An F-16 fighter pilot named Marc Sasseville accepted a mission he thought would be his last.
Two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City, while a third hit the Pentagon. On September 11, 2001, Sasseville got orders to prevent another hijacked airliner bound for Washington from reaching its destination. Four al-Qaida terrorists hijacked United Airlines Flight 93, causing it to crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
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In an ABC News exclusive interview, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz spoke with Sasseville about the brave operation he carried out with fellow F-16 pilot Heather Penney, who was only 26 years old at the time.
They both took off from Joint Base Andrews, near Washington, D.C., without knowing what their mission was.
“One of the memories that will stay with me forever is seeing the Pentagon on fire and being able to smell the fumes that were coming off of that,” Sasseville stated. Sasseville recalled the burning concrete and the fuel from the crashed airplane.
Sasseville stated that the “event and everything that’s happened since has been a motivating imperative for me that we need to be able to continue to look forward and be prepared for future challenges.”
Sasseville informed Raddatz that when he saw the destruction, he immediately remembered December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.
“Here we go again,” he remarked. “We just got attacked again, and we are really challenged to respond.”
Sasseville and Penney eventually received chilling orders to locate Flight 93.
Their fighters lacked missiles because they had scrambled their jets so quickly.
“My challenge was, how do we take down this very unique threat, a civilian airliner… full of people, full of civilian people?” Sasseville recalls.
Penney and Sasseville agreed that, if necessary, they would ram the hijacked plane with their fighter jets—a suicide mission.
“The training kicked in,” Sasseville explained about his decision. “I felt like I was on autopilot.”
Sasseville would target the jetliner’s front, while Penney would aim its tail.
At home, Sasseville had a wife and two young children, ages five and three, who were unaware of his goal, which included being willing to devote his life to saving others.
“It’s a testament to Sass’ leadership that he didn’t ask anyone else to lead that mission,” Penney said to Raddatz about his decision to intercept the hijacked airliner. “He wouldn’t ask anyone else to give what he was unwilling to give.”
Sasseville and Penney later discovered that the passengers and crew of Flight 93 stormed the cockpit and fought back against the attackers. They regained control of the plane before it crashed in an empty field outside Shanksville, killing all on board.
“If those heroes on 93—and by the way, those are the real heroes—hadn’t taken action and hadn’t done what needed to be done, it would have been a very different outcome for me and my family,” Sasseville stated.
After landing at Joint Base Andrews for refueling, both pilots took off again, this time for a combat air patrol mission above the nation’s capital. They had no idea they were about to accompany President George W. Bush on Air Force One as he returned to Washington. The press corps that accompanied Bush at the moment captured photos of Sasseville’s F-16 flying off the presidential jet’s left wing.
When Sasseville returned home to his wife, Karin, and their children, he remained silent about his role in 9/11. Sasseville passionately hugged his family, expressed his love for them, and announced that he would be away from work “for a long time” due to the devastating events that had occurred in America.
Karin later learned the details of her husband’s conduct that day. Sasseville stated that she was in awe of him and proud of him.
After 9/11, Sasseville continued in the Air Force, eventually rising to the rank of three-star general and the National Guard’s second-highest officer.
After 40 years of devotion to his country, US Air Force Lt. Gen. Sasseville resigned on Wednesday. On May 15, he flew his final mission on an F-16 from Joint Site Andrews, the same site from which he and Penney took off on September 11, 2001, with orders to locate and destroy Flight 93 as it approached Washington, D.C.
The Air Force has converted the unarmed F-16 jet that Sasseville flew on September 11, 2001—ironically—to serve as a target drone for training pilots to shoot down for practice.
Karin and their children were present for Sasseville’s retirement ceremony.
“It has been a tremendous honor and privilege to serve, and it is a truly rare opportunity for me and my family to make a difference,” Sasseville stated during his remarks. “Now you’ve got the watch. Thank you, everyone.”
To begin his retirement, Sasseville and his family are flying to Puerto Rico for some well-deserved rest and relaxation.
“I’m going to learn how to play golf again,” he stated, adding that he also intends to rediscover himself and “get back to a normal life.”
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