Todd Beamer was a 32-year-old Oracle software account manager from Cranbury, New Jersey. He boarded United Airlines Flight 93 which left Newark International Airport bound for San Francisco at 8:43AM on the 11th of September, 2001. The flight had been delayed for 43 minutes due to heavy air traffic. He had planned to be home from a cross-country business trip in time to have breakfast with his family on the 12th of September, 2001
Instead, however, Todd found himself in the midst of a terrorist attack.
When the airplane was hijacked, Todd attempted to place a call through an on-air telephone but was routed to customer services instead. Lisa Jefferson was on the other end of the lime. Todd told her that there were four hijackers with knives that had taken over the plane. “He told me that he had dialed zero to report his plane was being hijacked and he wanted someone to talk to,” she recollected.
With the help of a flight attendant, Todd told Lisa how many passengers and crew were on board. He told Lisa that one of hijackers appeared to have a bomb strapped to his waist and he was standing guard in first class. He described how one flight attended had been stabbed to death (possibly Debbie Welsh) while both the pilot and co-pilot had been forced into the cockpit
He told Lisa that he was safe to talk because the terrorists were in the cockpit and first class. The passengers and crew had been forced towards the back of the airplane.
By this point, two airplanes had already crashed into the World Trade Centre and another had crashed into the Pentagon. Todd was seemingly unaware and asked Lisa if she thought the terrorists wanted money or ransom. Lisa didn’t inform him of the other hijacked airplanes, knowing it would terrify him even further.
After speaking with Lisa for several minutes, Todd’s calm voice went up in pitch. He said that the airplane had went up slightly before sharply turning. Todd asked Lisa if she would recite the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 with him and she did. – “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” In the background, Lisa heard other passengers joining in, as though for a last rite.
Moments later, the airplane took a dive, causing Todd to exclaim: “Oh God, Lisa!” When Todd told Lisa about his wife and two sons, she asked if he wanted her to try and connect him to them. Todd turned her down, saying he didn’t want to scare his wife, who was expecting their third child. Instead, Todd asked Lisa to let his family know that he loved them “if I don’t make it out of this.” Lisa promised she would.