Passengers Battled WTC Hijack - Widow

NY Daily News ^ | 3.9.2004 | Corky Siemaszko

[NYC GOP Chick]

Passengers battled
WTC hijack - widow

By CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Brian Sweeney

The widow of a Gulf War veteran aboard doomed United Airline Flight 175 revealed for the first time yesterday that passengers tried to stop hijackers from crashing the plane into one of the Trade Center towers.

"I might have to hang up quickly, we're going to try to do something about this," Brian Sweeney reportedly said in a cell phone call to his mother.

"Okay," Louise Sweeney said. "Do what you have to do."

The account was related yesterday to the Daily News by Sweeney's widow, Julie, and has never before appeared in print.

Until now, the only known rebellion against Osama Bin Laden's hijackers was on United Airlines Flight 93, where passengers forced the hijackers to crash the Washington-bound plane in a Pennsylvania field.

"There was no time for 'Let's roll,'" said the widow, referring to the Flight 93 battle cry. "He called me at 8:58. ... The plane crashed a few minutes later."

Julie Sweeney said her mother-in-law watched his plane plow into the South Tower on television and has never spoken publicly about her call from him. Louise Sweeney declined to be interviewed by the Daily News.

Al Felzenberg, a spokesman for the federal 9/11 commission, said Sweeney's story is being evaluated.

A former Navy lieutenant, Sweeney was an aeronautics consultant headed west for business on Sept. 11, 2001, when the hijackers took over the plane. By the time Sweeney and the other passengers realized what was happening, American Airlines Flight 11 already had struck the North Tower and the other plane was on a collision course with death.

On the phone with his mother, "She asked who they were and he said not specifically but said they were Middle Eastern," Julie Sweeney said. "He could literally kill somebody with a twist of the neck. We could see him trying to do something about it."

But there just wasn't time.

"He always stated that family came first and in the face of death he called me, he called his mother, and the next priority was trying to save everyone around him," his widow said. "I believe he and other people on the plane were trying to do something, but I believe it was just too late."

Brian Sweeney, 38, was posthumously awarded the Defense of Freedom Medal, created by the Defense Department to honor department employees who died Sept. 11.

[b4its2late]

BTTT for a hero!

[twntaipan]

Kerry, et.al., will be very distressed to learn of this. From their perspective the appropriate action is to call the police and await government to protect the people. People taking their own protection in to their own hands is a dangerous concept in the (small) minds of liberals.

[Timm]

I gather the account is that Brian Sweeney called relatives with his cell phone to report a hijacking, then heard from them about the fate of the first plane?

I'd be interested in hearing more about this.

[lentulusgracchus]

That's right. Just sit on your hands and wait for the Government of Inherent Authority, which owes you nothing, to show up to defend its policy interest in public order. Or something.

BTTT.

[lentulusgracchus]

BTTT

[AngryJawa]

Never Forget.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Hope you don't mind.

We Remember

We saw the look upon his face,
Through whispers he was told.
We knew he felt just what we felt,
We wouldn’t sit here cold.
We knew this time that we would act,
And not just turn our head.
This time we’d go and we’d go big,
We wouldn’t bomb some shed.
He called them faceless cowards,
He vowed we’ll hunt them down.
We watched as he spoke to us all,
Sincerely, not some clown.
His eyes assured us he’d not rest,
Until they paid the price.
Yes we’d turn over every stone,
Until they were on ice.
He warned the battle would be long,
That many would forget.
That some would say, let’s just move on,
Not him, his mind was set.
We backed him then, we back him now,
The fight must still go on.
We can’t back down, we can’t let up,
Until the threat is gone.
God Bless our troops as on they fight,
Each day for them we pray.
We thank them all, for all they do,
“They are the best”, we say.
We will support our President,
He’s proven he will stand.
We’ll vote for Bush this coming fall,
We will protect this land.

Conspiracy Guy 3/5/4

[CaptainK]

Never Forget.

According to CNN/Gallop 55% of us have.

[TomGuy]

Or Kerry would insist that they format a resolution for submission to the UN. After all, per Kerry, everything should go through the UN and our European allies.

Besides, all this terrorism is over emphasized anyway.

[end sarcasm--Kerry is dangerous; Clark was a nutbar, but Kerry is scarey.]

[Monty22]

These poor people. And we didn't nuke at least someone for this atrocity? Sigh.

And like everyone's saying, Kerry would just protest at the UN and be done with it. Sickening.

[StriperSniper]

And we didn't nuke at least someone for this atrocity? Sigh.

If terrorists detonate a portable nuke in a Western city, what's left of the Terror War will be nasty, brutish, and short. The West's so-far limited response will instantly become total and, in effect, genocidal. Any and all WMD-producing states will be considered targets for a unilateral nuclear counterattack, starting with capital cities. The UN will not be consulted. Millions could die in a day.

So the question is this. Will we win this war through liberation and nation-building? Or will we win by turning the Middle East into an ashtray?

Liberalism in the Balance

[Monty22]

I'd like to think you're correct, but I think we'll sit on our thumbs if they do it.

[The Dude Abides]

Hooah. Nicely done CG. Thank you for that.

[The Great RJ]

Contrast this courageous response with J F Kerry's view of using the UN or police SWAT teams to track down terrorists. We are at war with the Islamic terrorists--a war that means the very survival of Western Civilization. Wars demand heroic sacrifices and the use of our full military power..not some police action or timid UN sanctions.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Thank you.

CG

[Paleo Conservative]

Contrast this courageous response with J F Kerry's view of using the UN or police SWAT teams to track down terrorists

Imagine if United flight 93 had not been delayed an hour in taking off John F'n Kerry might be dead right now along with most members of Congress. One would think some of these polititians would be motivated by self-preservation to kill terrorists first.

[headsonpikes]

#5 - BTTT!

[Monty22]

That's the critical point. They'd almost certainly all be dead from this incident if not for a small twist of fate.

Do they care? No. It was NY and the Pentagon, too far away from the mind of Kerry or whoever to ever comprehend.

Honestly, I think if these guys were pulled out of a flaming capitol building they'd STILL not give a damn.

[IndyTiger]

Heros all. I've always thought how awful those last few seconds must have been for those in the second plane. They certainly would have seen the smoke from the north tower and realized their fate as the plane circled around. Sounds like the passengers may have made a desperate attempt to stop it, but ran out of time.