Flight 93 Memorial News

Flight 93 Memorial construction to start in western Pennsylvania 
in November
by The Associated Press
Monday August 31, 2009, 3:52PM

PITTSBURGH - The federal government will pay about $9.5 million to 
acquire land so the Flight 93 National Memorial can  be built by the 10th 
anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Interior Secretary Ken  Salazar said 
Monday. 

With the National Park Service reaching agreements with eight landowners, 
construction is expected to start in November, Salazar said. 

Salazar called the site where the plane crashed, near Shanksville in rural 
southwestern Pennsylvania, hallowed ground and said the nation was 
"eternally grateful for the heroes of   Flight 93." 

United Flight 93 was traveling from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco when 
it was diverted by hijackers with the likely goal of crashing it into the White 
House or Capitol. The official 9/11 Commission report said the hijackers 
crashed the   plane as passengers tried to wrest control of the cockpit. 
All 33 passengers and  seven crew members died.

Gene J. Puskar, The Associated Press/fileIn Shanksville, flags attached to 
angels are in memory of the   passengers and crew of United Flight 93. 

The agreements cover nearly 1,400 acres and include the impact site. 
That site sits   on a 275-acre parcel owned by quarry business Svonavec Inc. 
The company and the   government agreed in January to allow a court to 
decide the property's worth. 

Salazar said the $9.5 million includes the Svonavec site. It also covers 
relocating a   scrap metal and recycling business owned by Anthony Kordell 
and about 950 acres   owned by Families of Flight 93, which has been 
acquiring land and fundraising for the memorial. 

Lisa Linden, a spokeswoman for the family group, said it was "tremendously 
relieved"   that the core land acquisition had been completed.

Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., also welcomed the announcement. He brought 
Salazar together with landowners in June in hopes of avoiding the government 
using eminent domain to acquire the lands. "The landowners deserve our 
deepest thanks for their cooperation and the sacrifices they have made 
to allow for construction of the  memorial to honor the passengers and 
crew of Flight 93, who gave their lives to   save countless others on 
September 11th," Specter said in a statement.