2. •
On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines
Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the
World Trade Center in New York City. The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th
floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping
hundreds more in higher floors. As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got
underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a
freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767–United
Airlines Flight 175–appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade
Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor. The collision caused a massive
explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and the streets
below. America was under attack.
3. On September
11, 2001, 19 men hijack
four fuel-loaded
commercial airlines bound
for west coast
destinations. This terrorist
attack on the United
States is orchestrated by al
Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden. A total of 2,977
people are killed in New
York City, Washington, DC
and outside of Shanks
Ville, Pennsylvania, in the
worst terrorist attack in
U.S. history.
4.
5. 9/11 has been one of the biggest events in
recent history that sparked a mass awakening
across the world. There has been much debate
as to how it happened, who is responsible and
why. To this day about 1/3 of Americans do not
believe the official story. In other areas of the
world as much as 90% of the country does not
believe the official story.
6. As Washington, D.C., coped with a national
crisis, New York City faced an unprecedented
urban emergency. Businesses closed for the
day (and in some cases much longer), as did
the subways. Manhattan became a sea of
human beings fleeing the lower end of the
island by foot. Bridges and tunnels leading into
the borough were closed. The municipal
primary elections scheduled for that
day, including the mayoral contest, were
postponed for two weeks. The stock
market, located near the Trade Center, closed
for the rest of the week. Rudolph Giuliani, the
city's controversial mayor, won widespread
praise for his confident, can did, and humane
public posture during the crisis. In
December, Time magazine named him "Man of
the Year."
7. On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people
were killed in the terrorist attacks at the
World Trade Center (WTC) in New York
City, at the Pentagon building in
Washington, D.C., and in a plane crash near
Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
More than 400 casualties were police officers
and firefighters, and over 10,000 people
were treated for injuries.
8. Timeline:
September 11, 2001
- 8:46am ET - American Airlines Flight 11
(traveling from Boston to Los Angeles)
strikes the north tower of the World Trade
Center in New York City.
- 9:03am ET - United Airlines Flight 175
(traveling from Boston to Los Angeles)
strikes the south tower of the World Trade
Center in New York City.
- 9:37am ET - American Airlines Flight 77
(traveling from Dulles, Virginia to Los
Angeles) strikes the Pentagon Building in
Washington.
- 9:59am ET - South tower of WTC
collapses in approximately 10 seconds.
- 10:03am ET - United Airlines Flight 93
(traveling from Newark, New Jersey to San
Francisco) crashes in a field near
Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
- 10:28am ET - North tower of WTC
collapses. The time between the first attack
and the collapse of both World Trade
Center towers is 102 minutes.
9. Four passenger airliners were hijacked by 19
al-Qaeda terrorists so they could be flown into
buildings in suicide attacks. Two of those
planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United
Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and
South towers, respectively, of the World Trade
Center complex in New York City. Within two
hours, both towers collapsed with debris and the
resulting fires causing partial or complete collapse of
all other buildings in the WTC complex, as well as
major damage to ten other large surrounding
structures. A third plane, American Airlines Flight
77, was crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters
of the United States Department of Defense), leading
to a partial collapse in its western side. The fourth
plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was targeted at
Washington, D.C.,[2] but crashed into a field near
Shanksville, Pennsylvania after its passengers tried to
overcome the hijackers. In total, almost 3,000 people
died in the attacks, including the 227 civilians and 19
hijackers aboard the four planes. It also was the
deadliest incident for firefighters in the history of the
United States.
10. The destruction of the Twin Towers and other properties caused serious damage to the
economy of Lower Manhattan and had a significant effect on global markets, closing
Wall Street until September 17 and the civilian airspace in the U.S. and Canada until
September 13. Many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed the
attack, either out of fear of further attacks or respect for the tragedy. Cleanup of the
World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, and the Pentagon was repaired
within a year. Numerous memorials have been constructed, including the National
September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York, the Pentagon Memorial, and the
Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
