Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
them from crashing the plane into the White House or another major gov-
ernment target. Ordinary citizens, untrained and unarmed, fought with
five armed terrorists and won. Tragically, they were only able to save the
lives of their fellow Americans on the ground at the cost of their own.
Beamer's words, “Let's roll,” have entered the American lexicon and will
always be remembered. The passengers aboard the first three planes —
two of which hit the World Trade Center and one that hit the Pentagon —
apparently followed the advice given by our federal government. They sat
quietly and tried not to be noticed as the terrorists flew the planes into
their targeted objectives. The passengers on Flight 93 out of Newark
decided not to take that advice and refused to “go gentle into that good
night.” While they lost their lives, their valiant behavior saved the lives of
countless others who would have been killed had the fourth plane been
allowed to proceed against its intended target.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Is there currently a consensus on what to do in the unlikely event that you
are aboard a hijacked airline? Probably not. The truth of the matter is that
there are knowledgeable security experts on both sides of the issue. Our
approach is to cover both methods that are being recommended by
experts in this field. If you are ever the unfortunate victim of this type of
attack, you will need to make that decision for yourself. If the terrorists
seem to be using passengers as bargaining chips, then you opt for the tra-
ditional advice: Maintain a low profile and try not to be noticed. However,
if it even appears as if something more imminently dangerous is hap-
pening, then you must begin to switch your mind-set to fight back with
every bit of strength and ferocity you have and destroy those who would
otherwise destroy you. The philosophy that we have espoused in this topic
is somewhat different from that in most other security publications. You
need to be able to understand how to play both cards. At the onset of the
hijacking, it is probably sound advice to try to keep a low profile and avoid
having the attention of the terrorists focus on you. However, this is a
means to an end, not an end in and of itself. There may come a time when
you personally need to act. The situation is, quite literally, one of life or
death. If you don't have to physical ability to fight, then perhaps you can
support others who can. You may need to be a leader and to rally others.
This approach means that every single person must make a conscious
