The Fourth Plane

      

The crater created by the crash where cleanup crews
 look for any part of the plane.

        For art class, we were given a very broad preliminary assignment: research something about 9/11 that interests you and think about how you could transfer that to a work of art. My first thought was flight 93, the plane that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after the passengers on the plane diverted the plane from the planned target, the Capitol building. This plane's story got very little attention compared to that day's other tragedies, as one would expect, with only 40 deaths.  I found a 20 page article written  by the Post-Gazette that covered the background information of almost all 40 passengers and crew members and also reported the phone calls made from the plane. The article says, "Flight 93 became an asterisk to a day of horror..." That said, I believe this story to be just as moving and horrifying.
       What got my attention most though, were the phone conversations that the passengers had with their loved ones. It seemed odd to me that they were the ones reassuring their family, even though they were minutes from death. One passenger, Elizabeth Wainio, said, "It hurts me that it's going to be so much harder for you all than it is for me."
        I cannot even begin to fathom how their family felt. One second everything is okay, and the next second your brother, sister, husband, wife, son, or daughter is saying "I love you," and that the plane they boarded so routinely this morning, has been hijacked by terrorists. The plane that you dropped them off for, not even bothering to get out of the car to kiss them goodbye, has been taken over. You were going to see them in a couple days anyway. No big deal. Just another flight. But then the phone rang and you spoke your last words to your loved one. At this point in the day, you had already that the Twin Towers had gone down. Yes, you were sad and concerned, but you weren't personally affected. Until the phone rang. Now you wish you could do everything differently. Now you wish you hadn't rescheduled that flight.
        Among the grief there was, and still is, another feeling felt by the loved ones of the victims: pride. Pride for these men and women who came together for a greater cause. They knew death was basically inevitable for them, but things weren't completely out of their control. They attempted to take the plane back over. While they failed to enter the cockpit, the terrorists chose to crash the plane because of the unrest in the cabin. With death, they protected the lives of others.
       This story makes me ask myself how I would feel if I was personally affected by the crash. Of course I would be overwhelmed with grief, but would I be proud, angry, or horrified? Maybe all three.

Click here to read article