This is the story of Heather ‘Lucky’ Penney, who was asked to do the unthinkable on 9/11
September 11, 2016
Fifteen years ago on a sunny September day, civil aviation as we knew it changed, forever. So too did the lives of all Americans, as the horrifying spectacle of airliners crashing into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon made it obvious the world would never be the same.
On that day 25-year-old Heather “Lucky” Penney was a new first lieutenant serving as a training officer with the 121st Fighter Squadron of the District of Columbia Air National Guard, based at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. The first woman to serve in her ANG unit, she flew F-16Cs on training missions in preparation for combat. When the 121st received word of the second World Trade Center strike, and a half hour later the Pentagon was hit, it became clear the United States was under attack. With news of a fourth airliner possibly headed toward Washington, Penney and her wingman, Colonel Marc “Sass” Sasseville, scramble-started their F-16s and took off to intercept it.
http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/lucky-penny-sept-11
