NYT Letter Marks 25th 9/11 Anniversary, Honors Flight 93 Heroes

Q: What untold sacrifices were unarmed fighter pilots prepared to make on 9/11 to protect the nation's capital?

They were prepared to die by turning their own unarmed F-16s into weapons and ramming a hijacked airliner before it could strike Washington. Accounts from the 9/11 response show that some fighter pilots launched without missiles or live ammunition. Among the best-documented cases were Air National Guard pilots Heather “Lucky” Penney and Marc Sasseville, who took off from Andrews Air Force Base to defend the capital. With no conventional way to bring down a hijacked jet, they understood that the only remaining option might be a deliberate midair collision. Their plan reflected the grim reality of the mission. Sasseville intended to ram the cockpit to disable the hijackers and flight controls, while Penney was prepared to strike the tail to help bring the aircraft down. Both knew such an interception would almost certainly be fatal. They never had to carry out that sacrifice. Before the fighters could reach United Flight 93, passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers, and the plane crashed in Pennsylvania instead of reaching its likely target in or near the nation’s capital. The episode has come to symbolize a lesser-known form of bravery on 9/11: military pilots, flying unarmed and with incomplete information, were willing to give their lives to protect civilians on the ground.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 11

A New York Times letter published on the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 praises Charlie Greene and his sister Jody for honoring their father and the United Flight 93 passengers killed in 2001.
The writer says Flight 93’s memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg, symbolizes sacrifice and should be visited, while recalling that U.S. jets scrambled too late to stop the attacks.
The letter also highlights military pilots who were prepared to ram hijacked airliners if necessary, casting both them and the passengers as examples of selfless heroism.
Its broader message is that 9/11 should remind Americans to value neighbors and national unity over politics in what it calls a dangerous, unsettled world.