poorly-received comedy western film Wagons East!...
, which chronicles the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
during the September 11 attacks. It premiered January 30, 2006 on the A&E Network
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
and was re-broadcast several times throughout 2006.
The film focused heavily on eight passengers, namely Todd Beamer
Todd Beamer
Lisa Beamer was born on april 10, 1969 in Albany, New york.Lisa Beamer is the widow of Todd Beamer, a victim of the United Flight 93 crash as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
, Mark Bingham
Mark Bingham
Mark Kendall Bingham was an American public relations executive who founded his own company, the Bingham Group. During the September 11 attacks in 2001 he was a passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93...
, Tom Burnett
Tom Burnett
Thomas Edward Burnett, Jr. was the vice-president and chief operating officer of Thoratec Corporation, a medical devices company based in Pleasanton, California. He resided in San Ramon, California....
, Jeremy Glick, Lauren Grandcolas
Lauren Grandcolas
Lauren Grandcolas was one of the passengers on board United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, who made calls, providing information about the hijacking of the flight as part of the September 11 attacks...
, Donald Greene, Nicole Miller, and Honor Elizabeth Wainio. It features small appearances from many other passengers, namely Donald Peterson and his wife, Jean, and also from flight attendant Sandra Bradshaw.
The film was rated PG-13 for some violence and emotional depiction of the hijack situation. The DVD version was released on June 26, 2006.
Plot
The film opens early on the morning of September 11, 2001 with First officer LeRoy Homer Jr. getting dressed in the F.A.A. official uniform then kissing his wife and leaving for work. Then hijackers Ahmed al-Nami and al-Haznawi, United 93's skyjacking ringleader Ziad JarrahZiad Jarrah
Ziad Samir Jarrah was one of the masterminds of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, crashing the plane into a field in a rural area near Shanksville—after a passenger uprising—as part of the coordinated attacks.After a wealthy and secular...
, and Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed Abdallah Ali Sulayman al-Ghamdi was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks....
are shown shaving in their hotel room and then leaving for Newark International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
. At the airport, the passengers and crew board United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
along with the hijackers. Shortly after boarding, Flight 93 is delayed for 30 minutes because of the high volume of traffic. The other three hijacked flights take off.
Air traffic controllers monitoring all current flights notice that American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11
American Airlines Flight 11 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California...
, a Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
, has taken a southern turn toward New York City and Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.Born in 1968...
makes a suspicious threatening transmission from the flight deck. Shortly after, Flight 11 descends into Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
and crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, though air traffic controllers are not aware of it. After Flight 11 crashed, United Airlines Flight 175
United Airlines Flight 175
United Airlines Flight 175 was United Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight, from Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California...
begins to descend and turn toward New York City as well. Air traffic controllers then realize they are dealing with a hijacking. American Airlines Flight 77
American Airlines Flight 77
American Airlines Flight 77 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight, from Washington Dulles International Airport, in Dulles, Virginia to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California...
is also hijacked. The traffic controllers alert the U.S. Air Force, who debate whether or not to shoot down all suspected hijacked flights. The air traffic controllers and Air Force then watch as Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the WTC on live television, reported by CNN.
Word of the planes that hit the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
reaches Flight 93, and the terrorists then decide to begin the hijacking. After Ahmed al-Haznawi
Ahmed al-Haznawi
Ahmed Ibrahim al-Haznawi was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks....
assembles a fake bomb out of clay and plastic during breakfast, the other three hijackers wrestle their way into the cockpit and overpower the pilots. By this time, Flight 77 has crashed and created a huge fireball at the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. Footage of the South Tower collapsing is also seen on TV at the home of one of the victims' family.
To the growing consternation of Ben Sliney
Ben Sliney
Ben Sliney was one of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's National Operation Managers. His first day in this position was September 11, 2001, and he was responsible for ordering a National Ground Stop across United States airspace in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.- Actions on...
and his staff, coordination with the Air Force is haphazard and there are not enough planes ready, or armed, to respond to an in-air hijacking. Sliney ultimately decides to shut down all airspace in the United States and ground every flight.
The hijackers do not prevent the people from making phone calls through the on-board system. After hearing about the planes crashed into the WTC and the Pentagon, the passengers and crew understand that if they do nothing, they will also die, and eventually elect to storm the cockpit and attempt to retake the plane. The passengers make one last set of phone calls to family, in which they declare their intentions. The remaining crew assemble what makeshift weapons they can: cutlery, wine bottles, a fire extinguisher and hot water.
Learning that one of the passengers can fly a plane (although he has not flown a commercial aircraft), the group pin their hopes on his being able at least to control the plane. They debate whether the bomb is real or fake before deciding to start their counter-attack by overpowering Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed al-Ghamdi
Saeed Abdallah Ali Sulayman al-Ghamdi was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks....
. He is killed by the passengers with a bash to the head with a hot water container after boiling water is thrown at him. Having seen this, Ahmed al-Nami
Ahmed al-Nami
A former law student and muezzin, Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Nami was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks.Born in Saudi Arabia, Nami had served as a muezzin and was a college student...
, Jarrah and Ahmed al-Haznawi prepare for invasion by the passengers and debate whether to take the flight down.
Ziad Jarrah shakes the plane violently to throw the passengers off balance, but nonetheless they manage to smash the door with the food cart. As the passengers wrestle with two hijackers to get in the cockpit, Ziad Jarrah puts the plane into an nosedive and flips the plane upside down towards the ground as the passengers finally gain entrance into the cockpit. The plane misses a private propeller plane and a barn, then crahes into a old strip mine. The crash is not seen, instead a cloud of smoke and the crash crater are seen. Footage of the North Tower collapsing is shown on TV as the families of the victims are seen in their houses comforting each other.
The crash site is then seen and time moves on as the ground where the plane crashed recovers. When the crash crater is no longer visible some writing appears on the screen. It says, "On September 11 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 was one of the four planes hijacked in midair. Three planes succeeded in hitting their targets. With great courage and resolve, the passengers and crew of Flight 93 prevented their plane from reaching its likely target, the White House or the Capitol Building. This film is dedicated to the passengers and crew of Flight 93, and to their families."
The names of the passengers and crew of Flight 93 then appear on screen before the film ends.
See also
- United 93 (film)United 93 (film)United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
- The Flight That Fought BackThe Flight that Fought BackThe Flight That Fought Back is a documentary film produced by the London-based company Brook Lapping Productions for the Discovery Channel about United Airlines Flight 93...
- I Missed Flight 93I Missed Flight 93I Missed Flight 93 is an hour-long documentary about people who missed United Flight 93 for various reasons. It originally aired on the History Channel around early 2006. The documentary focuses on three people who, through a twist of fate, missed the flight...