United Airlines Flight 93 was a passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists in 2001 as part of the September 11 attacks. The hijackers stormed the westbound aircraft's cockpit 46 minutes after its takeoff from Newark, New Jersey, and diverted it in the direction of Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital. Several passengers and flight attendants learned of the other 9/11 suicide attacks from phone calls, sparking an attempt to retake the plane. During the struggle, the hijackers deliberately crashed the plane into a field near a reclaimed strip mine in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania; all 44 people on board (including the hijackers) were killed. A temporary memorial was built near the crash site soon after the attacks. The permanent Flight 93 National Memorial was dedicated on September 10, 2011; it has a concrete and glass visitor center overlooking the crash site.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_93
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1851:
In a fight near Christiana, Pennsylvania, a group of escaped slaves and free Blacks led by William Parker fought off a federal posse seeking to arrest and return the escapees to slavery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiana_Riot
1893:
Swami Vivekananda gave a speech introducing Hinduism on the opening day of the first Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_the_World%27s_Religions
1914:
First World War: The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force invaded German New Guinea, winning the Battle of Bita Paka. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bita_Paka
1981:
Iranian politician Ayatollah Madani and three others were assassinated by an agent of the MEK who detonated a grenade during Friday prayers in Tabriz. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir_Asadollah_Madani
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
ground zero: 1. Originally, the point on the land or water surface below which a nuclear bomb detonates in the air; now also the point on such a surface at or above the detonation. 2. (by extension) The location of any disaster or violent assault. 3. (figuratively) The point at which something begins. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ground_zero
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
On a day when buildings fell, heroes rose: Pentagon employees ran into smoke-filled corridors to guide their friends to safety. Firefighters rushed up the stairs of the World Trade Center as the towers neared collapse. Passengers aboard Flight 93 charged the cockpit and laid down their lives to spare countless others. One of the worst days in America's history saw some of the bravest acts in Americans' history. We'll always honor the heroes of 9/11. --George W. Bush https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush