He died at age 32 in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack on board United Airlines flight 93. He is survived by his wife, Lisa Beamer, two sons, David and Drew, and a daughter, Morgan Kay, who was born on January 9, 2002-- nearly four months after her father's death.
Todd and other passengers had been in communication with people via cell phones and learned that the World Trade Center had been destroyed using hijacked airplanes. Todd was among the passengers that evidently decided to fight the hijackers hand-to-hand.
Todd's last words among the living were "Let's roll", which became a catchphrase symbolizing American patriotism; notably, Neil Young wrote a tribute song with that phrase as its title, and President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address called it the new American creed. Florida State University football coach has drawn both criticism and support for using the phrase as the team's motto for the 2002 season. The phrase has been registered as a trademark by the Todd M. Beamer Foundation, a charity founded by his wife, which has tried to prevent its commercial use by third-party merchandisers.
Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, Washington, which opened in early September 2003, is named after him. A post office in Trenton, New Jersey, was also named after him.