F-16 pilot was ready to ram hijacked plane on 9/11
A F-16 pilot scrambled on 9/11 to prevent another attack on the US capital says she was prepared to ram her plane into a hijacked aircraft -- as there was no time to arm her plane with missiles.
Amid fears another hijacked airliner was barreling towards Washington, Heather Penney, then a lieutenant in the Washington DC National Guard, was one of two pilots ordered to take off without delay, she said in a recent interview.
The threat of an attack on US soil was seen as such a remote possibility at the time that the 121st fighter squadron at Andrews Air Force base outside Washington had no fully-armed fighter jets on standby.
With only 105 lead-nosed bullets on board, Penney and Colonel Marc Sasseville took to the skies, while two other F-16s waited to be armed with heat-seeking AIM-9 missiles, Penney told C-SPAN television this week.
The pilots had orders from the White House to take out any plane that refused to heed warnings and land, so the two pilots agreed on their plan.
"We wouldn't be shooting it down. We would be ramming the aircraft because we didn't have weapons on board to be able to shoot the airplane down," Penney said.
As they were putting on their flight gear, "Sass looked at me and said, 'I'll ram the cockpit.'
"And I had made the decision that I would take the tail off the aircraft," she said.
Penney said she "knew if I took off the tail of the aircraft, that it would essentially go straight down and so the pattern of debris would be minimized."
She said she thought about possibly ejecting just before impact.
"I would essentially be a kamikaze and ram my aircraft into the tail of the aircraft. I gave some thought to, you know, would I have time to eject?"
But the young pilot was concerned about failing to hit the target.
"I mean you only got one chance, you don't want to eject and have missed, right? "
When she took the plane down the runway, she said she believed it be the last take-off of her life.
In the end, Flight 93 never reached Washington, as passengers assaulted the hijackers in the cockpit and the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
But the F-16 pilots did not learn of the aircraft's fate until later that day, said Penney, now a major.
"The people on Flight 93 were heroes, but they were going to die no matter what," she said. "My concern was how do I minimize collateral damage on the ground."
Later that afternoon, Penney helped escort Air Force One, with former president George W. Bush on board, back to Andrews Air Force base.
A few years later, she flew missions in the Iraq war, hunting for SCUD missiles and backing up special operations forces.
Penney was among the first wave of female fighter pilots and she has since stopped flying full-time. The mother of two girls, she now works as a corporate executive, according to the Washington Post.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Penney said she was absorbed with the urgent job at hand and had no time for emotions.
"It wasn't so much that I kept my emotions in check. It was that they didn't even exist," she said.
"There was significant adrelaine. It was really just, dear God please don't let me screw up."
More 9/11 stories at
Popular Stories
Money has to serve, not to rule - Pope
Video - Soldier hacked to death in...
Update 7 - Bombs kill 3 people, wound...
Updated - Boston bomb suspect 'identified'
Margaret Thatcher dies after stroke
Update 2 - Three missing women found...
Update 2: Gunman held in Rome police...
Investigators scour video, photos for...
Updated: Boston lockdown as bomber hunted
In Discussion
Video - Soldier hacked to death in...
Margaret Thatcher dies after stroke
Almost 500 migrants rescued in 24 hours...
Clashes as France approves gay marriages
More migrants arrive in Lampedusa
Boy, 8, killed in Boston blasts...
EU approves Cyprus bailout plan
England to ban wild animals at circuses
Pope washes feet of young inmates -...
18 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
Keith Stone
Sep 11th 2011, 13:28
I feel sorry for myself for being maltese, just among these idiots. She was interviewed last month, and I'll explain why she wanted to ram and not shoot. Her F-16 was not armed with any missiles, and shooting bullets at the tail rudder, or the wing would just make a Commercial plane just an uncontrollable flight. Which it can still hit residantial areas. If she rammed the cockpit on the other hand the aircraft would just plummet down to the ground. Avoiding more deaths, unfortunately the passenger couldnt have avoided death and they knew it. so they assaulted the hijackers. Mind some respect for the brave and the fallen.
Yanov Cutajar
Sep 10th 2011, 15:48
Took her 10 years to come up with this story?
If you say so Penney.
Alfred Grech
Sep 10th 2011, 18:52
The only reason you are hearing about it even now is cause she was interviewed now, for the 10th. anniversary of 9-11. But I guess you'd rather believe she's lying or imagining the whole thing.
Salvinu Buttigieg
Sep 10th 2011, 19:48
This is a typical American poppycock, where i come from we say its aload of bull shit, as you say my friend took her 10 years to come out the closet, why now ? maybe as the americans goes she is either after a 5 min fame or a medal from Obama. an f16 fighter plane ramming, tell us another story Heather Penny, we might be a bit naive in Malta but certainly NOT STUPID as some of you yanks think everyone is in europe apart fron the Americans themselves that is. A guided missile would have been much quicker, and cheaper then an F16 YES? who is stupid now then me'Lady.
Bill Khan
Sep 11th 2011, 12:46
yes 10 years to come up with this story to give credibility to the conspiracy that it was indeed airplanes that struck the twin towers!
Keith Stone
Sep 11th 2011, 13:31
Salvino her jet wasnt armed with any missiles (AIM-9), and she didnt want to waste time arming it, for the fact that it could have reached the target.
Alfred Grech
Sep 12th 2011, 21:41
If you say so Yanov.
Mr Stephen Borg
Sep 10th 2011, 14:50
Too late now
Mr Martin Cassar
Sep 10th 2011, 14:41
Was the killing of Osama Ben Laden a must?
Today my sympathy with good American people is doubled because of the loss of their belove ones on 9/11. Equally my big dismay with the justice has been quadrupled!
Had the USA acted in a more civilized manner and not taking the law by their own hands by killing the [unarmed] Osama Ben Laden to cover-up the real culprits and Mr. Obama re-election calculations were more important that his own people lives and finding out the truth!
Was the whole thing of 9/11 a USA government inside job?
Please watch and draw own conclusion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvay28lZiHU&feature=share
Alfred Grech
Sep 10th 2011, 19:42
Mr Osama Bin Laden declared war on the USA some time before 9-11, literally ,at a press conference , inside a cave in Afghanistan. Then as the head of Al Qaida he followed thru with attacks that included the USS Cole . When you find yourself in a war you are not constrained by police procedures .
Mr Martin Saliba
Sep 10th 2011, 12:32
What a load of bull. Granting that raming the plane would have been a brave and comendable act there are numours things that could have been done least of all firing 105 bullets at the cockpit .
Mr Mark Demicoli
Sep 10th 2011, 17:34
Have you actually read what you posted Carmel? Utter trash, pathetic to say the least!
Pule' Carmel
Sep 10th 2011, 12:16
It would not have been so easy. Ramming the Rudder of a plane, without a rudder, a pilot can still control a plane. Ramming one half of the tailplane, well if the control surface of the other half at still working the pilot may still be in control with difficulty, as was found during with B52 during the last war.
I think I would have tried the following, Fly low on the fusilage, then switch on the afterburner with a heavy climb and hope that the high temperature would burn a hole in the fuselage, causing it to decompress.
A difficult obique manouvre would work, fly with the plane about half a kilometre away and then turn towards it aiming at the juntion of the fusilage with the tailplane and rudder. then go into a knife edge and slice all the tailplane off. Without rudder and tailplane no conventional plane can.
If the F16 would lose one wing it owuld not have mattered as the F16 can fly with one wing missing. This was peoved by an Israeli Pilot who collided with another plane lost one wing , kept his speed to above 300 knots then as he was to land decreased to 215 knots and landed safely.
It is fine writing all this in the comfort of my home, but in the pilots seat, I am sure that I would have wet my pants. Incidentally. after world war two I spoke to American pilots flying on Japanese missions on Mustanges P51 and they told me that they did not only wet their pants on occassions, and it was not a pleasant fight flying back home, still they felt embarassed but glad to be alive.
Christopher Grainger
Sep 10th 2011, 13:32
what absolute tosh you are talking... wear your ray-bans indoors by any chance ?
Pule' Carmel
Sep 10th 2011, 18:06
Have a look at ,
F-15 flying with one wing by an Israeli Pilot
http://youtu.be/LveSc8Lp0ZE
Mr Biker Man
Sep 11th 2011, 16:02
You wrote about the F-16 being able to fly with one wing. The clip to your link is all about an F-15. Not the same aircraft my friend.
Keith Stone
Sep 11th 2011, 22:56
Biker Fighter Jets can fly with one wing because they get most of the lift from the engine trust. on the other hand Commercial Jets get lift thanks to the Airflow.
Victor Rodenas
Sep 10th 2011, 11:56
Could`nt she fire her bullets at the cockpit killing the pilots, or aiming at the tail rudder.
Please choose the reason of your report below: