ALEXANDRIA, Va. - In the final minutes of doomed United Air Lines Flight 93, on Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers try to shake off passengers clamoring for control of the plane over Pennsylvania. Amid groans and sounds of a struggle, a voice says, ``I am injured.'' A hijacker asks, ``Shall we finish it off?''
Moments later, the plane hurtles out of control to the ground, according to a cockpit voice recording played for a jury on Wednesday by federal prosecutors seeking the execution of Zacarias Moussaoui.
Culminating their case, the prosecutors figuratively placed the jury aboard the flight for its last heart-wrenching moments, using a computerized simulation of the plane's flight path based on information from the flight data recorder.
Hamilton Peterson, whose parents were on Flight 93, earlier heard an enhanced audio version that was played for family members only. He believes the recording provides evidence that passengers attacked and killed a hijacker guarding the cockpit door.
The audio played in the courtroom made it impossible to confirm that interpretation. The Sept. 11 Commission concluded there was a struggle for control but reached no conclusion about whether passengers killed a hijacker.
Much of the what was heard was open to interpretation. In the last minute, voices could be heard in English saying ``push up'' and ``pull down,'' as flight data showed the steering yoke moving wildly. Some interpreted that as a struggle for control in the cockpit between passengers and hijackers.
The hijackers for more than four minutes before that been swinging the plane wildly in an effort to throw the rebelling passengers off balance.
At 10 a.m. a hijacker asks in Arabic ``Shall we finish it off?'' The response come back: ``No, not yet.''
Then a voice is heard in English: ``In the cockpit! If we don't, we die!''
At 10:01 a.m., a hijacker asks again: ``Shall we put it down? The response: ``Yes, put it down.''
At 10:02 a.m., a hijacker says, ``Give it to me. Give it to me.'' At 10:03 a.m., the recording ends, and the simulation shows the plane flying nose down, then rolling over belly up and hitting the ground nose first.
The government later Wednesday rested its case after the judge rejected prosecutors' request to display a running presentation of the names and photos of all of the nearly 3,000 victims of Sept. 11. Prosecutors were instead allowed to show one large poster with the pictures of all but 92 of the victims, and three victim-impact witnesses gave testimony following the playing of the Flight 93 tape.
Moments later, the plane hurtles out of control to the ground, according to a cockpit voice recording played for a jury on Wednesday by federal prosecutors seeking the execution of Zacarias Moussaoui.
Culminating their case, the prosecutors figuratively placed the jury aboard the flight for its last heart-wrenching moments, using a computerized simulation of the plane's flight path based on information from the flight data recorder.
Hamilton Peterson, whose parents were on Flight 93, earlier heard an enhanced audio version that was played for family members only. He believes the recording provides evidence that passengers attacked and killed a hijacker guarding the cockpit door.
The audio played in the courtroom made it impossible to confirm that interpretation. The Sept. 11 Commission concluded there was a struggle for control but reached no conclusion about whether passengers killed a hijacker.
Much of the what was heard was open to interpretation. In the last minute, voices could be heard in English saying ``push up'' and ``pull down,'' as flight data showed the steering yoke moving wildly. Some interpreted that as a struggle for control in the cockpit between passengers and hijackers.
The hijackers for more than four minutes before that been swinging the plane wildly in an effort to throw the rebelling passengers off balance.
At 10 a.m. a hijacker asks in Arabic ``Shall we finish it off?'' The response come back: ``No, not yet.''
Then a voice is heard in English: ``In the cockpit! If we don't, we die!''
At 10:01 a.m., a hijacker asks again: ``Shall we put it down? The response: ``Yes, put it down.''
At 10:02 a.m., a hijacker says, ``Give it to me. Give it to me.'' At 10:03 a.m., the recording ends, and the simulation shows the plane flying nose down, then rolling over belly up and hitting the ground nose first.
The government later Wednesday rested its case after the judge rejected prosecutors' request to display a running presentation of the names and photos of all of the nearly 3,000 victims of Sept. 11. Prosecutors were instead allowed to show one large poster with the pictures of all but 92 of the victims, and three victim-impact witnesses gave testimony following the playing of the Flight 93 tape.