Why Todd Beamer May Have Helped Save The U.S. Capitol On 9/11

The Heroic Story of Todd Beamer

Of the four planes hijacked on September 11, 2001, Flight 93 was the only one that did not reach its intended target — partly due to the bravery of Todd Beamer.

Todd Beamer was 32 years old when he died aboard United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. For much of his life, Todd dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. A car accident ended that dream, but his athletic skills still proved valuable. At 32, he played a key role in leading a passenger uprising aboard United Airlines Flight 93 after it was hijacked on September 11, 2001. Although Beamer tragically lost his life that day, his actions likely saved many others.

That morning, Beamer was flying to California for a business meeting. He planned to return to New Jersey later that day to be with his pregnant wife and two young sons. But everything changed when terrorists took over the plane.

Like other passengers, Todd Beamer soon realized survival was uncertain. He knew time was short before the plane would crash. Yet in his final moments, Todd chose to resist the hijackers with other passengers and crew. With the words, “Let’s roll,” Beamer helped lead the effort to regain control and bring the plane down safely in a field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania.

It is now believed this act prevented a much larger disaster, possibly saving the U.S. Capitol.

Early Life Before 9/11

Born November 24, 1968, in Flint, Michigan, Todd Beamer was the middle child in his family. Raised by parents David and Peggy Beamer, he grew up with an older sister Melissa and a younger sister Michele.

The family moved several times, relocating to Poughkeepsie, New York during his childhood, then to a Chicago suburb where his father worked at Amdahl Corporation.

Todd attended Wheaton Christian Grammar School and later Wheaton Academy. He played many sports, especially baseball. The family moved again late in his junior year to Los Gatos, California, where he finished high school before enrolling at Fresno State University, continuing with athletics.

One night, a car accident involving friends left Todd with injuries that likely ended his chance for a professional baseball career. He then moved back to the Chicago area, transferring to Wheaton College, where he met his future wife Lisa Brosious. They dated starting November 2, 1991, and married in 1994. By then, Todd had earned an MBA from DePaul University.

The couple settled in New Jersey, where Todd worked for Oracle Corporation selling software solutions. Lisa initially also worked at Oracle but later became a stay-at-home mom. The couple had two sons and moved from Princeton to Cranbury in 2000. In 2001, Todd was rewarded with a five-day trip to Italy with Lisa, who was pregnant with their third child. They returned on September 10, 2001.

The following morning, Todd planned a business trip to San Francisco — what he expected to be a routine meeting. But tragedy changed his plans.

The Hijacking of Flight 93 on September 11, 2001

Scheduled to depart Newark International Airport at 8 a.m., United Airlines Flight 93 was delayed and took off at 8:42 a.m. It carried 7 crew members, 37 passengers including Beamer, and 4 hijackers: Ahmed al Nami, Saeed al Ghamdi, Ahmad al Haznawi, and Ziad Jarrah.

At 8:46 a.m., four minutes after Flight 93’s takeoff, American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. United Flight 175 hit the South Tower at 9:03 a.m. At this time, passengers on Flight 93 were unaware of these attacks or that their own flight would be hijacked at 9:28 a.m.

The hijackers took control using knives and box cutters, overpowering the pilots. A “Mayday” call and a sudden drop in altitude were recorded by the Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center.

At 9:32 a.m., a hijacker announced there was a bomb on board and ordered passengers to stay seated. The plane changed course two minutes later, no longer heading to San Francisco.

By 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 had slammed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Flight 93 was believed to be headed for a similar target, likely the U.S. Capitol.

Passengers and crew used onboard phones to call loved ones, discovering the coordinated nature of the attacks.

“Let’s Roll”: How Todd Beamer Helped Bring Down Flight 93

Todd Beamer made several calls during the crisis. After calls to AT&T and his wife were cut off, he connected with a GTE Airfone operator named Lisa Jefferson, speaking for about 13 minutes.

During the call, Beamer described the situation and explained that he, along with passengers Mark Bingham, Jeremy Glick, and Tom Burnett, planned to fight the hijackers. Flight attendants also prepared to disrupt the cockpit by throwing boiling water and heavy objects.

Beamer recited the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 during the call; others joined in prayer. He asked Jefferson to inform his family of his love if he did not survive. His last audible words before the counterattack began were, “Are you ready? Okay, let’s roll.”

The passenger revolt started at 9:57 a.m. Hijackers tried to violently control the plane, but passengers persevered, as captured by cockpit voice recordings.

At 10:02 a.m., a hijacker shouted, “Pull it down!” and one minute later, the plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing everyone aboard.

In total, 19 hijackers caused the deaths of 2,977 people on 9/11.

Todd Beamer’s Heroic Legacy after 9/11

Flight 93 was about 20 minutes from Washington D.C. when it crashed. Vice President Dick Cheney had authorized shooting down the plane if it entered D.C. airspace. Learning the plane had crashed in Pennsylvania, Cheney said, “I think an act of heroism just took place on that plane.”

While the nation mourned thousands of innocent lives lost, news of Flight 93’s courageous passengers brought hope that even greater loss was prevented.

Todd Beamer became one of the most famous heroes of that flight, widely memorialized for his final rallying cry, “Let’s roll.”

Numerous locations bear his name, including a high school in Federal Way, Washington, a post office in New Jersey, and a building at Wheaton College.

His widow Lisa authored a bestselling book titled with Todd’s iconic last words. She and their three children keep his memory alive with the inspiring phrase, as Lisa shared in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interview: “My boys even say that—when getting ready to go, we say, ‘C’mon guys, let’s roll.’ My little one says, ‘C’mon, Mom, let’s roll.’ That’s something they picked up from Todd.”

After learning about Todd Beamer, explore some of the most haunting artifacts left from 9/11 and read about victim Scott Davidson.