Flight 93 cockpit tape played in US courtroom

US Federal prosecutors seeking the execution of Zacarias Moussaoui figuratively placed the jury aboard doomed Flight 93 for its last searing moments, playing a recording in which the September 11, 2001, hijackers were heard ordering passengers to “shut up” and “sit”.

The United Airlines flight crashed in a Pennsylvania field as passengers tried to retake the plane – a drama played out publicly for the first time – as the jury in Alexandria, Virginia, heard more evidence on whether to give Moussaoui, an admitted terrorist conspirator, the death sentence.