September 11 2001

September 11, 2001, was the day that a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States took place. Early in the morning, operatives of al-Qaida hijacked four US airplanes with intention of attacking symbols of America's financial and military might.

Nineteen hijackers took control of airplanes from the United Airlines and American Airlines companies. Two planes, American Flight 111 and United Airlines Flight 175, both leaving Boston's Logan Airport, were crashed into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The first plane struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. Approximately fifteen minutes later, as live television coverage was focused on the World Trade Center, United 175 crashed into the South Tower.

At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77, out of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., crashed into the Pentagon. A fourth flight, United 93, crashed into a open field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh, after passengers fought back. It is believed that either the White House or Capitol was its intended target.

At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, about an hour after impact. The North Tower collapsed half an hour later, damaging a third building which also later collapsed. The attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,977 at both sites in New York and at the Pentagon.