| Tom Burnett | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thomas Edward Burnett, Jr. May 29, 1963 Bloomington, Minnesota |
| Died | September 11, 2001 (aged 38) Shanksville, Pennsylvania |
| Cause of death | Plane crash |
| Citizenship | American |
| Employer | Thoratec Corporation |
| Spouse | Deena Burnett |
| Children | Halley Elizabeth, Madison Margaret, Anna Clare |
Thomas Edward Burnett, Jr. (May 29, 1963 – September 11, 2001) was the vice-president and chief operating officer of Thoratec Corporation, a medical devices company based in Pleasanton, California. He resided in San Ramon, California.[1]
On September 11, 2001, Burnett was a passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked as part of the September 11 attacks. He died when the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
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Burnett graduated from Thomas Jefferson Senior High School in Bloomington, Minnesota, in 1981, after leading the school's football team to the state semi-finals as their starting quarterback.[1] His football jersey, No. 10, is now retired at his former high school.
Burnett studied economics at Saint John's University in Minnesota. After two years, an injury shortened his football career and he transferred to the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.[1] He was named president of the Alpha Kappa Psi fraternity, then later graduated with a B.S. degree in Finance. He went on to earn a Master of Business Administration at Pepperdine University.[1]
On September 11, 2001, while on board United Airlines Flight 93, Burnett called his wife four times on an airphone after hijackers took control of the plane.
Burnett and other passengers had been in communication with people via airphones and cell phones and learned that the World Trade Center had been hit using hijacked airplanes. Burnett was among the passengers who decided to attempt to foil the hijacking of Flight 93. While doing so, the plane crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania.
Burnett called his wife, Deena, and reportedly told her, "We're all going to die, but three of us are going to do something." He is survived by his wife and three daughters, Halley, Madison, and Anna Clare. He is also survived by a biological daughter, Mariah Mills, that he and his college girlfriend gave up for adoption in 1985. Mills now has a relationship with Deena and her three half-sisters.
Deena Burnett co-authored a book with Anthony Giombetti entitled Fighting Back: Living Life Beyond Ourselves. The book is published by Advantage Inspirational and was released in July 2006. Fighting Back recounts the difficulties in getting the FBI to release cockpit voice recorder tapes from United 93 to the public, and includes Deena Burnett's thoughts on the nature of heroism.
Burnett was posthumously awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 2002. Also in that same year, a street in Pleasanton, California, where he worked for Thoratec Corporation, was renamed Tom Burnett Lane, commemorating his actions on Flight 93. There is also a memorial called Hero's Garden at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management in Burnett's honor. A post office in his hometown of Bloomington, Minnesota was renamed the Thomas E. Burnett, Jr. Post Office and his former middle school, Oak Grove Middle School in Bloomington, encourages eighth-grade students to participate in an annual Tom Burnett Day of Service.
In 2008, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec Corporation's European distribution arm based in Great Britain, moved its headquarters to new premises in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. The building was renamed Burnett House in tribute.
The California State Assembly renamed the Fostoria Way overcrossing over Interstate 680 in San Ramon the Thomas E. Burnett Jr. Memorial Bridge in his honor.[2]
At the National 9/11 Memorial, Burnett is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-68, along with other passengers on Flight 93.[3]
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