SEPTEMBER 11 2001: THE OFFICIAL STORY
On Tuesday the 11th of September 2001, the United States of America was struck with the worst act of terrorism the country, and possibly the world, has ever seen. A series of coordinated suicide attacks by Islamic terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, saw New York City in a state of pure destruction and terror, as well as other areas across America. Two hijacked airline planes hit the North and South towers of the World Trade Centre while another hit the Pentagon in Washington DC. A fourth hijacked plane was crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, making a fourth attack unsuccessful. The events happened suddenly and left both the nation and the world in a state of shock and disbelief. A lot of people were affected by the 9/11 attacks, both directly and indirectly, and will continue to be impacted for years to come.
The first out of the four attacks was on the North Tower of the World Trade Centre in New York. American Airlines Flight 11 was a domestic Boeing 767 passenger plane that left Logan International Airport in Boston for Los Angeles International Airport at 7:46am on the 11th of September 2001. There were a total of 92 passengers on board. Eleven of of these were crew members and five of these were Al-Qaeda terrorists; Mohamed Atta, Abdulaziz al-Omari, Waleed al-Shehri, Wail al-Shehri and Satam al-Suqami, who had smuggled box cutters and weapons on board. The 9/11 commission estimates that the hijacking initiated at 8:14am, as this was when Boston Air Traffic Control Centre (BATCC) lost contact with the pilots. At around 8:16am, the plane started to deviate off it's scheduled course, any attempts to contact the plane via BATCC were unsuccessful, and at 8:21am, the flight stopped transmitting it's transponder signal. Air Traffic Control confirmed the plane was hijacked when Mohamed Atta accidentally sent a message to them at 8:23am instead of the passengers, where he said "We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport". Ten minutes later, he sent another message intended for the passengers where he informed them not to make any stupid moves. Flight attendant Betty Ong managed to contact American Airlines and informed them that, although she thought the plane was being hijacked, she wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but explained Barbara Arestegui and Karen Martin, fellow flight attendants, had been stabbed. It is believed they were stabbed as they both had keys for the cockpit. As well as this, she explained that passenger Daniel Lewin, an officer in the Israel Defence Forces, had been murdered after having his throat slashed. He was seated directly in front of Satam al-Suqami and the 9/11 commission believes he was killed after trying to stop the hijackers. Atta completed the final turn to Manhattan at 8:43am. At 08:46:30, Mohamed Atta deliberately crashed flight 11, carrying 38,000L of fuel, into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre, hitting between the 92nd and 98th floors. Every passenger on the flight was killed instantly, as well as an extreme number of people trapped throughout the North Tower, especially from around floor 92 and above, hundreds killed instantly from impact and others from smoke inhalation, and later on, the collapse or them jumping from the window.
The second hijacking attack was on the South Tower of the World Trade Centre complex in New York. United Airlines Flight 175, another Boeing 767 that, like Flight 11, left Logan International Airport bound for California. It is believed the hijackers chose these flights because of the large fuel capacity that could last the unscheduled journey to New York. This plane had a smaller number of passengers than the other flight, a total of sixty five. Fifty one of these were passengers, nine were crew and five were Al-Qaeda hijackers - Marwan al-Shehhi, Hamza Al-Ghamdi, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Mohand Al-Shehri and Fayez Banihammad. The hijacking occurred at around the same time Flight 11 was just minutes away from hitting the North Tower. Two of the hijackers killed the pilots and took control of the plane, while the other hijackers moved passengers and crew to the back of the airplane. The plane, like flight 11, began deviating sharply from it's scheduled course. The controller made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Flight 175. Some of the passengers made calls from the aircraft once they realised it was being hijacked. One man, Peter Hanson, made a call to his father at 9:00am: "It's getting bad, Dad. A stewardess was stabbed. They seem to have knives and Mace. They said they have a bomb. It's getting very bad on the plane. The plane is making jerky movements. I don't think the pilot is flying the plane. I think we are going down. I think they intend to go to Chicago or someplace and fly into a building. Don't worry, Dad. If it happens, it'll be very fast...Oh my God...oh my God, oh my God". United Airlines flight 175 hit between floors 77 and 86 of the South Tower of the World Trade Centre at 09:03:02, around seventeen minutes after the first plane hit the North Tower, going at a speed of approximately 950km per hour. Once again, all passengers aboard were killed instantly. It is estimated a further 600+ people were either killed instantly or trapped in the South Tower after the impact.
By this time, the news of the World Trade Centre attacks was broadcast as breaking news all over the world. The North Tower stood for a total of 102 minutes, collapsing at 10:28am. The South Tower only burned for 56 minutes before collapsing at 9:59am. The collapse of both towers sent clouds of smoke billowing throughout the streets of New York City. As well as this, surrounding buildings and infrastructure were also destroyed, including buildings four, five and six of the World Trade Centre which set on fire following the collapse. Building seven also burned for seven hours unchecked until it collapsed at 5:20pm. The streets of New York were chaos. There were thousands of causalities and over 2,500 deaths in total following the terrorist attacks on the twin towers.
The third attack was slightly different to the other two as it was not directed at the World Trade Centre in New York. Instead, it was a direct attack on the Pentagon in Washington DC. Boeing 757 American Airlines Flight 77, carrying fifty three passengers and six crew members, was hijacked by five Al-Qaeda terrorists. Hani Hanjour, Khalid Almihdhar, Majed Moqed, Nawaf Alhazmi and Salem Alzhazmi boarded the flight from Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, scheduled for Los Angeles international aiport. Less than 35 minutes into the flight, the hijackers took control of the flight, pushing crew and passengers to the rear of the plane. This was between 8:51am and 8:54am, around the time Flight 11 struck the north tower and Flight 175 was being hijacked. Unlike the other flights, there were no reports of bomb threats or stabbings. The last communication with the pilot indicated no signs of distress, but Flight 77 soon lost its transponder signal and deviated off its original course. Seeing similarities between this and the other two flights, American Airlines dispatchers and Air Traffic Control officers realised the plane was in serious trouble and made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the crew. Passengers managed to contact their loved ones, explaining the hijackers had knives and box cutters. As Flight 77 was 8km west-southwest of the pentagon, it made a 330-degree turn, descending and coming down toward the pentagon and Washington DC. At 9:37am, the Boeing 757 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense in Arlington County, Virginia. All 64 people on board were killed instantly, as well as a further 125 in the pentagon.
The last act of terrorism on September 11 was a fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93. Unlike the other three events, this one was unsuccessful and the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania as the passengers fought the hijackers and the plane went down before it hit it's intended target. The Boeing 757 was carrying a total of 44 people. 33 passengers, 7 crew and 4 hijackers - Ziad Jarrah, Saeed Alghamdi, Ahmad Haznawi and Ahmed Alnami. The plane was scheduled to go from Newark International Airport in New Jersey to San Francisco International Airport in California. The plane was scheduled to take off at 8:00am but was delayed until 8:42am due to congestion at the airport. The hijacking began at 9:28am. Passengers on the plane contacted their loved ones and learned about Flight 11 and 175 crashing into the World Trade Centre. The cockpit was taken over and people were pushed to the back of the plane. Jarrah made an announcement to the passengers saying there was a bomb on board. Knowing of the previous events on the Twin Towers, the people in board decided to revolt. They began this at 9:57am after contacting their families and friends and taking a vote on whether to act or not. They shouted "let's roll!" before they tried ramming a food cart into the cockpit door and attempted to stop the hijackers. In response, the terrorists rolled the plane from side to side to put them off balance. Scared the passengers would break into the cockpit, the hijackers decided to just crash the plane instead. At 10:02am, voices were heard chanting "Allah is great!" before the plane made a sharp turn to the right and descended at 580 miles per hour into an empty field in rural Pennsylvania. It is unclear as to where the hijackers intended to crash flight 93, but it is believed they were targeting places such as the White House or the U.S Capitol. Everyone on the flight died as the plane crashed into the ground, but it is because of the bravery of the passengers that the death toll was not a lot higher on Tuesday the 11th of September, 2001.
There were close to 3,000 deaths caused by the 9/11 attacks. These people were innocent and did not deserve to die. The events of September 11 continue to impact America and the world today, both personally and as a nation. The Al-Qaeda terrorist group was linked back to the leader, Osama bin Laden and the 19 hijackers were identified. This lead to the ongoing war between America and Afghanistan, specifically the Taliban. In May 2001, Osama bin Laden was shot down by United States troops.
The first out of the four attacks was on the North Tower of the World Trade Centre in New York. American Airlines Flight 11 was a domestic Boeing 767 passenger plane that left Logan International Airport in Boston for Los Angeles International Airport at 7:46am on the 11th of September 2001. There were a total of 92 passengers on board. Eleven of of these were crew members and five of these were Al-Qaeda terrorists; Mohamed Atta, Abdulaziz al-Omari, Waleed al-Shehri, Wail al-Shehri and Satam al-Suqami, who had smuggled box cutters and weapons on board. The 9/11 commission estimates that the hijacking initiated at 8:14am, as this was when Boston Air Traffic Control Centre (BATCC) lost contact with the pilots. At around 8:16am, the plane started to deviate off it's scheduled course, any attempts to contact the plane via BATCC were unsuccessful, and at 8:21am, the flight stopped transmitting it's transponder signal. Air Traffic Control confirmed the plane was hijacked when Mohamed Atta accidentally sent a message to them at 8:23am instead of the passengers, where he said "We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport". Ten minutes later, he sent another message intended for the passengers where he informed them not to make any stupid moves. Flight attendant Betty Ong managed to contact American Airlines and informed them that, although she thought the plane was being hijacked, she wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but explained Barbara Arestegui and Karen Martin, fellow flight attendants, had been stabbed. It is believed they were stabbed as they both had keys for the cockpit. As well as this, she explained that passenger Daniel Lewin, an officer in the Israel Defence Forces, had been murdered after having his throat slashed. He was seated directly in front of Satam al-Suqami and the 9/11 commission believes he was killed after trying to stop the hijackers. Atta completed the final turn to Manhattan at 8:43am. At 08:46:30, Mohamed Atta deliberately crashed flight 11, carrying 38,000L of fuel, into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre, hitting between the 92nd and 98th floors. Every passenger on the flight was killed instantly, as well as an extreme number of people trapped throughout the North Tower, especially from around floor 92 and above, hundreds killed instantly from impact and others from smoke inhalation, and later on, the collapse or them jumping from the window.
The second hijacking attack was on the South Tower of the World Trade Centre complex in New York. United Airlines Flight 175, another Boeing 767 that, like Flight 11, left Logan International Airport bound for California. It is believed the hijackers chose these flights because of the large fuel capacity that could last the unscheduled journey to New York. This plane had a smaller number of passengers than the other flight, a total of sixty five. Fifty one of these were passengers, nine were crew and five were Al-Qaeda hijackers - Marwan al-Shehhi, Hamza Al-Ghamdi, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Mohand Al-Shehri and Fayez Banihammad. The hijacking occurred at around the same time Flight 11 was just minutes away from hitting the North Tower. Two of the hijackers killed the pilots and took control of the plane, while the other hijackers moved passengers and crew to the back of the airplane. The plane, like flight 11, began deviating sharply from it's scheduled course. The controller made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Flight 175. Some of the passengers made calls from the aircraft once they realised it was being hijacked. One man, Peter Hanson, made a call to his father at 9:00am: "It's getting bad, Dad. A stewardess was stabbed. They seem to have knives and Mace. They said they have a bomb. It's getting very bad on the plane. The plane is making jerky movements. I don't think the pilot is flying the plane. I think we are going down. I think they intend to go to Chicago or someplace and fly into a building. Don't worry, Dad. If it happens, it'll be very fast...Oh my God...oh my God, oh my God". United Airlines flight 175 hit between floors 77 and 86 of the South Tower of the World Trade Centre at 09:03:02, around seventeen minutes after the first plane hit the North Tower, going at a speed of approximately 950km per hour. Once again, all passengers aboard were killed instantly. It is estimated a further 600+ people were either killed instantly or trapped in the South Tower after the impact.
By this time, the news of the World Trade Centre attacks was broadcast as breaking news all over the world. The North Tower stood for a total of 102 minutes, collapsing at 10:28am. The South Tower only burned for 56 minutes before collapsing at 9:59am. The collapse of both towers sent clouds of smoke billowing throughout the streets of New York City. As well as this, surrounding buildings and infrastructure were also destroyed, including buildings four, five and six of the World Trade Centre which set on fire following the collapse. Building seven also burned for seven hours unchecked until it collapsed at 5:20pm. The streets of New York were chaos. There were thousands of causalities and over 2,500 deaths in total following the terrorist attacks on the twin towers.
The third attack was slightly different to the other two as it was not directed at the World Trade Centre in New York. Instead, it was a direct attack on the Pentagon in Washington DC. Boeing 757 American Airlines Flight 77, carrying fifty three passengers and six crew members, was hijacked by five Al-Qaeda terrorists. Hani Hanjour, Khalid Almihdhar, Majed Moqed, Nawaf Alhazmi and Salem Alzhazmi boarded the flight from Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, scheduled for Los Angeles international aiport. Less than 35 minutes into the flight, the hijackers took control of the flight, pushing crew and passengers to the rear of the plane. This was between 8:51am and 8:54am, around the time Flight 11 struck the north tower and Flight 175 was being hijacked. Unlike the other flights, there were no reports of bomb threats or stabbings. The last communication with the pilot indicated no signs of distress, but Flight 77 soon lost its transponder signal and deviated off its original course. Seeing similarities between this and the other two flights, American Airlines dispatchers and Air Traffic Control officers realised the plane was in serious trouble and made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the crew. Passengers managed to contact their loved ones, explaining the hijackers had knives and box cutters. As Flight 77 was 8km west-southwest of the pentagon, it made a 330-degree turn, descending and coming down toward the pentagon and Washington DC. At 9:37am, the Boeing 757 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense in Arlington County, Virginia. All 64 people on board were killed instantly, as well as a further 125 in the pentagon.
The last act of terrorism on September 11 was a fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93. Unlike the other three events, this one was unsuccessful and the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania as the passengers fought the hijackers and the plane went down before it hit it's intended target. The Boeing 757 was carrying a total of 44 people. 33 passengers, 7 crew and 4 hijackers - Ziad Jarrah, Saeed Alghamdi, Ahmad Haznawi and Ahmed Alnami. The plane was scheduled to go from Newark International Airport in New Jersey to San Francisco International Airport in California. The plane was scheduled to take off at 8:00am but was delayed until 8:42am due to congestion at the airport. The hijacking began at 9:28am. Passengers on the plane contacted their loved ones and learned about Flight 11 and 175 crashing into the World Trade Centre. The cockpit was taken over and people were pushed to the back of the plane. Jarrah made an announcement to the passengers saying there was a bomb on board. Knowing of the previous events on the Twin Towers, the people in board decided to revolt. They began this at 9:57am after contacting their families and friends and taking a vote on whether to act or not. They shouted "let's roll!" before they tried ramming a food cart into the cockpit door and attempted to stop the hijackers. In response, the terrorists rolled the plane from side to side to put them off balance. Scared the passengers would break into the cockpit, the hijackers decided to just crash the plane instead. At 10:02am, voices were heard chanting "Allah is great!" before the plane made a sharp turn to the right and descended at 580 miles per hour into an empty field in rural Pennsylvania. It is unclear as to where the hijackers intended to crash flight 93, but it is believed they were targeting places such as the White House or the U.S Capitol. Everyone on the flight died as the plane crashed into the ground, but it is because of the bravery of the passengers that the death toll was not a lot higher on Tuesday the 11th of September, 2001.
There were close to 3,000 deaths caused by the 9/11 attacks. These people were innocent and did not deserve to die. The events of September 11 continue to impact America and the world today, both personally and as a nation. The Al-Qaeda terrorist group was linked back to the leader, Osama bin Laden and the 19 hijackers were identified. This lead to the ongoing war between America and Afghanistan, specifically the Taliban. In May 2001, Osama bin Laden was shot down by United States troops.
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