Quote:
If it weren't for this cowardly attitude, three more flights would have gone down into empty fields on 9/11, instead of into their intended targets.

IMO that's a bit unfair to the passengers of the other planes. It's hard to remember now, but before that day the idea of using hijacked planes as missiles wasn't really in the mind of the public. The passengers on the three successful strikes probably never realised that their own planes would be used as missiles, let alone that a salvo of strikes was intended. The only reason that the United 93 passengers knew that, and could realise that fighting back was a good idea, is that the United 93 terrorists "bottled it" and were half-an-hour later hijacking their flight than the other groups.

Fighting back would be a lose/lose strategy in a "traditional" hijack -- the sort everyone thought they were dealing with until about 9am -- where the hijackers view the passengers as valuable hostages, and have every intention of landing the plane safely, if elsewhere than intended.

Peter