Edward P. Felt

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Edward P. Felt
Edward P. Felt

Edward Porter Felt (November 9, 1959 – September 11, 2001) was a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on his way to a business meeting in San Francisco. It is believed that Felt made one of the last calls to 911 immediately prior to the fatal crash of the jetliner. He was survived by his wife, Sandy, and two daughters, Adrienne and Kathryn.

Felt worked for BEA Systems at the time, which issued a press release following his death:

The BEA family has suffered the tragic loss of two of its employees. Ed Felt, one of our first employees, best engineers, and most respected and loved colleagues, died in the crash of United Airlines Flight 93. Ed, a senior architect based in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, was one of the original members of the BEA Tuxedo team, and was instrumental in making that product so successful. In fact, this past August Ed was awarded a U.S. Patent for "Method of Authentication Based on Intersection of Password Sets". He was a mentor and friend to many of us, and an inspiration to all.

BEA later named one of their office buildings after Felt.

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[edit] Final Call

At 9:58 am, Felt called 911 on his cell phone and reached an operator in Westmoreland County. "We're being hijacked. We're being hijacked," he told emergency dispatcher John Shaw, as the plane passed over Mt. Pleasant Township. Felt reported that he'd locked himself in the bathroom to make the phone call; he may have been part of a group of passengers who were herded into the rear of the plane, or, as he travelled first class, may have called from the forward bathroom. The call lasted one minute and 10 seconds. At 10:03 am, the airplane crashed into the ground, killing all aboard.

[edit] Biography

Felt, 41, of Matawan, New Jersey[1], was a technology director for BEA Systems, specializing in cryptography and encryption systems. He earned a bachelor's degree from Colgate University (1981) and a master's degree from Cornell University (1983). He was a native of Utica, New York and a member of the Matawan United Methodist Church. He had lived in Matawan for the past 20 years.

With Regards to the photo pasted on this page of Ed...He never wore a beard in his lifetime. He only grew this beard for a church play once.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Longman, Jere. "A NATION CHALLENGED: THE PENNSYLVANIA CRASH; Cockpit Tape Offers Few Answers but Points to Heroic Efforts", The New York Times, March 27, 2002. Accessed December 10, 2007. "Earlier reports have said that a previously unidentified passenger, Edward Felt of Matawan, N.J., said in a 911 call from a restroom that he saw a puff of smoke and heard an explosion, leading some to cite this as evidence that the plane was shot down by the military to prevent it from crashing into sensitive targets. But the 911 dispatcher, John Shaw, and others who have heard the tape, including Mr. Felt's wife, Sandra Felt, say he made no mention of smoke or an explosion when he said, We're going down."

[edit] External links