A retired military pilot was ordered to prevent one of the planes hijacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001, from hitting its targets.
US Air Force Lt. Gen. Marc Sasseville told ABC News that one of his most significant missions occurred during the terrorist attacks more than two decades ago.
He was an F-16 fighter pilot and at the time was ordered, along with fellow F-16 pilot Heather Penney, to locate and prevent United Airlines Flight 93 from hitting its target in Washington, DC
“My challenge was, how do we take down this very unique threat, a civilian aircraft … full of people, full of civilians?” Sasseville recalled to the socket.
Pilot remembered as ‘remarkable individual’ after plane crash in Georgia neighborhood
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U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Marc H. Sasseville poses for an official photo at the Air National Guard Readiness Center, Joint Base Andrews, Md., Aug. 11, 2020. The official photo was produced by the Air National Guard Office of Public Affairs.
US Air National Guard photo: Master Sgt. David J. Fenner
Explaining that his and Penney’s plane were not equipped with missiles when they took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington DC, this prompted them to devise a plan to possibly hit the hijacked plane with their own planes to divert it, which would be a suicide mission, he explained. Sasseville for ABC News.
“The training has started,” he added. – I felt like I was on autopilot.
Despite having a wife and two young children, then aged five and three, at home, Penney said Sasseville “didn’t ask anyone else to lead that mission,” adding, “He wouldn’t have asked anyone else to give what he is unwilling to give.”
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In the end, the pair did not have to perform the maneuver, as passengers on Flight 93 fought to regain control of the flight from the hijackers. The plane eventually crashed into an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing everyone on board.
“If those heroes at 93 — and they’re real heroes, by the way — had they not taken action, and not done what needed to be done, it would have been a very different outcome for me and my family,” Sasseville told ABC News.
The pilot apparently unbuckled his seat belt before falling from the experimental plane and hitting the tail, causing the fatal crash
Sasseville went on to describe that when he and Penney returned to base, they were given another mission – to escort Air Force One, with then-President George W. Bush on board, as it returned to Washington, DC to deal with the aftermath of the attack. .
Sasseville stated that “the event and everything that has happened since then” was a “motivating imperative” that prompted him to “look ahead and be ready for future challenges”.
He eventually became a three-star general and the number two officer in the National Guard, according to ABC News.
After 40 years of military service, Sasseville flew his final F-16 flight from Joint Base Andrews on May 15.
On May 29, he celebrated this honor with his wife and their three children. “It has been a tremendous honor and privilege to serve, and a truly rare opportunity for me and my family to make a difference,” Sasseville said during his speech, according to ABC News. “You now have a watch. Thank you all.”
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Source: HIS Education