For Americans and people worldwide, September 11, 2001, remains an unforgettable day. Within three hours, New York’s tallest buildings were reduced to rubble, and the Pentagon, the central hub of the American armed forces, was burning and partially collapsed. Thousands of civilians lost their lives or sustained serious injuries, leaving the entire country in shock, grappling with how such a large-scale act of terrorism occurred on American soil.
In the two decades since 9/11, the morning’s events have been extensively analyzed from numerous perspectives. Despite the attacks occurring just before the era of mobile phone cameras, there are countless images and videos of the event. Additionally, the 9/11 Commission Report, based on interviews with over 1,200 people across 10 countries and two and a half million pages of documents, provides comprehensive findings.
For many younger people, 9/11 represents a somber milestone from their youth, though the specifics may be less clear.
Chronology of 9/11 terror attack
The 9/11 attacks were a coordinated hijacking of four commercial airplanes that used to target high-profile locations in New York City and Washington, DC. Here is a summary of the flights involved. The four flights were central to the events that morning. Early on September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers passed through security at airports in Boston, Newark, and Washington, DC.
The three-hour timeline begins just before 8 a.m., as the first plane involved in the attack departs Boston.
7:59 a.m: American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 with 81 passengers and 11 crew members, departs Logan International Airport in Boston, headed for Los Angeles International Airport.
8:14 a.m: United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767 with 56 passengers and 9 crew members, departs Logan International Airport in Boston, bound for Los Angeles International Airport.
8:14 a.m: Flight 11 is hijacked over central Massachusetts with five hijackers onboard.
-8:20 a.m: American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757 with 58 passengers and 6 crew members, departs Washington Dulles International Airport for Los Angeles International Airport.
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8:42 a.m: United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 with 37 passengers and 7 crew members, departs Newark International Airport, headed for San Francisco International Airport.
8:42–8:46 a.m: Flight 175 is hijacked over northwest New Jersey with five hijackers onboard.
8:46 a.m: Flight 11 crashes into the north face of the North Tower (1 WTC) of the World Trade Center, between floors 93 and 99, killing all 92 people on board.
8:50–8:54 a.m: Flight 77 is hijacked over southern Ohio with five hijackers onboard.
9:03 a.m: Flight 175 crashes into the south face of the South Tower (2 WTC) of the World Trade Center, between floors 77 and 85, killing all 65 people on board.
9:28 a.m: Flight 93 is hijacked over northern Ohio with four hijackers onboard.
9:37 a.m: Flight 77 crashes into the western side of The Pentagon, killing all 64 people on board.
9:45 a.m: United States airspace is shut down, with all operating aircraft ordered to land at the nearest airport.
9:59 a.m: The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses, 56 minutes after the impact of Flight 175.
10:03 a.mL Flight 93 is crashed by its hijackers in a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Subsequent reports indicate that passengers, having learned about the other crashes, resisted the hijackers. All 44 people on board are killed.
10:28 a.m: The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses, 1 hour and 42 minutes after the impact of Flight 11. The Marriott Hotel at the base of the towers is also destroyed.
10:50 a.m: Five stories of the Pentagon’s western side collapse due to the fire.
Two and a half hours after the first plane left Boston, the iconic “Twin Towers” lay in ruins in Lower Manhattan, and first responders and military personnel were working urgently to save lives and secure the country.
2,977 people killed in 9/11 attack
President George W. Bush, who was visiting a school in Florida when the attacks occurred, announced from the school that the events in New York City were an “apparent terrorist attack on our country.” Moments after the president’s announcement at 09:37 AM, a third hijacked plane was deliberately crashed into The Pentagon, the US defense headquarters near Washington, DC. A fourth plane, believed to be targeting the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the hijackers.
The attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,977 people (excluding the 19 hijackers) and injured thousands. Many firefighters and police officers developed illnesses due to their exposure to toxic dust, smoke, and debris from the collapsed buildings.
The towers were iconic, appearing in numerous movies and TV shows set in New York before 2001. The attack aimed to shock the world, with millions watching live coverage of the events. In California, where it was 07:30 AM when the second tower fell, 11-year-old Carrie had just boarded her school bus. She recalls that everyone was confused and her teacher was very sad. Instead of continuing with regular subjects, they discussed the attacks and the uncertainty of the situation.
Lasting impact of 9/11
The Pentagon has been repaired, and a new, 94-story World Trade Center now stands in Lower Manhattan’s skyline, but not all wounds have healed.
Many 9/11 survivors continue to suffer from health issues linked to the toxic smoke from the attacks and building collapse. Others grieve the loss of nearly 3,000 loved ones who perished.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), established in 2003, represents a significant legacy of the 9/11 attacks, marking the largest U.S. government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense. This layer of security has also led to more stringent airport protocols worldwide.
Moreover, the recent withdrawal from Afghanistan serves as a reminder that the impact of the attack still influences current events, even after two decades.
Al-Qaeda behind the 9/11 attack
The group behind the attacks was identified as al-Qaeda, an Islamist extremist group led by Osama bin Laden, who blamed America for many of the world’s problems. Al-Qaeda’s plan, known as the ‘planes attack,’ began in 1998 and by 2000, they had entered the US. Nineteen individuals carried out the hijackings, with each group including someone trained as a pilot at US flight schools. US security officials were aware of the group’s intentions but were surprised by the scale and execution of the well-organized attack.
The attacks led to international outrage and prompted President George W. Bush to declare a “war on terror.” In October 2001, the US, supported by other countries including Britain, led an invasion of Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda, hunt down bin Laden, and remove the Taliban from power. Although the Taliban government was removed, it was only ten years later that the US located and killed bin Laden. The military involvement in Afghanistan continued for several years, becoming the longest war in American history. It was only this year, 20 years after 9/11, that the final British and American troops departed as the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan.
