Discosvery Channel's "The Flight That Fought Back" Is an Outstanding Tribute to the Flight 93 Warriors

By Andrew Cochran

To commemorate the fourth anniversary this Sunday of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Discovery Channel will present "The Flight That Fought Back" at 9 pm ET. The special takes us through the timeline of United Airlines Flight 93, which took off from Newark International Airport, was hijacked by Osama bin Laden's minions, and then crashed into a field near Shanksville, PA, after the passengers attempted to take back the aircraft. "The Flight" presents a dramatization of the events onboard, alternating with interviews with the victims' loved ones about the phone calls received from the aircraft. The producers had unprecedented access to the families and United Airlines and used actual recordings of the conversations, many never previously heard on television.

Discovery Channel sent me a copy to review, and I highly recommend this outstanding tribute to the first warriors in the first battle of the post-9/11 era. The transitions from interviews to dramatization scenes are almost seamless and the flight details are meticulously presented. The producers even interviewed the men who trained the hijacker-pilot to fly and in the martial arts, a chilling set of interviews. The emotions of the entire event are presented openly, and I was drawn in until I felt that I was also part of the passengers' last-minute struggles to take over the cockpit. I had intended to watch it over two nights, but I couldn't turn it off. Watched without interruption, as I did and as the Discovery Channel will present on Sunday night, I'm confident that you won't turn it off either.

Discovery Channel is also using "The Flight" to urge us to contribute to the Flight 93 National Memorial to honor the fallen heroes. They've created a special page about the Memorial, which includes links to give directly to the Memorial Fund and to the official Memorial site. The final design was announced yesterday in Washington. Let's remember that the "Freedom Warriors of Flight 93" saved us from another attack on Washington that day, and let's build that Memorial to honor their sacrifice and their victory.

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