Shortly Before September 11, 2001: Pilot of Flight 93 Not Originally Scheduled for that Flight, but Trades Shifts

Pilot Jason Dahl, who will be at the controls of United Airlines Flight 93—the fourth hijacked aircraft—on 9/11, is not originally scheduled for that flight, but wants to get in extra hours so he can take time off work for his fifth wedding anniversary on September 14. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/28/2001; MSNBC, 9/11/2006] Therefore, some time shortly before 9/11, he trades a trip later in September in order to fly September 11. [Denver Post, 12/16/2001; Longman, 2002, pp. 1] Yet the week before September 11, he sends out an e-mail seeking another pilot to take his place, so he can have that day with his family. [Rocky Mountain News, 9/12/2001; New York Times, 9/15/2001; San Francisco Chronicle, 9/17/2001] Pilots on two of the other aircraft hijacked on 9/11 are also not originally scheduled to fly that day, but are booked onto those planes shortly before September 11 (see Shortly Before September 11, 2001 and Shortly Before September 11, 2001).