United Airlines Flight 93 Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
United Airlines Flight 93
Occurrence summary
UA 93's flight path on September 11, 2001, from Newark, New Jersey, to Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania.
Date	Tuesday, September 11, 2001 (2001-09-11)
Summary	Hijacking
Place	Field near the Diamond T. Mine, a coal strip mine near Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Passengers	33 + 4 hijackers
Crew	7
Fatalities	40 (all) + 4 hijackers
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 757–222
Airline/user	United Airlines
Registration	N591UA
Flew from	Newark Int'l Airport (now Newark Liberty Int'l Airport)
Flying to	San Francisco Int'l Airport

United Airlines Flight 93 was a plane that was hijacked on September 11, 2001. This flight was supposed to go from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California.

Four men took over the plane. They were part of a group called al-Qaeda. This group planned a series of attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Soon after the plane took off, the hijackers went into the cockpit. They took control from the pilots. They then flew the plane towards Washington, D.C..

Some passengers and crew members used phones on the plane. They learned about other attacks happening that day. They heard about the World Trade Center and the Pentagon being hit. The people on Flight 93 then decided to fight back. They planned to stop the hijackers and take back the plane.

The hijackers crashed the plane into a field. This happened near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Washington, D.C. All the people on board died. An investigation later showed that the passengers' brave actions stopped the hijackers. They prevented the plane from reaching its target in Washington, D.C.

About the Flight
The Hijackers
Images for kids
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About the Flight

On September 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 was a morning flight. It was scheduled to fly from Newark to San Francisco. The plane used for this flight was a Boeing 757. This type of plane could carry 182 passengers. However, on that day, there were only 37 passengers and 7 crew members on board.

The Hijackers

The hijackers were led by a man named Ziad Jarrah. He was a member of the al-Qaeda group. Jarrah was born in Lebanon. He moved to Germany in 1996. There, he studied German at a university. Later, he moved to Hamburg, Germany. He began studying engineering there. While in Hamburg, Jarrah joined a group of people with extreme ideas.

In November 1999, Jarrah traveled to Afghanistan. He stayed there for three months. In January 2000, he met with Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was the leader of al-Qaeda. Jarrah went back to Germany at the end of January. He got a new passport in February. He falsely reported his old passport as stolen. This way, his new passport did not show any trips to Afghanistan.

In June 2000, Jarrah arrived in Florida, USA. He started taking flying lessons. He also trained in hand-to-hand combat.

There were four other hijackers. They were trained to fight the crew. Three of them were with Jarrah on Flight 93. Their names were Ahmed al-Nami, Hamza al-Ghamdi, and Mohand al-Shehri.

There was a fifth person who was supposed to be a hijacker. His name was Mohammed al-Qahtani. On August 3, 2001, he flew to Orlando, Florida, from Dubai. Officials questioned him. He only had $2,800 in cash. They did not believe he could support himself. They also suspected he wanted to stay in the US illegally. This was because he had a one-way ticket. He was sent back to Dubai. Later, he returned to Saudi Arabia.