'She died of a broken heart': Tragic 9/11 widow suffers heart failure brought on by accidental drugs overdose 11 years after United 93 pilot husband perished

The widow of the captain of doomed 9/11 flight United 93 died of heart failure brought on by an accidental drug and alcohol overdose, an autopsy released on Friday has revealed.
Sandy Dahl, who was married to captain Jason Dahl, passed away unexpectedly in her sleep in May while staying at a friend's home in Lakewood, Colorado.
The death came after a decade of tireless work maintaining the memory of those on board Flight 93 who perished on September 11, 2001 after crashing in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

 

 

Tragic: Sandy Dahl, the wife of United Airlines Flight 93 captain Jason Dahl, died from an accidental alcohol and prescription drugs overdose after more than 10 years working for the memories of 9/11 victims

Making numerous public appearances over the decade after the attacks, Dahl supported a permanent memorial to the victims of the fourth hijacked plane, making sure they were not forgotten.

Dahl died of acute heart failure due to the combined effects of alcohol and multiple prescription drugs, Jefferson County chief deputy coroner Carl Blesch said.
He said a heart condition – right ventricular dysplasia – was a contributing cause in her death.

 

The autopsy report states that anti-depression, anti-anxiety, painkiller and tranquilizer drugs were found in her blood stream.
'She died of a broken heart and probably the stress but you know you never would have known it unless you knew her really, really, deeply,' her friend Jewel Wellborn told 9News after her death.
Dahl, who had a daughter from a previous relationship, was with Jason, who had a son, for ten years. They were due to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary on September 13, 2001.

 

Missed: Sandy Dahl looks at the image of her husband etched on a memorial for Flight 93 crew members at the Shanksville Chapel in Pennsylvania. She worked to keep the memory of the Fight 93 victims alive

But while he worked mainly as a flight instructor in Denver, he had to schedule himself on a flight to keep his license - and that flight was United 93.

Glued to the television on the morning of September 11 watching the disaster unfold, Dahl at first did not accept it when she saw that United 93 had crashed into the ground in Pennsylvania.

'I learned it from television,' said Dahl. 'The newest flight missing was United 93 and they started saying that the hole in the ground in Shanksville was flight 93 and flight 93 was unaccounted for.
'It took some convincing for them to say Sandy, nobody survived, nobody.'
In the years after his death, Sandy suffered from post-traumatic stress and nightmares and demanded to listen to all the in-flight recordings taken from United 93's recovered black box.

 

 

Happy: The couple were together for 10 years and were about to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary

She moved out of Ken-Caryl Ranch, where she had shared a home with her husband, but stayed in Colorado to set up the Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship to help student become airline pilots.
She made public appearances to ensure the heroism of the 40 people who died as they fought against the terrorists on United 93 were not overshadowed by events in Washington and New York.

'It's an unusually wonderful thing they did, their self-sacrifice,' she said. 'They did what would almost never be asked of anyone.
'I want to make sure history is written. I will not let Flight 93 go unrecognised or Jason be forgotten.'

Described as inspiring and evocative, Dahl wanted people to take inspiration from the passengers of United 93 and to make their most of their lives.

 

Crash: The Shanksville, Pennsylvania site where Flight 93 crashed after passengers fought the terrorists

 

Attack: The World Trade Center pours smoke in this September 11, 2001 photo. Dahl said she wanted people to remember the victims of Flight 93 as well as those in New York and Washington

She also developed a conviction to hear the flight deck recordings from United 93, because, as a flight attendant herself, she wanted to understand from the cockpit what had happened.
Hearing the harrowing tapes back, Dahl came to understand what happened on the flight and tirelessly worked in public to make sure that no one forgot it.
'Yes, my husband did have a big role in it,' said Dahl. 'He was not going to give up his airplane just like that.'
After she unexpectedly passed away in May, Patrick White, the president of The Families of Flight 93, lauded Dahl's bravery following her husband's death.
'Sandy's courage picked up where her husband's left off,' White said in a statement. 'Her dedication to completing the Flight 93 National Memorial as a way to honor her husband's heroic actions on 9/11, and those of his fellow crew members and passengers, is a significant part of her legacy.'