After the takeover the passengers and crew made a series of calls from GTE airphones and cellular phones. From relatives and colleagues they learned that other planes had hit the World Trade Center. According to one call, they voted on whether to rush the hijackers. At 9:57 the assault began. [1]
The cockpit voice recorder captured the fight. The pilot, Ziad Jarrah, rolled the plane and pitched its nose up and down to throw the passengers off balance. At 10:01 he asked another hijacker, “Is that it? I mean, shall we put it down?” and was told, “Yes, put it in it, and pull it down.” At 10:02:23 a hijacker said, “Pull it down! Pull it down!” The Commission concluded the hijackers must have judged the passengers were seconds from getting in. [1]
The likely target was the Capitol or the White House; the National Park Service notes that Jarrah had dialed in the navigation beacon at Reagan National Airport and the plane was 18 to 20 minutes from Washington. [2]
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