On September 11, 2001, 19 militants hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks in the
United States. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New
York City. A third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C. A fourth plane crashed
in a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed during the attacks, including more
than 400 police officers and firefighters. Often referred to as 9/11, the attacks triggered major
U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush.
Carefully coordinated attacks
The attackers were Islamic extremists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. Osama
bin Laden's al-Qaida organization planned the attack. It was allegedly in retaliation for America's
support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War and its continued military presence in
the Middle East.
Some of the attackers had lived in the United States for more than a year and took flying lessons
at American flight schools. Others had slipped into the country in the months before September
11. The 19 attackers easily smuggled box-cutters and knives through security at three East Coast
airports and boarded airplanes bound for California. The four flights were chosen because the
planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey. Soon after takeoff, they
hijacked the four planes and took the controls, transforming ordinary commuter jets into guided
missiles. A plane struck one of the two towers of the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. Another
plane struck the other tower at 9:03 a.m.
Thousands of casualties
Millions watched on television as the planes crashed into New York buildings. At 9:37 a.m.,
American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., and slammed into the
west side of the Pentagon military headquarters. Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a
devastating fire that caused a portion of the giant concrete building to collapse. All told, 125
people were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 aboard the airliner.
Approximately 20 minutes after the nerve center of the U.S. military was struck, the south tower
of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke. The skyscraper was
built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour and a typical large fire. However, it
could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel. At 10:28 a.m., the
other Trade Center tower collapsed.
Close to 3,000 people died in the World Trade Center and the area, including a staggering 343
firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police
officers. They were struggling to evacuate the buildings and save the office workers trapped on
higher floors. Only six people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of their collapse
survived. More than 6,000 others were treated for injuries, many severe.
Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane – United Flight 93 – was hijacked about 40 minutes
after leaving Newark International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in
taking off, passengers onboard learned of events in New York and Washington by cell phone and
Airfone calls to the ground. The hijackers claimed the airplane was returning to the airport.
Knowing this was a lie, a group of passengers and flight attendants decided to fight back. One of
the passengers, Thomas Burnett Jr., told his wife over the phone that "I know we're all going to
die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey." Another
passenger, Todd Beamer, was heard saying, "Are you guys ready? Let's roll" over an open line.
Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a
galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were, "Everyone's
running to first class. I've got to go. Bye."
The passengers fought the four hijackers. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the
ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field in western Pennsylvania at
10:03 a.m. All 45 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known. Theories include
the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland or a nuclear
power plant along the east coast.
