Go Back   The Supercar Registry > General Discussion > Lounge


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11  
Old 09-11-2021, 06:08 AM
Lee Stewart's Avatar
Lee Stewart Lee Stewart is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
Posts: 36,633
Thanks: 3,506
Thanked 136,486 Times in 22,778 Posts
Default



As the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were unfolding, then-Air Force Lt. Heather Penney was given a mission to intercept hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 before it reached Washington, D.C. The rookie F-16 pilot said she believed she would not come back from that mission.

At first, Penney said it wasn't immediately clear that an airplane had been deliberately flown into the World Trade Center. When the second plane hit, "that's when we knew that our nation was under attack."

She went to arm her aircraft, but there wasn't enough time. She and another pilot, Marc Sasseville, had to get in the air.

"We did not have missiles. We were on a suicide mission. And in order to be able to take any airliner down, Sass would ram his aircraft into the cockpit where the terrorists were, to destroy the flight controls," she explained. "I would take the tail by ramming my jet into the tail of the aircraft, I would aerodynamically unbalance the airplane and tip it over so it would crash straight into the ground by targeting both ends of the aircraft. It was our plan to prevent any additional casualties."

After witnessing the horror of the attacks in New York, she said she understood what needed to be done.

"I had raised my hand and swore an oath to protect and defend our nation," she said. "If this was where the universe had placed me at this moment in time... that this was my purpose. Anyone who had been in our position would have been willing to do the same thing. And the proof is in the pudding, because the passengers on Flight 93 did."
Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Lee Stewart For This Useful Post:
67since67 (09-11-2021), PeteLeathersac (09-11-2021), SS427 (09-11-2021)
  #12  
Old 09-11-2021, 06:12 AM
Lee Stewart's Avatar
Lee Stewart Lee Stewart is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
Posts: 36,633
Thanks: 3,506
Thanked 136,486 Times in 22,778 Posts
Default

Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 09-11-2021, 06:14 AM
Lee Stewart's Avatar
Lee Stewart Lee Stewart is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
Posts: 36,633
Thanks: 3,506
Thanked 136,486 Times in 22,778 Posts
Default

Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 09-11-2021, 06:15 AM
Lee Stewart's Avatar
Lee Stewart Lee Stewart is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
Posts: 36,633
Thanks: 3,506
Thanked 136,486 Times in 22,778 Posts
Default

Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 09-11-2021, 06:15 AM
Lee Stewart's Avatar
Lee Stewart Lee Stewart is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
Posts: 36,633
Thanks: 3,506
Thanked 136,486 Times in 22,778 Posts
Default

Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old 09-11-2021, 06:16 AM
Lee Stewart's Avatar
Lee Stewart Lee Stewart is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
Posts: 36,633
Thanks: 3,506
Thanked 136,486 Times in 22,778 Posts
Default

Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 09-11-2021, 06:18 AM
Lee Stewart's Avatar
Lee Stewart Lee Stewart is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
Posts: 36,633
Thanks: 3,506
Thanked 136,486 Times in 22,778 Posts
Default

Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 09-11-2021, 06:19 AM
Lee Stewart's Avatar
Lee Stewart Lee Stewart is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
Posts: 36,633
Thanks: 3,506
Thanked 136,486 Times in 22,778 Posts
Default

Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Lee Stewart For This Useful Post:
HawkX66 (09-13-2021)
  #19  
Old 09-11-2021, 06:42 AM
AnthonyS's Avatar
AnthonyS AnthonyS is offline
Yenko Advertising Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: SoCal
Posts: 3,045
Thanks: 122
Thanked 607 Times in 366 Posts
Default

I remember it very well, I was here on the West coast, a coworker of mine called me that morning and woke me up and told me to turn on the TV, I asked her "which channel?" and she replied "any"... a very surreal day - these photos made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end... I won't forget.
Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to AnthonyS For This Useful Post:
Lee Stewart (09-11-2021)
  #20  
Old 09-11-2021, 09:34 AM
carnut4life carnut4life is online now
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Beacon, IA
Posts: 1,051
Thanks: 840
Thanked 1,990 Times in 637 Posts
Default

Thanks for posting Lee, hard to believe that it's been 20 years. This is bound to be a day of reflection for us all.
Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to carnut4life For This Useful Post:
Lee Stewart (09-11-2021)
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 02:22 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.

O Garage vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.