Flight 93 Bodies Readied for Burial
SOMERSET, Pa. — The remains of United Airlines Flight 93’s passengers and crew, who were lauded as heroes of the Sept. 11 attacks for their revolt against hijackers, are being readied for their final journey home, officials said Tuesday.
Authorities in rural Somerset County, where the Boeing 757 crashed into a field during the attacks on Washington and New York, said the remains of 40 people who died aboard the flight will be placed in full-sized coffins, paired with their belongings and returned to family members. All 44 passengers and crew members along with four hijackers on board were killed when the plane crashed 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
“The plan is to begin moving them from the morgue this week,” said Susan Hankinson, Somerset County’s coordinator for post-Flight 93 affairs.
Identification of remains included DNA analysis by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
Unidentifiable remains could be entombed at the crash site as part of a memorial to those who died, officials said.
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