[b]Moments before the San Francisco-bound plane went down, businessman Thomas Burnett of San Ramon, Calif., called his wife, telling her he feared the flight was doomed but he and two other passengers planned to do something about it, the family’s priest told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Burnett, 38, was a father of three and chief executive of Thoratec Corp., a Pleasanton, Calif., medical devices company. In the call, he told his wife that one passenger had already been stabbed to death.
The Rev. Frank Colacicco, pastor of St. Isidore’s Catholic Church, said Burnett’s wife, Deena, told him Burnett said: “I know we’re all going to die - there’s three of us who are going to do something about it.” Then, the priest said, Burnett told his wife, “I love you, honey” and the call ended.
Authorities have not said whether an attempt by passengers to thwart the hijacking may have caused the plane to crash in the Pennsylvania countryside instead of hitting a high-profile target elsewhere. [/b]