SHE HAD 8 MINUTES TO ACCEPT HER OWN DEATH. On the morning of September 11, 2001, Heather "Lucky" Penney was faced with an impossible choice. United Flight 93 was headed for Washington D.C., and there were no armed jets ready to intercept it. Penney and her commander, Marc Sasseville, were ordered to take off in unarmed F-16s. Their mission was clear: use their jets as battering rams to take down the hijacked airliner. Penney planned to hit the tail, knowing the impact would be fatal. For eight a