REMEMBER FLIGHT 93:
A TRUE STORY OF AMERICAN COURAGE
Performed 9/11/11, the 10th anniversary of 9/11/01, at the Arvada Festival Playhouse, Arvada, Colorado at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and 9/11/12 on Castle Rock Radio, Castle Rock, Colorado
THE PLAY
THE IMPETUS
Shocked and profoundly moved by the events of 9/11/2001, writer Richard Roy Blake, was most moved by the story of how a small group of Americans and other nations thwarted the intentions of suicidal terrorists to inflict a fourth massive blow to the nation. An award-winning investigative reporter Blake conducted a comprehensive investigation into the events that occurred on that heroic and fatal flight. The author came away with an intensely profound respect, not only for the courage of the passengers and crew of Flight 93, but also for their unselfishness, charity, love and faith.
Blake recognized that despite the fact that Flight 93 is one of the greatest stories of American courage the story of the courageous passengers and crew of Flight 93 is not widely known.
Most well-known is the name of just one of the passengers and a single stirring line. Almost unknown are the names and courageous deeds of Deborah Welsh, Jason Dahl, Thomas Burnett, Jr., Mark Rothenberg, Mark Bingham, Jeremy Glick, Cee-Cee Ross Lyles and many others.
Though a story of great horrific and poignant tragedy, the story Flight 93 is much, much more than a simple tragedy. If, in addition to the memories of its defeats and disunity, America is to retain the memory of its triumphs and the knowledge that, in spite of its flaws, deep down, America is a good and virtuous nation, the story of Flight 93 needs to be widely retold. Perhaps more importantly the story of Flight 93 is a story of courage and righteous struggle that should be uplifting and inspiring, not only to Americans, but to all people. It is a story of faith, love and courage overcoming evil.
And there is the great debt that we, as a people, owe to the heroes and heroines of Flight 93. Thus far, that debt has not been adequately acknowledged or addressed. Consider that those few passengers and crew of Flight 93 have done more to ensure that 9/11 style attacks will not occur in the future than all of billions spent by governments in that effort. Flight 93 was only one quarter full. There were just 40 unarmed non-hijackers onboard. That number led Blake to conclude that a major historical opportunity had unfortunately been passed over.
Blake quotes Winston Churchill’s speech at the height of World War II in praise of the brave and outnumbered pilots of the Royal Air Force that turned back the Nazi war-machine at the English Channel which stated that “Never, in the course of human events have so many, owed so much to so few.”
“That is,” Blake contends, “until Flight 93.”
THE STORY
Inextricably entwined with the larger story of 9/11/2001, the story of Flight 93 also begins on what seemed as if it would be a gloriously sunny, warm and beautiful late summer day. The four hijacker teams had planned to stage a coordinated attack that would cripple, and perhaps even decapitate America. For the hijackers coordination was vital both for maximum destructive effect and so that the passengers and crews of the hijacked planes would not be able to realize the hijackers true intentions.
Though the hijackers were able to deceive the passengers and crews of the first three hijacked planes a delay at the Newark airport gave the passengers and crew of Flight 93 the time necessary to discover the hijacker’s true intentions. What at that time was still unknown to everyone, was how an unarmed group of passengers and crew that had just experienced an unexpected and violent hijacking would react to the knowledge that their plane was now on, what Flight 93 hero Thomas Burnett, Jr. would realize was “a suicide mission.”
What the hijackers also did not know was just how exceptional a collection of seemingly ordinary Americans and citizens of a few other great nations they had inadvertently stumbled upon. They also could not have known how heroically and effectively that unique group fight to thwart their evil intentions.
From the play: “When the hijackers first got on Flight 93 and found that the flight was only a quarter full, no doubt they felt that controlling the passengers would be the least of their worries. Yet unknown to the hijackers was the fact that they could hardly have picked a worse plane to hijack than Flight 93.
For among the passengers and crew were not only people of great accomplishment, but a surprisingly high percentage of people of great generosity, faith and, we know now, courage. There were volunteers with animal shelters and the Special Olympics. In addition to Deborah Welsh, the flight attendant who always saved the uneaten in-flight meals for the homeless, there was an outspoken advocate for the disabled, one of the principals behind the Corporate Angel Network.

And there was a literal pantheon of decent Americans and others who had previously known battle in one arena or another. For although there were only 37 passengers and five crewmembers on board a plane that held 150, those also included Jeremy Glick, a collegiate judo champion, Mark Bingham, another former collegiate athlete who had once taken a gun away from a mugger and had run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Another was a former paratrooper. British citizen Alan Beaven, was a former detective at Scotland Yard. Todd Beamer, was another former collegiate athlete known for his fierce competitiveness. Richard Guadagno, was a Federal Wildlife Enforcement Officer. Thomas Burnett, Jr. was a former High School Quarterback who had taken his small school team to the State Semi-finals. Cee-Cee Ross-Lyles, was a former Ft. Pierce, Florida police officer. Another was a former paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles. Still another an Air Force veteran who had studied karate for 10 years. There was still another Air Force veteran and Air Force Academy graduate, as well as a Navy veteran of the Korean War, an Air National Guard veteran, an Army veteran of the post World War II occupation of Japan and a current member of the reserves.
Flight attendant Deborah Welsh had once overpowered a drunk passenger. Deora Bodley had been the captain of her high school basketball team and Hilda Marcin who had once beaten up a purse snatcher. The only Japanese passenger, Toshiya Kuge, had played American football, as a linebacker. EMT Linda Gronlund had once set her own broken kneecap. Handicapped advocate Colleen Fraser had once commandeered a paratransit bus to get it to go to Washington, D.C., where she lobbied the Senate into passing the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
While most all of us know that Flight 93 did not hit its intended target, the White House or the US Capitol, because of the passenger revolt, most do not know that it was four calls between passenger and Flight 93 hero Thomas Burnett, Jr. and his wife Deena, who watched the events of 9/11 unfold from their home in California, that alerted the passengers to the hijacker’s true intentions. Incredibly the Burnetts had had frequent premonitions about events that would involve Thom’s death, a plane crash and “have something to do with the White House,” in the years leading up to 9/11.
Few also know that on his last call to his wife Lyzbeth Glick, Flight 93 hero Jeremy Glick told his wife Lyzbeth that, in the finest tradition of American democracy, the passengers were about to take a vote about whether they ought to attempt to take the cockpit back from the hijackers.
Fewer still know that Flight 93 heroine Honor Elizabeth Wainio, recognizing that she was very likely to die, instead of worrying about herself, instead sought to comfort her stepmother during their last phone call.
Despite the fact that, tragically, there were no survivors on Flight 93, the record is not completely inaccessible. In what likely was his dying act Flight 93 pilot and hero Jason Dahl managed to push a button which, unbeknownst to the hijackers, caused everything said in, and all sounds from near the cockpit to be broadcast. And of course, there were some 30 phone calls were placed from Flight 93 that day. In some cases those calls were recorded, often by law enforcement agencies. In those cases, the calls were presented verbatim. In other cases the calls were not recorded but have been reconstructed from the memories of loved ones and others that received the calls and subsequent press reports.
The Flight Control chatter was also recorded for the most part and was also presented verbatim in the play. In the interests of presenting the most accurate record of events, the play used the written record as far as possible. However, given the sometimes conflicting details and versions of what happened on that date, the script was forced to employ logic, probability, knowledge of certain procedures, but most importantly, a deep belief in the courageous spirit of the Flight 93 passengers and crew, to present what the author believed to be true about Flight 93, as well as some of the events leading up to and following 9/11 and Flight 93. The hijacker’s communications in Arabic were, almost exclusively, translated into English.
The play’s first scene takes place as Deena Burnett has just given birth to her third daughter in 1998 and demonstrates the deep mystic connection enjoyed by the Burnetts and what is clearly a prophecy regarding 9/11 . When asked by her mother if she would now be having a son, she responded, later recalling that she almost felt she was in a trance, that “the Lord won’t give us a son. Thom won’t be here and I could never raise Thom’s son alone.” When her shocked mother asks her if Thom feels the same way, Deena confirms that he does and adds that Thom, “…thinks it has something to do with the White House.”
Although there is an extensive record, mysteries remain. One of those is just exactly what occurred in the bloody chaotic moments when the hijackers took over the cockpit. Some believe that hijacker pilot Ziad Jarrah had been extended, what, in that pre-911 time, a common-place courtesy. That is, some speculate that Jarrah was sitting in the “jump seat,” a courtesy then often extended to passengers who were also pilots or student pilots. The evidence for that view includes Jeremy Glick’s call mentioning only three hijackers and might explain why Leroy Homer, Jr., did not respond to a message from his wife. There also were attempts by other 911 hijackers to get to fly in the jump seat on airlines prior to 911. Some succeeded, some did not.
The author prefers to believe that the hijackers stormed the cockpit when head stewardess Deborah Welsh was being admitted to the cockpit, possibly to advise her of the alert the pilot had received regarding other hijacked flights. Flight 93 Captain Jason Dahl had even asked air traffic control for additional information regarding the previous hijackings but that information was not transmitted to the passengers until the second call from Deena Burnett to Thomas Burnett, Jr. That seems to suggest that the hijacking took place during that very brief period. In the takeover the hijackers likely murdered or badly wounded Mark Rothenberg, Deborah Welsh, Leroy Homer, Jr., and Jason Dahl. Passenger Mark Rothenberg most likely died a hero attempting to save Deborah Welsh.
Flight 93 then made precipitous drop of 700 feet in altitude, likely from the struggle for the cockpit. From the pilot’s seat Ziad Jarrah broadcast to the surviving passengers and crew as well as to air traffic control that there was a bomb on board and that the hijackers would be flying the plane back to the airport to “make their demands.”
It seems likely that the passengers were forced into the coach area and the back of the plane, which ironically gave them greater access to clandestine communications and potential weapons. While we know what was said during the Airfone and other phone calls, and those certainly suggested much of what was being said on the plane, the author had to envision the nature of the dialogue of the Flight 93 heroes and heroines and how the plan to take back the plane took shape.
The author is clearly not a fan of so-called 9/11 “truthers.” The author concedes that 9/11 was a conspiracy, but contends it was a conspiracy of Islamist radicals and not “an inside job.” He blames the “truthers” for destroying much of the sense of national resolve and unity that was apparent on 9/12/2001. Still the play makes note of one of the missed chances to prevent 9/11 when FBI headquarters refused to grant permission for the Minneapolis Field office to search the laptop that had been seized from “20th hijacker” Zacarias Moussaoui. Instead of blaming the refusal to search Moussaoui’s laptop on a government conspiracy, the author contends that the oversight was the result of either “State Department thinking,” or the lack of imagination so often cited or a combination of the two.
While we know that the passengers took a vote to decide on their course of action, we have a good indication from the calls to and from Thomas Burnett, Jr., Honor Elizabeth Wainio, Jeremy Glick, Cee-Cee Ross Lyles, Sandra Bradshaw and Todd Beamer that the passengers were going to attempt to take back the plane. It is believed that the passengers and crew hoped to get passengers who would have had the ability to fly Flight 93, such as Flight 93 hero, Donald Greene, into the pilot’s seat.
Because everything in and near the cockpit was broadcast there is a comprehensive record of the desperate struggle for the cockpit. The hijackers attempted to foil the passenger revolt with aerial maneuvers designed to throw the passengers off balance, resulting in the loud sounds of breaking dishes and metal hitting metal. We know that as the passengers came closer and closer to breaching the cockpit door the hijackers became increasingly desperate, calling for cutting off the oxygen to the passenger area, standing at the cockpit door with an axe, and finally the crashing of the plane in rural Pennsylvania, far short of its intended target in Washington, D.C.
The inescapable conclusion is that the passengers and crew of Flight 93 deserve a revered place in the pantheon of American heroes. Early in the play the author contends that “Remember Flight 93!!,” ought to resound as firmly and emotionally in American hearts as “Remember Pearl Harbor,” and expresses the hope that by telling their story that will eventually be the result.

THE PRODUCTION
The play was performed at the Arvada Festival Playhouse in Arvada, Colorado (not to be confused with the Arvada Center in the same city) on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 for three performances. Although a small venue (only 300 seats), audiences seemed to be very moved by it. The author felt the actors did a magnificent job. One audience member and friend of the author stated that she and her friend emptied a whole box of tissues during the performance. Following each performance the Director, Cameron Cowan, realizing that the play contained a great deal of information arranged for the author to come out and answer questions from the audience. One of the questions from the audience was the hope that the play would be repeated in the future.
Many of the actors expressed thoughts that their devoting time to their roles and the play itself were very positive and moving events in their lives. Though, for the most part, the actors had not known each other prior to the production, many have become friends and kept in touch.
The following year, 2012, the 11th anniversary of 9/11, the play was reprised one more time as a radio program for Castle Rock Radio in Castle Rock, Colorado.
Although at times painfully sad in showing some of the losses, audiences felt that the play was ultimately uplifting and appealed to what Lincoln might have called “our better angels.”
The musical background of the play consisted of the national anthems of the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Israel, Germany and France as well as other patriotically themed music and informal national anthems including the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Danny Boy and Scotland the Brave (with lyrics from John McDermott). Scotland the Brave plays during the Flight 93 passenger and crew assault on the cockpit. The Battle Hymn of the Republic plays during a Laura Bush speech given to honor the heroes and heroines of Flight 93.
The use of John McDermott’s rendition of Scotland the Brave was graciously granted by Mr. McDermott gratis. All of the other songs in the musical background were in the public domain. The author hopes that in a larger venue, with greater backing a number of other 9/11 themed and other poignant songs could be performed as well. Those songs could include “The Dance,” by Garth Brooks (in her book Lisa Beamer tells us that the song was Todd’s favorite and it has been used on Youtube in a 911 memorial tribute), “Where were you when the world stopped turning” by Alan Jackson, “The Boxer,” which was performed immediately after 9/11 by Simon and Garfunkel, on Saturday Night Live, etc.
THE ACTORS

Debra Mazotti

As previously noted, it was the four phone calls made back and forth between Flight 93 hero Thomas Burnett, Jr. and his wife in California, Deena Burnett, who had been watching the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, that alerted the passengers and crew of Flight 93 to the hijackers true intentions.

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in Arvada, Colorado, Deena Burnett was portrayed by a former FBI agent who studied acting at the University of Hawaii, Debra Mazotti. Debra also bears a striking resemblance to Deena Burnett. Her portrayal of Deena Burnett could only be described as moving and poignant. Debra also helped to publicize the play by giving a radio interview to Rick Crandall at KEZW, a Denver area “oldies” station, and reprised the role in the radio play on Castle Rock Radio. Due to a shortage of actors able to work on short notice, Debra also played Flight 93 heroine and Head Flight Attendant Deborah Welsh in the radio play.

“It was an honor to play Deena Burnett, only to pretend to be in her shoes, for a brief moment and try to comprehend the unfathomable. Having to imagine those heart-wrenching emotions from those horrific events, yet incredibly finding strength and grace. It was an opportunity for many of us to be part of poignant production. Remember Flight 93 gave us the ability to honor the many heroes on that tragic day. A day we will never, ever forget.”

Debra studied drama at the University of Hawaii & has worked in stage as an actor, director and writer. She was the Drama Director for North Jeffco (north Jefferson County, Colorado) where she started Radio Daze, a 1940's radio show ensemble for the stage. Her stage credits include A Christmas Carol, Godspell, The King & I, Mack & Mabel, The Nerd and Harvey among many others. She has also been in feature films, television and a variety of commercials. Her first major movie was Running Man, where she was a stunt performer with her husband Robert. Film credits include Lady Bugs, He's Still There, Manhunt for Claude Dallas, Clubhouse, Perry Mason, & Imagine That. Debra had the honor of working for the Federal Bureau of Investigations - Violent Crimes Squad and is now a freelance writer. She continues to love acting, stunt performing & driving when she is not busy with her true love, her family. She is a mother of 3 boys, 1 daughter & 1 niece, who keep her hopping & happy.

Debra's dedication:

Dedicated to all the unsung heroes & especially to Dana & Darren, who are mine.

Other actors include:

BLAKE HUBER

Who was the Narrator, the Minneapolis FBI director, an air traffic controller and various background voices in both the stage and radio plays.

TERRI BEAN

Who played Flight 93 heroine Colleen Fraser, Esther Heymann and Deena Burnett’s mother in both the stage and radio plays.

“I had the honor to portray Colleen Fraser from Flight 93 in a play a few years ago, when Richard Blake produced and directed "Remember Flight 93." It was an unbelievable experience to re-enact the unimaginable circumstances of being on Flight 93.
I also portrayed Elizabeth Weino's step-mother, Esther Heymann, and Mark Bingham's mother, Alice Hoagland. The scene was where they telephoned their loved ones to say goodbye. There are no words to describe the emotion I felt as I re-enacted the telephone conversations.
Richard has a heart for Flight 93 and I am glad I was a part of his production.”
Terri Been
DIANE DONOVAN

Who played Flight 93 heroine Sandra Bradshaw and Laura Bush in both the stage and radio plays. Now a well-established Colorado resident, Diane was originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma and a college student in Texas. The author thought she did a remarkable job channeling Laura Bush:
“Richard Blake captures both the terror and the courage of the passengers on
that fatefull morning of September 11,2001 when our nation was attacked. His
play, "Remember Flight 93" depicts the actual words uttered in the cockpit at
the time of the tragedy. It was both an honor and a privilege to be
involved in this historic production. Diane Donovan”
CHRISTOPHER GRAY

Who played Flight 93 pilot and hero Jason Dahl as well as various air traffic controllers in the stage play.

WENDELL PERKINS

Who played Flight 93 co-pilot and hero Leroy Homer, Jr., Lorne Lyles, an FBI agent, a college student and air traffic controller in the stage play.

PAUL ESCOBEDO

Who played hijackers Jarrah and Al Nami and an FBI agent in the stage play.

TAYLER STACK
Who played Flight 93 heroine Honor Elizabeth Wainio, and Burnett, Bradshaw children in the stage play.

DEBORAH MORIARTY
Who played Flight 93 head flight attendant and heroine Deborah Welsh in the stage and radio play.
ANGEL BLAKE
Who played Flight 93 flight attendant and heroine Cee-Cee Ross Lyles in the stage play.
APRIL DRYBURGH
Who played a nurse in the stage play and various roles in the both the stage and radio plays.
ADRIANA DRYBURGH
Who played Burnett, Bradshaw and anonymous American children in both the stage and radio plays
CAMERON COWAN
Who Directed and played a flight attendant, college student in the stage play, father and various background voices.
GAGE BISEL
Who played Flight 93 hero Jeremy Glick as well a college student and air traffic controller in the stage play.
ADAM CONTRERAS
Who played hijacker Al Ghambdi and a college student in the stage play.
ANTHONY MUSCO
Who played Flight 93 hero Mark Bingham in the stage play and radio plays.
SCOTT BARKLEY
Who played Flight 93 hero Jeremy Glick, Flight 93 hero Jason Dahl, an FBI agent and air traffic controller in the radio play.
BRENDEN QUINETTE
Who played Todd Beamer in the stage play, FBI agent, student and air traffic controller in the stage play.
TINA GUERRERO
Who played Lyzbeth Glick, an FBI agent and various background voices in the radio play.
MARY ZIMMERMAN
Who played Todd Beamer, an FBI agent and various background voices in the radio play.
MICHAEL DRYBURGH
Who played Leroy Homer Jr., as well as various background voices in the radio play.

THE FUTURE
Though the prospect of future performances of the play were greatly enhanced by the decision of the 9/11 Museum to include Remember Flight 93 in its Artist’s Registry, the future of the play is still uncertain at this time and to date no performances are currently scheduled. The author hopes that there will be interest in the play as the 15th anniversary of 9/11 gets closer. Inquiries regarding the play should be directed to Richard Roy Blake, 720-309-1281 or emails richrblake@yahoo.com, bohemianscribe46@yahoo.com or richrblake1@gmail.com