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Mark Bingham was one of the flight’s heroes, and, along with Jeremy Glick and Todd Beamer, an architect of the passengers’ daring plan. The documentary offers interviews with Mark’s mother, Alice Hoglan, and with his best friend, Amanda Mark. We can only imagine the loss and pain felt by Bingham’s family and friends after the crash.

By all accounts, Mark Bingham was a hero even before 9/11–-exactly the guy you’d want around in an emergency. Big and strong, equally adept at public relations and rugby, Mark was all-American in the best sense of the term.

Though not partnered at the time of his death, Mark had a six-year relationship with Paul Holm that ended in 1999. He and Paul remained close friends. Calling from Flight #93, Mark had asked his mother to share his fate with Paul.

Closeted for many years, Mark Bingham told his friend Mark Wilheim when he was 19, “If my family or friends ever found out, I’d have to kill myself.” Two years later, Bingham decided differently. He slowly began revealing himself to friends and family.

There were many sides to the man. Mark could be heroic and serious-minded: he once rescued a small girl who’d wandered into traffic. Or he could be playful: friends remember the time he dressed as a transvestite lumberjack. His friends nicknamed him Bear Trap, because he liked his men big and hairy. And he could be a walking contradiction: gay, Mark was a staunch Republican. A peacemaker, Bingham once single-handedly foiled a pair of muggers.

Literally a giant, at 6 feet, 5 inches, and 220 pounds, he used his size to shine as a rugby player.

Another designer of the flight’s citizen-soldier plan was 32-year-old Todd Beamer, an account executive for Oracle Corp. A former high school baseball and basketball player, Todd was known by family and friends as caring and kind. 31-year-old Jeremy Glick completed the triumvirate of Flight 93’s planner heroes. A resident of Milford, New Jersey, his brother-in-law, Doug Hurwitt, describes him as “a take charge guy. “ The sales and marketing executive was also a University of Rochester judo champion. Extraordinary men, all.

Overall, the film has the feel of a hybrid: a documentary crossed with a TV Movie of the Week. Nonetheless, the production is a respectful rendering of a real-life American tragedy. Throughout, the calm of the hijacked passengers, and the number of successful calls they made from the plane, are amazing.

Family and friends were interviewed, but not all of the passengers and crew are represented here. Some families refused to speak to the filmmakers about their lost loved ones. The ones who did, however, reveal how it dawned on those on board that they were on a suicide mission. They knew that they had nothing to lose by trying to regain control of the plane, but they had a lot to win. Innocent lives could be saved.

Directed by Bruce Goodson, The Flight That Fought Back tells its story faithfully, stating clearly what is established fact, and admitting to what is speculation. Reenactments are always a little cheesy, but they fare better here than in most documentaries.

For me, the film had a bloodless, almost antiseptic quality. I’m the guy who cried when the animators stopped drawing Bambi’s mother, and I get misty-eyed just hearing the theme songs from Ice Castles or Terms of Endearment. Yet, watching The Flight That Fought Back, I didn’t hear the strings of my heart go “Zing!” Nor was I moved to tears, or even to nervous laughter. Maybe it's less emotional when the outcome is known.

But The Flight That Fought Back is still well worth watching, and Mark Bingham, his fellow passengers, and the crew, are more than worthy of the heroes moniker.

The Flight that Fought Back airs at 9pm this Sunday, September 11 on the Discovery Channel; visit the official site for more information

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