United 93 is a 2006 docudrama thriller film written and directed by Paul Greengrass. The film chronicles the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, one of the four hijacked flights during the September 11 attacks and the only one not to hit its intended target due to the intervention of passengers and crew. The film attempts to recount the hijacking and subsequent events in the flight with as much veracity as possible (there is a disclaimer that some imagination had to be used) and in real time (from the flight's takeoff). The film was made with the cooperation of many of the passengers' families, though not all agreed to participate. United 93 premiered on April 26, 2006, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, a festival founded to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking center and to contribute towards the long-term recovery of Lower Manhattan. Several family members of the passengers aboard the flight attended the premiere to show their support. The film opened in North America on April 28, 2006, to critical acclaim. Ten percent of the gross income from the three-day opening weekend was promised toward a donation to create a memorial for the flight's victims. The total gross intake of United 93 was $31.4 million in the United States, and $76.3 million worldwide. The film also received two Academy Award nominations, including Best Director for Greengrass. Plot On the morning of September 11, 2001, four al-Qaeda members, Ziad Jarrah, Saeed al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Nami and Ahmed al-Haznawi pray in a Newark, New Jersey hotel, and after Jarrah makes a final phone call to his girlfriend, board United Airlines Flight 93, piloted by Captain Jason Dahl and First Officer LeRoy Homer Jr., at Newark International Airport. Among the passengers are Tom Burnett, Todd Beamer, Jeremy Glick, Richard Guadagno, Louis J. Nacke II, Lauren Grandcolas and Mark Bingham who is the last passenger to board, barely making the flight. United 93 becomes delayed due to airport traffic. Air traffic controllers lose contact with American Airlines Flight 11 which diverts toward New York City and realise it has been hijacked after hearing suspicious transmissions. Shortly after United 93 takes off after its slight delay, Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, and United Airlines Flight 175 is also hijacked and heads toward New York City. Air traffic controllers learn that American Airlines