Fighter Pilot Recalls 9/11 Mission to Ram Flight 93, and Why It Gives Her Hope

Cindy Drukier
By Cindy Drukier
September 10, 2022The Nation Speaks
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The mission is hard to believe, but it was impossible to refuse.

On 9/11, two fighter pilots took off from Andrews Air Force Base on a mission to locate and stop a fourth hijacked passenger jet, which appeared to be heading for the Capitol.

Heather “Lucky” Penney, a rookie flier, says their goal was clear. “We knew that if … we were mission successful, that we would be ramming our jets into the airliner, that we would not be coming home.” That plane was Flight 93, which ultimately crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Penney shares how the day went down and why the plight of Flight 93 to this day fills her with hope.

Then, in America Q&A, we ask people across the country for their reaction to this remarkable story of heroism.