AN AMERICAN woman searching for the identity of her parents has discovered that her biological father was one of the heroes of United Airlines Flight 93, the aircraft that crashed into a Pennsylvania field on September 11, 2001 after the passengers fought back against their hijackers.

Mariah Mills, who was given up for adoption shortly after birth, discovered that her father was Tom Burnett, one of the leaders of the group who rebelled on Flight 93 in a courageous but vain effort to retake control of the aircraft. Officials believe it was headed for the Capitol in Washington.

In an extraordinary premonition of the truth, Miss Mills, now 21, returned from school on the day of the attacks and told her adoptive mother: “I think one of my parents is dead.”

Mr Burnett gave up his daughter for adoption when he and his then-girlfriend were at university. She learnt about her father after she turned 19, the legal age in her home state of Minnesota for requesting a birth certificate with the names of parents. DNA tests confirmed his identity.

Miss Mills and her adoptive parents visited the school in Bloomington, Minnesota, that her father attended and found his picture in his senior yearbook.

“It was weird to finally look like somebody,” Miss Mills told the St Paul Pioneer Press. “I have [my mother’s] eyes, but mostly I look like a Burnett.”

She added: “As awful as it was that he died, and I never got to know him, there is good that came out of this.”

Miss Mills has now developed a relationship with Mr Burnett’s widow, Deena, her three daughters, and other members of his family. She also celebrated her birthday with her birth mother, who asked not to be identified.

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