Pieces from Flight 93 are on display in the Pennsylvania state capitol this month.
“It’s 25 years, which is hard to believe it’s been that long,” said Taylor Mason, outreach archivist for the Pennsylvania House Archives. “You know, [this is] keeping it in the forefront of everyone’s memory.”
On September 11, 2001, two planes flew into the world trade centers, killing 2,753 people. Another plane flew into the Pentagon, killing 184. A third plane, Flight 93, was hijacked with intention to fly into the U.S. Capitol building– but the 40 people on board attempted to regain control of the plane, and the hijackers instead crashed outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania House Archives recently set up four display cases, honoring lives lost in flight 93, and those who served in the aftermath.
The archives worked with the National Park Service for similar displays in 2021, and Mason says the good working relationship from earlier allowed for another exchange this year.
On loan from the National Park Service, the artifacts range from patches of investigators, to a pack of M&Ms left for Todd Beamer– the man who rallied passengers to take back the plane.
“Our last case features some original pieces from the flight 93 plane itself,” Mason said.
These include a flight attendant’s emergency call button, fragments of American Airline headphones, and-
“There are pieces of silverware. This is one of our more moving pieces we’ve ever displayed down here,” Mason said. “These are pieces that flew out of the plane upon impact and actually got embedded in trees and wrapped around branches and were actually like stuck in the wood itself.”
By Kara Jeffers
The cases are easy to find, located in a place convenient for all to see and pause to observe.
“The East Wing Rotunda is a major hub in the capitol complex.. so there’s a lot of public visitation, but also a lot of members and staff. It’s near the cafeteria– basically, everybody’s walking through and getting to see this,” Mason said.
For the archivist, the physical remnants of the events from 25 years ago provide a chance to learn and a space for people to sit with their thoughts.
“Just simple everyday items that we don’t necessarily think about can become so important,” Mason said.
Next week, our station will honor the lost lives and sacrifices of 9/11 in an hour long special, 25 years since the tragedy took place.