When people talk about September 11, the mind usually goes straight to the Manhattan skyline or the massive gap in the side of the Pentagon. Those images are seared in. But then there’s the other one. The one that didn't hit a building. People still ask what happened to the fourth plane in 9 11 because, frankly, the ending of that specific flight is what changed the way we think about the entire day. It wasn't just another tragedy; it was a counter-attack.
United Airlines Flight 93 took off late. That tiny bit of 25-minute runway lag changed history. If it had left on time from Newark, it would have been over D.C. before anyone knew what was happening. Instead, the passengers found out what was going on elsewhere.
The Chaos Inside United Flight 93
The fourth plane was a Boeing 757. It was headed for San Francisco with 37 passengers and seven crew members. At 9:28 a.m., four hijackers stormed the cockpit. We know this because of the terrifying air traffic control recordings where you can hear Captain Jason Dahl struggling. The plane dropped 700 feet in seconds.
It was a mess.
The hijackers—Ziad Jarrah, Ahmed al-Nami, Saeed al-Ghamdi, and Ahmed al-Haznawi—herded everyone to the back of the craft. They told people there was a bomb. They said they were going back to the airport. They lied. Jarrah, who had some flight training, turned the plane toward Washington D.C.
Phone Calls From the Edge
This is where the story gets heavy. Because the flight was delayed, the passengers started using GTE Airphones and their own cell phones to call home. This wasn't 2026; mobile signals were spotty in the air back then, but they got through. They reached wives, husbands, and operators.
📖 Related: Why Fox Has a Problem: The Identity Crisis at the Top of Cable News
They learned the truth.
Jeremy Glick, a 31-year-old sales executive, spoke to his wife Lyz. He found out about the World Trade Center. Tom Burnett Jr. told his wife Deena, "I know we're all going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey." Imagine that phone call. You're sitting in a seat, looking at men with red bandanas and knives, and you realize your plane is a guided missile. You realize that "going back to the airport" is a death sentence for thousands of others.
The Vote and the Revolt
The myth is that it was a chaotic scramble. The reality is more sobering. The passengers actually took a vote. They decided to fight.
They gathered in the aisle near the back. They used what they had: boiling water from the galley, cutlery, fire extinguishers. Todd Beamer, an account manager, tried to place a call that ended up with a supervisor named Lisa Jefferson. He couldn't get through to his family. After they prayed together, Beamer didn't say something poetic or scripted. He just said, "Are you guys ready? Okay. Let's roll."
That phrase—Let's roll—became a rallying cry for a whole generation.
👉 See also: The CIA Stars on the Wall: What the Memorial Really Represents
They charged the cockpit. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captures the sound of the beverage cart being used as a battering ram. You can hear the hijackers screaming in Arabic, trying to hold the door shut. You can hear the passengers screaming back. It was a brutal, close-quarters struggle at 500 miles per hour.
Why the Fourth Plane Never Hit D.C.
A lot of people think the plane was shot down by the military. That’s a conspiracy theory that has been debunked over and over. The 9/11 Commission Report and the flight data show that the passengers were seconds away from breaking through the cockpit door.
Ziad Jarrah, the hijacker pilot, panicked. He started rocking the wings to throw the passengers off balance. He pitched the nose up and down. It didn't work. The sounds of the struggle grew louder. Jarrah asked another hijacker, "Is it that? Shall we finish it off?"
At 10:03 a.m., Jarrah turned the wheel hard to the right. The plane flipped over and plowed into a reclaimed strip mine in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was traveling at 563 mph. Everyone died instantly.
The Intended Target
So, where was it going?
✨ Don't miss: Passive Resistance Explained: Why It Is Way More Than Just Standing Still
Investigative evidence and later interrogations of Al-Qaeda members like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed suggest the target was likely the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House. The hijackers called it "The Faculty of Law." Because the plane crashed in a field, the heart of the American government stayed intact. That field in Shanksville is now a national memorial, a quiet, windy place that marks where the first battle in the war on terror actually took place.
Technical Details and Misconceptions
When looking at what happened to the fourth plane in 9 11, we have to address the "missing" plane debris theories. Some folks point to the fact that the crater wasn't "plane-shaped."
- Impact Physics: When a 757 hits soft earth at nearly 600 mph, it doesn't stay on the surface. It telescopes. Much of the wreckage was buried 20 to 30 feet underground.
- The Engine: One engine was found a considerable distance away, which fueled "missile" rumors. In reality, the kinetic energy of the crash simply bounced the heavy machinery forward through the trees.
- The Cell Phone Myths: Critics once claimed cell phones couldn't work at that altitude. In 2001, at lower altitudes (which the plane was at during the struggle), roaming signals could indeed latch onto ground towers, though many calls were made via the seat-back Airphones which utilized different technology.
It's also worth noting the "Shootdown Order." Vice President Dick Cheney did eventually authorize the military to shoot down hijacked planes, but that order didn't reach the pilots in the air until after United 93 had already crashed. The passengers did it themselves.
Why United 93 Still Matters
Honestly, the story of the fourth plane is the only part of 9/11 that feels like it has a glimmer of hope, if you can call it that. It’s about the moment people stopped being victims and started being participants in their own fate.
Without the intervention of the people on that flight, the death toll of 9/11 could have been significantly higher. The Capitol was full of people that morning. The disruption of the hijackers' plan saved the lives of senators, staffers, and tourists.
How to Honor the History
If you want to understand the full weight of this, don't just read a summary. Look into the specific legacies of the people on board.
- Visit the Memorial: The Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania is incredibly moving. It’s designed so the "Tower of Voices" rings with 40 wind chimes—one for each passenger and crew member.
- Read the Transcripts: The 9/11 Commission Report is a long read, but the section on United 93 is essential. It uses the CVR and phone records to piece together a minute-by-minute account.
- Support the Families: Organizations like the Families of Flight 93 continue to preserve the site and tell the stories of those who fought back.
- Educate Others: Share the fact that the "fourth plane" wasn't a mystery or a shoot-down; it was a civilian-led defense.
The tragedy of 9/11 is a heavy burden in American history. But the story of United 93 serves as a reminder of what happens when ordinary people are pushed to the brink and choose to act. It’s a story of 20 minutes of sheer bravery in a Pennsylvania sky.