United Airlines Flight 93 was originally scheduled to fly from Newark International Airport in New Jersey to San Francisco International Airport in California

. However, after being hijacked by four al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001, the hijackers diverted the plane toward Washington, D.C., with the likely intended target being a federal government building, most probably the United States Capitol

. The plane did not reach Washington, D.C., because the passengers and crew, having learned about the other attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, organized a revolt to try to regain control of the aircraft

. During the struggle, the hijackers chose to crash the plane into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to avoid losing control to the passengers

. The crash killed everyone on board but prevented the plane from reaching its intended target and causing further casualties on the ground