On September 11 , 2001 , the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department responded to the United Airlines Flight 93 crash scene to search for survivors . They found a smoking crater to deep , and to wide surrounded by burning wreckage of the aircraft . None of the 44 people on board survived . Flight 93 was one of four airliners hijacked that day as part of the al-Qaeda terror attack on the United States . It is widely held that the Flight 93 hijackers intended to use the aircraft to attack the United States Capitol building in Washington , DC . An assistant chief was one of the first on the scene , within seven or eight minutes . Firefighters from nine other local companies also came to the crash site
United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93
Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department