We Were Going to Ram the Plane": Heather Penney’s Untold 9/11 Mission
- Heather Penney recounts taking off on 9/11 with Mark Sasseville in unarmed F-16s, prepared to ram a hijacked airliner if necessary—Sasseville targeting the cockpit and Penney the tail.
- Penney explains why the D.C. Air National Guard is not sitting armed and ready that morning, detailing post-Cold War cutbacks, command delays and the time required to build and load live missiles.
- An intelligence officer manually tracks unaccounted-for aircraft as Penney and Sasseville launch toward the northwest, searching for what they later learn is Flight 93.
- By the time the fighters reach the area…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.