Transcript of Tom’s last calls to Deena
Posted at Tom Burnett Family Foundation,
First Web Capture Sept. 19, 2003

Transcript of Tom’s last calls to Deena
6:27 a.m.( pacific time) First cell phone call from Tom to Deena

• Deena: Hello
• Tom: Deena
• Deena: Tom, are you O.K.?
• Tom: No, I’m not. I’m on an airplane that has been hijacked.
• Deena: hijacked?
• Tom: Yes, They just knifed a guy.
• Deena: A passenger?
• Tom: Yes.
• Deena: Where are you? Are you in the air?
• Tom: Yes, yes, just listen. Our airplane has been hijacked. It’s United Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco. We are in the air. The hijackers have already knifed a guy, one of them has a gun, they are telling us there is a bomb on board, please call the authorities. He hung up.

6:31 Deena calls 911
6:34 The phone rang in on call waiting, Tom’s second cell phone call.

• Deena: Hello
• Tom: They’re in the cockpit. The guy they knifed is dead.
• Deena: He’s dead?
• Tom: Yes. I tried to help him, but I couldn’t get a pulse.
• Deena: Tom, they are hijacking planes all up and down the east coast. They are taking them and hitting designated targets. They’ve already hit both towers of the World Trade Center.
• Tom: They’re talking about crashing this plane. (a pause) Oh my God. It’s a suicide mission…(he then tells people sitting around him)
• Deena: Who are you talking to?
• Tom: My seatmate. Do you know which airline is involved?
• Deena: No, they don’t know if they’re commercial airlines or not. The newsreporters are speculating cargo planes, private planes and commercial. No one knows.
• Tom: How many planes are there?
• Deena: They’re not sure, at least three. Maybe more.
• Tom: O.K….O.K….Do you know who is involved?
• Deena: No.
• Tom: We’re turning back toward New York. We’re going back to the World Trade Center. No, wait, we’re turning back the other way. We’re going south.
• Deena: What do you see?
• Tom: Just a minute, I’m looking. I don’t see anything, we’re over a rural area. It’s just fields. I’ve gotta go.
• He hung up.

6:45 a.m. Third cell phone call from Tom to Deena

• Tom: Deena
• Deena: Tom, you’re O.K. (I thought at this point he had just survived the Pentagon plane crash).
• Tom: No, I’m not.
• Deena: They just hit the Pentagon.
• Tom: (tells people sitting around him “They just hit the Pentagon.”)
• Tom: O.K….O.K. What else can you tell me?
• Deena: They think five airplanes have been hijacked. One is still on the ground. They believe all of them are commercial planes. I haven’t heard them say which airline, but all of them have originated on the east coast.
• Tom: Do you know who is involved?
• Deena: No
• Tom: What is the probability of their having a bomb on board? I don’t think they have one. I think they’re just telling us that for crowd control.
• Deena: A plane can survive a bomb if it’s in the right place.
• Tom: Did you call the authorities?
• Deena: Yes, they didn’t know anything about your plane.
• Tom: They’re talking about crashing this plane into the ground. We have to do something. I’m putting a plan together.
• Deena: Who’s helping you?
• Tom: Different people. Several people. There’s a group of us. Don’t worry. I’ll call you back.

6:54 a.m. Fourth cell phone call to Tom to Deena

• Deena: Tom?
• Tom: Hi. Anything new?
• Deena: No
• Tom: Where are the kids?
• Deena: They’re fine. They’re sitting at the table having breakfast. They’re asking to talk to you.
• Tom: Tell them I’ll talk to them later
• Deena: I called your parents. They know your plane has been hijacked.
• Tom: Oh…you shouldn’t have worried them. How are they doing?
• Deena: They’re O.K.. Mary and Martha are with them.
• Tom: Good. (a long quiet pause) We’re waiting until we’re over a rural area. We’re going to take back the airplane.
• Deena: No! Sit down, be still, be quiet, and don’t draw attention to yourself! (The exact words taught to me by Delta Airlines Flight Attendant Training).
• Tom: Deena! If they’re going to crash this plane into the ground, we’re going to have do something!
• Deena: What about the authorities?
• Tom: We can’t wait for the authorities. I don’t know what they could do anyway.
• It’s up to us. I think we can do it.
• Deena: What do you want me to do?
• Tom: Pray, Deena, just pray.
• Deena: (after a long pause) I love you.
• Tom: Don’t worry, we’re going to do something.
• He hung up