[Lancey Howard]

Whether the heroic passengers managed to gain access to the cockpit doesn't really matter.

Answer me this: If the passengers did not gain access to the cockpit (ie. the cockpit was sealed with the hijackers commanding the plane) then why would the hijackers deliberately crash the plane? It doesn't make sense.

I have to admit to being confused here.

[DuncanWaring]

If the passengers did not gain access to the cockpit (ie. the cockpit was sealed with the hijackers commanding the plane) then why would the hijackers deliberately crash the plane?

Because the hijackers figured that if the passengers had retaken control of the cabin, they were about to retake control of the cockpit, and the hijackers, chickensh*ts that they were panicked.

[sarasmom]

Then you must also admit to being incredibly ignorant.
The men "rolling" on flight 93 knew the hi-jacked plane was now a weapon aimed at causing mass casualties.They knew they were dead anyway, and while I am sure they also tried to save their own lives, they had obviously decided not to allow even more lives to be forfeited by what they knew was a flying bomb.
The passengers on Flight 93 did not want to die.They knew they would die anyway if they did nothing.They choose to fight for life,their own first, and if not theirs, others who were not already doomed.
I doubt all of them actively participated, but that is, and should remain a subject not open to spurious,casual debate.I have put myself mentally on that flight, and I can honestly say I dont know what I would have done.I wish I could state that I would have joined in the "rolling", but I was not there, and I can not be sure of how I would have reacted in that situation.
Enough heroic people did react, that the murderous terrorists failed to reach their target.
I was alone, online, and reduced to internet and radio reports that day,and I remember what happened, and the timeline and it sickens me that people would dare to spit on the memory of the people of Fliht 93.
I am also ex USAF, and if the USAF had actually shot down a civilian airliner on the CONUS on 91101,it is not possible for that fact to remain a secret, sick conspirancy theory jerks be damned!

[Ichneumon]

Answer me this: If the passengers did not gain access to the cockpit (ie. the cockpit was sealed with the hijackers commanding the plane) then why would the hijackers deliberately crash the plane? It doesn't make sense.

The hijackers knew that the passengers were trying to retake the cockpit from them, and might well succeed.

So rather than possibly lose to the passengers and end up dead or in an American prison, thus "failing" in the eyes of Allah, the hijackers decided that going for the "sure thing" and crashing the plane immediately and killing 40 Americans (33 passengers, 7 crew) was good enough to earn them their martyrdom. So that's what they did.

The point of the article is that contrary to earlier assumptions that the passengers might have actually broken into the cockpit and been physically struggling with the hijackers for control of the plane when it went down, they actually had not made it into the cockpit (yet) at the time the plane crashed. It's not saying they *couldn't* get into the cockpit, just that they hadn't by the time the hijackers decided to end it on their own terms.

But again, the passenger uprising *was* the reason for it, and they're still heroes who saved countless lives and a priceless national landmark/symbol at the intended target.