Flight 93 Recording Played at Moussaoui Trial

This artists rendering shows National Transportation Safety Administration Chief of Recorder Division James Cash, second from left, testifying about the cockpit recording from United Airlines Flight 93. (Dana Verkouteren -- AP)

Just after 10 a.m., a hijacker shouted in Arabic, "Allah is greatest!" Then, "Is that it? I mean, shall we put it down?" The reply came, "Yes, put it in it, and pull it down."

Sounds of the final struggle in the cockpit ensued, with passengers and hijackers shouting as they fought for control of the plane.

"Cut off the oxygen!" a hijacker yelled in Arabic repeatedly before what sounded like a last desperate tussle over the controls.

Following the presentation, the government put more relatives of Sept. 11 victims on the stand, then rested its case.

The defense is scheduled to begin presenting its case tomorrow, arguing that jurors should sentence Moussaoui to life in prison without parole, rather than execution. The case could go to the jury by late next week.

In the first phase of the sentencing hearing, jurors concluded that Moussaoui was eligible for the death penalty after he testified that he had planned to hijack a fifth airplane on Sept. 11 and fly it into the White House.

Jurors have heard from more than 35 Sept. 11 witnesses, most of them family members who lost loved ones in the attacks. The first witnesses testified about the impact of the World Trade Center attack on victims and their families. Then, yesterday, the focus shifted to the Pentagon, and prosecutors showed the jury some of the most grisly evidence so far, including photos of badly burned bodies. Defense lawyers had objected to the presentation, but U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema allowed it.

According to a commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks, four hijackers boarded Flight 93, which was piloted by Captain Jason Dahl and First Officer Leroy Homer. There were also five flight attendants and 33 other passengers on board. The hijackers all sat in the first class section, evidently so they could be close to the cockpit.

The first 46 minutes of the cross-country flight "proceeded routinely," the Sept. 11 commission reported. Then, 35,000 feet over eastern Ohio, the hijackers began their assault.

The Sept. 11 commission reported that at least 10 passengers and two crew members made calls to people on the ground, conveying word that their plane had been hijacked and receiving information that other hijacked airliners had already struck the World Trade Center in New York.

The callers reported that the hijackers were wearing red bandanas and had forced passengers to the back of the airplane, a Boeing 757. They also said that a passenger had been stabbed and that two people -- possibly the captain and first officer -- were lying on the floor of the cabin, injured or dead, the commission said in its report. "One caller reported that a flight attendant had been killed," it said.

As they prepared to assault the hijackers, several passengers terminated phone calls with loved ones or others on the ground. One passenger, Todd Beamer, a 32-year-old account manager from New Jersey, reportedly said at the end of a conversation with a GTE Airfone operator, "Are you guys ready? Let's roll!" The phrase came to symbolize the resistance that apparently prevented a far deadlier and more devastating attack on the Capitol.

Shortly before resting their case, prosecutors today played a voice mail message that one of the flight attendants, CeeCee Lyles, 33, left for her husband, Lorne Lyles, a police officer in Fort Myers, Fla.

"Tell my children I love them," she said after informing him of the hijacking and indicating she was aware of the World Trade Center attack. "I hope to be able to see your face again, baby. I love you. Bye." Then just before hanging up, she began to cry.