Flight 175 crashing into WTC 2, while WTC 1 is already burning.
The September 11th attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks carried out by the Islamist extremist group al-Qaeda in 2001, in the United States.
The attacks began when hijackers seized four commercial airliners. The first two planes targeted the World Trade Center (Mainly the Twin Towers) in New York City. At 8:46 AM, American Airlines Flight 11 (a Boeing 767-223ER) that had departed from Boston Logan International Airport-was deliberately crashed by hijacker Mohamed Atta into the North Tower (1 World Trade Center ) between the 93rd and 99th floors. The impact destroyed all stairwells and elevators, trapping approximately 1,344 people above the impact zone; none survived.
At 9:03 AM, United Airlines Flight 175 (a Boeing 767-200) that had also departed from Boston-was flown by hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi into the South Tower (2 World Trade Center) between the 77th and 85th floors. This left only one stairwell (Stairwell A) partially intact, trapping more than 600 people above the impact zone.
The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 AM, followed by the North Tower at 10:28 AM. The collapses of both towers caused widespread destruction. Debris from the North Tower severely damaged 7 World Trade Center, which later collapsed at 5:21 PM Several surrounding buildings were also heavily affected, including:
- The Deutsche Bank Building (severely damaged and later demolished between 2007 and 2011),
- Brookfield Place (façade damage and collapse of a pedestrian bridge),
- St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (originally built in the 1830s and destroyed by the Collapse of the South Tower),
- World Trade Center 3, 4, 6, (all destroyed by the collapses)
- World Trade Center 5 (badly damaged by debris and fires)
- Fiterman Hall (opened in 1959, severely damaged by the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, and subsequently rebuilt).
A third attack occurred at 9:37 AM, when American Airlines Flight 77 (a Boeing 757-223) departing from Washington Dulles International Airport-was crashed by five hijackers into the western side of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The impact caused a partial collapse of the building. Among those killed was Master Sergeant Max Beilke, the last US combat soldier to leave Vietnam.
The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93 (a Boeing 757-222) that had departed from Newark International Airport-was also hijacked. After passengers and crew attempted to regain control, the aircraft crashed into a field near Shanksville in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, at 10:03 AM, preventing it from reaching its intended target, believed to be in Washington, DC.
These attacks resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths and marked the deadliest terrorist incident(s) in history.