WTC: Special

Tribute to brave Black pilot of hijacked Pittsburgh US airliner

Leroy W. Homer Jr,

African American Leroy Wilton Homer Jr, 36, co-pilot of the hijacked United Airlines plane Flight 93, the only one of the four planes hijacked September 11 that avoided a disastrous plunge into a significant US edifice, was given a hero's funeral attended by his family and airline colleagues, Friday September 28, near his home in New Jersey.

It is widely believed that he refused to let his plane be used as a terrorist weapon. It plunged instead into an open field in rural Somerset County 80 miles from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania on September 11.

This act, it is presumed, may have saved from devastation the legislative heart of America, the US Capitol building where the nation's lawmakers meet, and the offices of President George W. Bush in the White House.

According to reports, the plane with its crew of 7 and 38 passengers, had switched from its flight plan to San Francisco. As it cleared Cleveland, Ohio it took a hard turn southeast on track to Washington, D.C. Shortly thereafter came the fatal crash.

With all the talk about an onboard struggle involving passengers and hijackers, his grieving wife Melodie Homer, and mother of Laurel, his 11-month-old daughter, said she believes her husband played a heroic role in making sure the terrorists’ plans were thwarted. “I think he did whatever he could to stop what happened,” she said. “I feel that he had a part in that plane not hitting anything else.”

A man known for his gentle and smooth manner, Mr Homer, of Marlton, New Jersey, had devoted his life to flying. Born August 27, 1965, he grew up on Long Island, New York and always dreamed of being a pilot. With his Barbadian father he would spend hours watching planes take off. At 16, he received his license to fly small aircraft, and after high school he joined the Air Force and was stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County.

Homer graduated from the US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1986. He flew missions during the Gulf war and became an airline pilot in 1993. No mean feat in a military service and profession that until the late 1970s discouraged black applicants.

By his training, experience and courage, it is most likely that Leroy Homer's actions, along with others, ensured that a more terrible catastrophe was averted. Many will remember this African American as a hero.