Heather Penney

Major Heather Penney is an Air Force pilot who, The Washington Post reported on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, was one of two ordered to ram and down United Airlines Flight 93 before it reached Washington DC during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

A literature major at Purdue University, Maj. Penney, who was a lieutenant at the time, was reportedly ordered into the air in her F-16 fighter jet alongside Marc H. Sasseville's aircraft at Andrews Air Force Base as the terrorist attacks were unfolding on September 11, 2001. They were ordered to down flight United 93 before it reached Washington DC's airspace, but because of the urgency there was not time to outfit their aircraft with live ammunition. The mission could only have been accomplished by ramming the plane with their respective fighter jets.

Flight 93 subsequently crashed as passengers attempted to take control of the aircraft. This ended the mission. She currently works for Lockheed on the F-35 project.