Thomas Edward Burnett Jr. (May 29, 1963 – September 11, 2001) was an American who was the vice-president and chief operating officer of Thoratec Corporation, a medical devices company based in Pleasanton, California; he resided in nearby San Ramon, California. On September 11, 2001, Burnett was a passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked as part of the September 11 attacks. He, along with other passengers, formed the plan to retake the plane from the hijackers, and led the effort that resulted in the crash of the plane into a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, thwarting the plan of the hijackers to crash the plane into a building in Washington, D.C., most likely either the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House. Early life and education Thomas Burnett was born on May 29, 1963, the son of Thomas Burnett Sr. and Beverly Burnett. Burnett and his sisters grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota. He attended Ridgeview Elementary School, then Olson Middle School. At Thomas Jefferson Senior High School, where he wore jersey No. 11 and then No. 10, he led the Jaguars to the state finals as their starting quarterback in 1980. He graduated in 1981. Burnett studied Economics at Saint John's University in Minnesota, where he was a quarterback on the football team. After two years, an injury shortened his football career and he transferred to the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He was named president of the Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity, then later graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. He went on to earn a Master of Business Administration degree at Pepperdine University. Career In 1996, Burnett joined Thoratec Corporation, a medical devices company, as vice president of sales and marketing. In November 1999, he was promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer. Personal life In 1985, Burnett became the biological father to a daughter who was given up for adoption. Her name is Mariah Mills Jacobsen. In July 1989, Burnett met his future wife, Deena, in Atlanta, where she had just completed flight attendant training for Delta Air Lines. They married in April 1992 and had three daughters, Halley Elizabeth, Anna Claire, and Madison Margaret, and lived in San Ramon, California, where Deena worked as a stay-at-home mother, beginning when she first became pregnant in 1995. Thomas Burnett had attended mass daily in the