From Flight 93:

[elleng]

Last edited Sun Sep 12, 2021, 02:13 AM - Edit history (1)

Todd: Hello… Operator…listen to me…I can’t speak very loud. – This is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco.. We have a situation here….Our plane has been hijacked…..can you understand me?
Lisa: (exhaling a deep breath to herself) I understand… Can the hijackers see you talking on the phone?
Todd: No
Lisa: Can you tell me how many hijackers are on the plane?
Todd: There are three that we know of.
Lisa: Can you see any weapons? What kind of weapons do they have?
Todd: Yes…. they don’t have guns….they have knives – they took over the plane with knives.
Lisa: Do you mean…like steak knives?
Todd: No, these are razor knives…like box cutters.
Lisa: Can you tell what country these people are from?
Todd: No…..I don’t know. They sound like they’re from the mid-east.
Lisa: Have they said what they want?
Todd: Someone announced from the cockpit that there was a bomb on board. He said he was the captain and to stay in our seats and stay quiet.
He said that they were meeting these men’s demands and returning to the airport… It was very broken English, and… I’m telling you…it sounded fake!
Lisa: Ok sir, please give me your name.
Todd: My name is Todd Beamer.
Lisa: Ok Todd….my name is Lisa…Do you know your flight number? If you can’t remember, it’s on your ticket.
Todd: It’s United Flight 93.
Lisa: Now Todd, can you try to tell me exactly what happened?
Todd: Two of the hijackers were sitting in first class near the cockpit. A third one was sitting near the back of the coach section. The two up. front got into the cockpit somehow; there was shouting. The third hijacker said he had a bomb. It looks like a bomb. He’s got it tied to his waist with a red belt of some kind.
Lisa: So is the door to the cockpit open?
Todd: No, the hijackers shut it behind them.
Lisa: Has anyone been injured?
Todd: Yes, ..they…they killed one passenger sitting in first class. There’s been lots of shouting. We don’t know if the pilots are dead or alive. A flight attendant told me that the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded.
Lisa: Where is the 3rd hijacker now Todd?
Todd: He’s near the back of the plane. They forced most of the passengers into first class. There are fourteen of us here in the back. Five are flight attendants. He hasn’t noticed that I slipped into this pantry to get the phone. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane……….oh Jesus.. Help!
Lisa: Todd….are you ok? Tell me what’s happening!
Todd: Hello…..We’re going down….I think we’re going to crash……Wait – wait a minute. No, we’re leveling off….we’re ok. I think we may be turning around…..That’s it – we changed directions. Do you hear me….we’re flying east again.
Lisa: Ok Todd…. What’s going on with the other passengers?
Todd: Everyone is… really scared. A few passengers with cell phones have made calls to relatives. A guy, Jeremy, was talking to his wife just before the hijacking started. She told him that hijackers had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center……Lisa is that true??
Lisa: Todd…..I have to tell you the truth…..it’s very bad. The World Trade Center is gone. Both of the towers have been destroyed.
Todd: Oh God —help us!
Lisa: A third plane was taken over by terrorists. It crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Our country is under attack….and I’m afraid that your plane may be part of their plan.
Todd: Oh dear God. Dear God…….Lisa, will you do something for me?
Lisa: I’ll try….if I can….Yes.
Todd: I want you to call my wife and my kids for me and tell them what’s happened. Promise me you’ll call..
Lisa: I promise – I’ll call.
Todd: Our home number is 201 353-1073…….You have the same name as my wife…Lisa….We’ve been married for 10 years. She’s pregnant with our 3rd child. Tell her that I love her…….(choking up)..I’ll always love her..(clearing throat) We have two boys.. David, he’s 3 and Andrew, he’s 1…..Tell them……(choking) tell them that their daddy loves them and that he is so proud of them. (clearing throat again) Our baby is due January 12th…..I saw an ultra sound…..it was great….we still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy………Lisa?
Lisa: (barely able to speak) I’ll tell them, I promise Todd.
Todd: I’m going back to the group—if I can get back I will…
Lisa: Todd, leave this line open…are you still there?……
Lisa: (dials the phone..) Hello, FBI, my name is Lisa Jefferson, I’m a telephone supervisor for GTE. I need to report a terrorist hijacking of a United Airlines Flight 93….Yes I’ll hold.
Goodwin: Hello, this is Agent Goodwin.. I understand you have a hijacking situation?
Lisa: Yes sir, I’ve been talking with a passenger, a Todd Beamer, on Flight 93 who managed to get to an air phone unnoticed.
Goodwin: Where did this flight originate, and what was its destination?
Lisa: The flight left Newark New Jersey at 8 A.M. departing for San Francisco. The hijackers took over the plane shortly after takeoff, and several minutes later the plane changed course – it is now flying east.
Goodwin: Ms. Jefferson…I need to talk to someone aboard that plane. Can you get me thru to the planes phone?
Lisa: I still have that line open sir, I can patch you through on a conference call…hold a mo…..
Todd: Hello Lisa, Lisa are you there?
Lisa: Yes, I’m here. Todd, I made a call to the FBI, Agent Goodwin is on the line and will be talking to you as well.
Todd: The others all know that this isn’t your normal hijacking. Jeremy called his wife again on his cell phone. She told him more about the World Trade Center and all.
Goodwin: Hello Todd. This is Agent Goodwin with the FBI. We have been monitoring your flight. Your plane is on a course for Washington, DC. These terrorists sent two planes into the World Trade Center and one plane into the Pentagon. Our best guess is that they plan to fly your plane into either the White House or the United States Capital Building.
Todd: I understand…hold on……I’ll…….I’ll be back..
Lisa: Mr. Goodwin, how much time do they have before they get to Washington?
Goodwin: Not long ma’am. They changed course over Cleveland; they’re approaching Pittsburgh now. Washington may be twenty minutes away.
Todd: (breathing a little heavier) The plane seems to be changing directions just a little. It’s getting pretty rough up here. The plane is flying real erratic….We’re not going to make it out of here. Listen to me….I want you to hear this….I have talked with the others….we have decided we would not be pawns in these hijackers suicidal plot.
Lisa: Todd, what are you going to do?
Todd: We’ve hatched a plan. Four of us are going to rush the hijacker with the bomb. After we take him out, we’ll break into the cockpit. A stewardess is getting some boiling water to throw on the hijackers at the controls. We’ll get them….and we’ll take them out. Lisa, …..will you do one last thing for me?
Lisa: Yes…What is it?
Todd: Would you pray with me?
They pray: Our father which art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive our trespassers,
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
Forever…..Amen
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me…..
Todd: (softer) God help me…Jesus help me….(clears throat and louder)
Are you guys ready?……..
Let’s Roll……………………


Lisa Jefferson: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215846647

[Hekate]

1. I didn't know I could still weep for that day...

[FoxNewsSucks]

4. I didn't either.

[NH Ethylene]

19. Fighting tears right now. n/t

[Star-Thrower]

46. Me too.

20 years and I remember watching the news that morning on NBC with Katie Couric and Matt Lauer.
I will never forget, especially Todd Beamer. To this day I still shed tears at what I saw.

[Ruby Zee]

2. OMG nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Omigod, how horrifying that must have been, and for those heroes to keep calm and do what they could

to bring the plane down and avoid further massacres.

All those people on that flight are heroes. Every last one of them.

Reading this made me cry.

These heroes are what make America truly great and free.

[wnylib]

21. They knew they were dead if they

did nothing. They knew they might die if they acted. But even if their actions got them killed, they knew they would win by preventing the hijackers from carrying out their attack.

Better to die fighting and thwarting the hijackers than die as accomplices to the highjackers.

Yes, I cried reading this, too.

Todd's baby is 19 years old now and his boys are in their 20s. I wonder if they have ever talked to that GTE supervisor or the FBI agent.

[a kennedy]

5. OMGAWD......this just breaks my heart.....

You have the same name as my wife…Lisa….We’ve been married for 10 years. She’s pregnant with our 3rd child. Tell her that I love her…….(choking up)..I’ll always love her..(clearing throat) We have two boys.. David, he’s 3 and Andrew, he’s 1…..Tell them……(choking) tell them that their daddy loves them and that he is so proud of them. (clearing throat again) Our baby is due January 12th…..I saw an ultra sound…..it was great….we still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy………Lisa?
Lisa: (barely able to speak) I’ll tell them, I promise Todd.

Are you guys ready?……..
Let’s Roll……………………

❤️ ❤️ ❤️

[hlthe2b]

6. Could there be a more poignant exchange from that day...? Bless Lisa too for keeping it together.

I wonder how she is today.

[elleng]

7. Yes indeed.

[rsdsharp]

8. I've never seen a transcript of that call before. It's hard to read.

The words are all blurry.

[Deuxcents]

9. Never heard this before

The account, yes, but not the transcript. My god howthese people just knew they were gonna die but saved so many lives by giving theirs. It’s heartbreaking after 20 years to read this. The resolve to do what they did was true heroism...a word we use too lightly these days but not today.

[Patton French]

10. Wow, just wow.

[lamp_shade]

11. Lisa Jefferson "I promised I wouldn't hang up".....

Last edited Sat Sep 11, 2021, 06:57 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.beliefnet.com/inspiration/2006/06/i-promised-i-wouldnt-hang-up.aspx

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

17. That link...

...doesn't work for me.

[lamp_shade]

18. Sorry. I fixed it. Try again.

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

24. Thanks...

...that was as moving as the transcript.

[Silver Gaia]

12. I sobbed as well... deep, racking sobs...

THESE people were true patriots. They gave their lives to SAVE our representatives in Congress and the White House. It is such a stark and poignant contrast to what happened on Jan. 6. I am still in tears.

[pandr32]

13. This has me choked up

These are patriots. They went down with one final act of bravery willingly to save our Capitol. These people make me so proud and so humbled I really don't know what to say.

To think we have so many selfish people across this country that won't lift a finger to help others--won't vaccinate, wear masks, help our country get on track, etc.

The differences between heroics and selfishness are staggering.

[C Moon]

29. Instead we have nuts who believe QAnonsense and trump

[Ka-Dinh Oy]

14. I barely made it through I am crying so hard.

[dixiechiken1]

15. On all these years, this is the first time I've seen a transcript...

What's the source on this, please?

[Treefrog]

34. Maybe from the movie?

Not sure that’s a genuine transcript.

[KS Toronado]

51. Which movie???

There's lots of 9-11 movies.

[Treefrog]

52. Uh, the one called Flight 93?

[FreeState]

60. FBI - link to more

https://www.nps.gov/flni/learn/historyculture/phone-calls-from-flight-93.htm

PDF of FBI release: https://www.scribd.com/document/18886478/T7-B12-Flight-93-Calls-Todd-Beamer-Fdr-9-15-01-FBI-302-Transcript-UAL-SAC-Nick-Leonard-Re-Jefferson-Beamer-Call-419

[dixiechiken1]

69. Okay, thanks...

Per the NPS link, it doesn't appear that there was an actual transcript of Todd Beamer's call, so I'm thinking the posted transcript is from the movie.

9:43, Row 32 DEF (Todd Beamer)

Passenger Todd Beamer contacted GTE Airfone operators. His connection lasted for the remainder of the flight. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, Beamer’s call provided the following information:

“the flight had been hijacked, and the captain and first officer were lying on the floor of the first-class cabin and were injured or possibly dead. One of the hijackers had a red belt with a bomb strapped to his waist. Two of the hijackers, who had knives, entered the cockpit and closed the door behind them. At some point the hijackers closed the curtain between first class and coach so that passengers could not see into first class; those in the rear of the plane were not being monitored by the hijackers. The plane was going up and down and had turned or changed direction. He and some other passengers were planning something and he was going to put the phone down.”

...

“Beamer asked if he could be connected with his wife, or if that was not possible, if a message could be passed to his wife telling her that he loved her.” The second GTE/Airfone operator said she could hear “screams, prayers, exclamations, and talk of subduing the highjackers...At approximately 9 am CST (10 am EST), Beamer said that the passengers were about to attack the highjackers.”

The operator kept the connection open for another twenty minutes without hearing anything, at which time she disconnected the call. (FBI, Trial Evidence, 9/11 Commission)

[SheltieLover]

16. ...

[bottomofthehill]

20. I don't think of myself as a particularly emotional person but

Having spent 9/11 and the better part of this morning at the Capitol, it really hit home.

[mountain grammy]

22. chilling.. never saw this before now. chilling.

[Treefrog]

42. It is not real.

Smh.

[KS Toronado]

50. Where's the proof?

Educate inquiring minds.

[berni_mccoy]

59. They are correct. The events in that transcript aren't possible unless flight 93 travelled in time.

It’s been proven false many times.

[FreeState]

63. I can't find anything about this online

I did find a pdf of the FBI release of this phone call here though: https://www.scribd.com/document/18886478/T7-B12-Flight-93-Calls-Todd-Beamer-Fdr-9-15-01-FBI-302-Transcript-UAL-SAC-Nick-Leonard-Re-Jefferson-Beamer-Call-419

[berni_mccoy]

64. That is a transcript of the FBI interview of the operator

And her recollection of the call. Not the transcript of the call itself. No where is it mentioned the things the transcript above claims.

[twodogsbarking]

56. Interesting, eh.

[Pepsidog]

23. Real American Hero.

[Lasher]

25. That's hard to read.

Thanks, Ellen.

[Raven]

26. I would like to take that transcript and shove it down a lot of peoples' throats. That transcript

is the story of what America should be. Selfless heroism. Putting one's interest second to the well being of the community. That dream may have died with the men and women on Flight 93.

[Treefrog]

36. There is no transcript.

The op is posting a tweet.

[Raven]

38. I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

[Treefrog]

39. The op has posted something someone tweeted.

There was no recording of that call.

Probably the original tweet referenced the movie. Smh,

[Raven]

44. Could have fooled me! I'm so out of touch that I didn't know

there was a movie. Just take "script" and substitute it for "transcript" in my post.

[KS Toronado]

49. " someone tweeted."????

Who tweeted this? Inquiring minds want to know. Believe all 911 calls are recorded.

[dixiechiken1]

71. Todd Beamer's call was not to 911...

It was to a GTE Airfone operator. There is no actual transcript.

[yonder]

27. That was a tough read.

As another said, hero is tossed around too much. These passengers were Heroes in the truest sense.

[Raine]

28. Heartbreaking. 😢 nt

[Rowdyag]

30. I had sort of barely

Kept it together today till now…I’m now sitting here openly sobbing

[Dave Bowman]

31. Omg, can't stop crying...

[colorado_ufo]

32. At last, the transcript. It is all clear now.

Of all the tributes today to 9/11, this was the best.

Lisa is a hero, as well. Perfect courage and the coolest of heads in a crisis.

If Jack Kennedy were alive today, he would add a chapter to his book, Profiles in Courage, dedicated to these heroic people, and to all the first responders and more on 9/11.

[Treefrog]

40. It's not a transcript.

It’s a copy of a tweet.

[colorado_ufo]

47. Thank you!

[LAS14]

33. Made me cry. nt

[Treefrog]

35. This is from a tweet.

That call was not recorded.

Shame on whoever is trying to make this seem like it’s a real transcription. Smh.

[femmedem]

73. Thanks, Treefrog.

I have to admit, this one fooled me.

It tells me how easy it is to fall for fake news that fits your worldview.

[Maru Kitteh]

37. There was a woman on that plane who had the same name as me.

It's always been so personal in that regard.

[BobTheSubgenius]

41. My sister worked for the Cdn fed govt as a policy analyst.

They had a TV in their section, and everyone was glued to it, unsurprisingly. Most were silent, some were weeping. All except my sister. She got on the phone, and while it took a long time with the lack of long distance availability, she eventually tracked down every one of their coworkers that were out of town on government business.

She was the only one that wasn't paralyzed by the news. I was so proud of her for that, and think she should have got some kind of recognition for thinking of others clearly and acting rationally in those conditions.

[Treefrog]

43. Why would you post this?

Did you research it?

The people on that plane were brave without all this nonsense being posted. Smh.

[KS Toronado]

48. Did you research it ???????

I did and Lisa's transcript is all over the WWW and is 100% true and accurate.
What's "all this nonsense" ??? IT'S ACTUAL HISTORY

[berni_mccoy]

62. There is one small problem

Flight 93 crashed before the towers came down. The transcript has a logic flaw in it and there is no way the operator would have known. The entire internet was down that day and unless she had CNN on in her operator room, she would not have known the things she told in the Transcript

[FreeState]

65. Conspiracy theories are ridiculous

The first tower fell at 9:58. Flight 93 crashed between 10:06 and 10:10. The emergency operated would have known this.

I work online and have since the mid 90s. On 9-11 the internet worked and was not offline - we had sales that day via our online stores - every hour of the day to US customers.

[berni_mccoy]

67. Actually it was 9:59 am when the firsts collapse happened.

Flight 93 crashed shortly after 10am.

There is no physical way the conversation happened in that time span.

Also I worked and lived in the Boston area in tech. A co-worker was on one of the planes. IPhones did not exist yet. The internet was down in the east coast. Unless this operator has a live TV in her cubical there is no way she would have known the things she told Beamer.

Stop spreading misinformation.

[DemUnleashed]

45. Unbelievable!

Reading this transcript and Lisa Jefferson's interview has me in tears!! What they all went through on that flight and Ms Jefferson on the ground, is truly heartbreaking!

[berni_mccoy]

68. It's unbelievable because it's not real.

[littlemissmartypants]

53. Devastating. How could one not be moved to tears by this?

Another detail about the actions of this passenger group on that day was before they prayed and attacked the hijackers, they voted.

That they saw the value and the necessity of this basic tenet of democracy, while our democracy was under attack, strikes me as deeply moving and pure.

[Old Crow]

54. So I think it's important to acknowledge this is NOT an actual transcript of a phone recording.

It's a recollection of one of the GTE Airfone operators. No recording of the call exists. From what I'm reading, it seems to me that the recreated dialogue is fairly accurate, but it would be a mistake to think it's verbatim.

The National Park Service has a full accounting of all 37 phone calls that were made from United Flight 93 during the hijacking, located here. Most of the calls were not recorded and the information we have about them is based on FBI interviews after the fact.

The information the NPS provides about Todd Beamer's phone call is as follows:

Passenger Todd Beamer contacted GTE Airfone operators. His connection lasted for the remainder of the flight. According to the 9/11 Commission Report, Beamer’s call provided the following information:

“the flight had been hijacked, and the captain and first officer were lying on the floor of the first-class cabin and were injured or possibly dead. One of the hijackers had a red belt with a bomb strapped to his waist. Two of the hijackers, who had knives, entered the cockpit and closed the door behind them. At some point the hijackers closed the curtain between first class and coach so that passengers could not see into first class; those in the rear of the plane were not being monitored by the hijackers. The plane was going up and down and had turned or changed direction. He and some other passengers were planning something and he was going to put the phone down.”

Notes made by the FBI following their interviews with the phone operators include this additional information: The first GTE/Airfone operator said that,

“Beamer asked if he could be connected with his wife, or if that was not possible, if a message could be passed to his wife telling her that he loved her.” The second GTE/Airfone operator said she could hear “screams, prayers, exclamations, and talk of subduing the highjackers...At approximately 9 am CST (10 am EST), Beamer said that the passengers were about to attack the highjackers.”

The operator kept the connection open for another twenty minutes without hearing anything, at which time she disconnected the call. (FBI, Trial Evidence, 9/11 Commission)

Lastly, to be perfectly clear: Do I think the response of Todd Beamer and other passengers and crew on United Flight 93 was heroic? Absolutely.

[Midnight Writer]

57. Thank you, Old Crow. Facts are important, but not always popular.

[berni_mccoy]

66. Well said

[Cinnamonspice]

58. I still fight back tears with 9/11. So sad.

[DashOneBravo]

61. Thank you for posting that

[Chili]

70. that broke me down

[Richard D]

72. Some of that is Xian propaganda:

Many shared the alleged transcript of that call from an article on Eternity News, which appears to be a Christian-focused website, claiming it was the full conversation between the two of them. We learned that while elements of this “transcript” were pulled from Jefferson’s account of the conversation, testimonials from the time, and other sources, there was no recorded version of the full conversation. The transcript includes fake dialogue that never actually occurred.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/transcript-call-flight-93-9-11/