Flight 93. I suspect for most people in the United States who are old enough to remember Tuesday, September 11, 2001, they can say exactly where they were on that fateful morning. At 8:46 a.m. the twin towers were struck. The Pentagon was struck at 9:37 a.m. United Flight 93 crashed landed at 10:03 a.m. in an empty field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Flight 93
United Flight 93 departed New Jersey bound for San Francisco. The plane was hi-jacked by four members of al-Qaeda and they diverted the flight path to Washington, DC. No one knows for certain which building in Washington, DC was their intended point of impact. The Capitol Building seemed to be the logical target.
Forty people were on the flight, passengers and crew. In an heroic effort they banned together to overtake the hi-jackers and flew the plane into the ground. At the point of impact on that fateful day, the crater made by the crash was approximately 15 feet deep and 30 feet wide. At the time of the crash landing, the plane was approximately 20 minutes (flying time) from Washington, DC. It’s hard to fathom the courage of those who sacrificed their lives to save the lives of so many others.
Flight Pattern
One of the most powerful experiences in the park is the granite pathway (see video below) that depicts the final flight pattern of Flight 93. It begins near the parking lot and ends at a viewing point where one can see a green meadow in the distance. In the meadow there is a huge boulder which indicates the point of impact. It is heartbreaking to witness, but it is beautifully powerful in its simplicity.
Visitors Center
Inside the visitors center there are dioramas, maps, and photos. All of the displays are curated in such a way that draws people in. They focus attention on the heroic lives of the passengers and crew. Detailed maps and diagrams of the final flight are on display as well. It makes the nightmare of the morning come to life for visitors. There is a wall of oversized photos showing the crater left by the impact, as well as photos of rescuers and the huge plume of smoke from the fire.
One particularly profound display was a large photo of the seats of the plane, facing the cockpit. It gives visitors such a feeling of what the passengers and crew were seeing and dealing with. On the same wall there are several headsets where visitors can listen to a few of the messages the passengers and crews left for their loved ones. There wasn’t a dry eye among those who listened to the recordings, including us.
Not Your Average National Park
The Flight 93 National Memorial Park is not your average national park. It is a place of reverence, a place to remember those who sacrificed their lives. There are no picnic tables, nor is there a place to purchase food. Dogs are allowed, on leash, but we overheard a ranger specifically say that dogs are not allowed on any pathways, only the grass. There were a few older children there, but it is not a park for young children. There is no playground equipment. The surrounding park and visitors center is meticulously clean.
How to Visit Flight 93 National Memorial Park
- The park is 165 miles from Washington, DC and 84 miles from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Flight 93 Memorial Park is in a rural area near Shanksville, Pennsylvania
- Ample surface lot parking
- Restrooms available
- Visitors Center
- Gift shop
- Memorial Plaza
- Two-mile perimeter walking trail
Always Remember
Do you remember where you were on that fateful morning?
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Oh, wow. What a moving and sobering memorial, and you’ve done a great job of capturing its somberness and significance. We will never forget where we were the morning of 911 – we were living on our boat in a marina in San Francisco. We had just gone for a run and were coming back up the dock when one of our neighbors ran up to us and said “America is under attack!”. It’s an indelible memory for so many of us.
John and Susan Pazera recently posted…Santa Rosa de Cabal: Colombia’s Hot Springs Paradise
Thank you for the kind feedback, Susan. I got teary eyed – again – just trying to write this post. It was incredibly moving to be there, the passengers and crew were such heroes. I’ll never forget that day and the days that followed. We were upstairs getting ready for work when our son came running and telling us to turn on the tv! Turn on the tv! I did not want to leave the house, but at the time I was managing a child development center and I knew parents would be panicking. They were, but we got through the day.