Heather ‘Lucky’ Penney

She and fellow F–16 pilot Marc H. Sasseville were given the suicide mission of searching out and ramming United Flight 93, which was hijacked and believed to be heading for the U.S. Capitol. Because they had to be airborne so quickly, neither pilot had ammunition to shoot Flight 93 down. As the lead pilot, Sasseville would ram the cockpit; Penney would hit the tail. The United flight presented another problem for Penney: It was possible it was her father who was its captain.

“I know I speak for everyone on the flight line—we all wanted to be on that mission,” she said. “We knew our nation was under attack, and it was our job to protect and defend.”

By the time Penney and Sasseville were in the air and sanitizing the airspace, the passengers of Flight 93 had taken down the hijacked aircraft in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Her father was not the captain.

The pair of fighter pilots had more to do that day. Along with two other pilots, they spent the morning helping clear the airspace and eventually were the escorts for President George W. Bush returning to D.C. from Florida.

Penney is now retired from the U.S. Air Force and works for a Washington, D.C., aviation think tank. She also flies charter part time for Chantilly Air in a Citation XLS. But she is passionate about general aviation; her daughter Sierra recently soloed in a Piper Vagabond.

How did you get started in aviation? My father was a pilot. He was a Vietnam veteran and saw combat as a search and rescue pilot. Then he flew for the airlines. I just wanted to follow in his footsteps, starting as a little girl.

What’s your favorite aviation-related activity? Other than flying for any reason? Talking about flying with other pilots.

Favorite aircraft?  Whatever I am flying that day, because I am flying!

Biggest challenges? Making enough time to fly with the rest of life going on.

Advice for students? Know your systems, procedures, and chair fly. Don’t become complacent; maintain progress and plan what you are going to improve that day and how you are going to improve your performance. Then, debrief yourself on what you did well, what you learned, and what and how you are going to improve on your next flight. Write down feedback from your instructor in a book that you keep and review all the feedback as you progress. 

Julie Summers Walker is the former senior features editor for AOPA.