Whenever the family held events where men weren't invited, his father would take him to McArthur Airport where they would watch the planes takeoff and land.

Working part-time jobs after school to pay for flying lessons, he completed his first solo trip at the age of 16 and obtained his private pilot's certificate in 1983.

[4] After completing his USAF pilot training in 1988, he was assigned to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, flying a Lockheed C-141 Starlifter.

Homer achieved the rank of captain before his honorable discharge from active duty in 1995 and his acceptance of a reserve commission in order to continue his career as an Air Force officer.

[5] On September 11, 2001, Homer was flying with Captain Jason M. Dahl on United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco.

[citation needed] After learning of the earlier crashes at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the crew and passengers attempted to foil the hijacking and reclaim the aircraft.

Given the uprising of crew and passengers, and knowing they would not make it to their intended target, which was the US Capitol, the hijackers instead chose to crash the plane into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.