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September 11, 2001. It was a Tuesday. The air in New York City was crisp, the sky was blue, deep blue, extreme blue some have said. Not a single cloud.
Details about that day and that date may not mean anything special to you. But they probably mean something special to people your parents’ age and other adults. For many people, you need only say, “September 11.” They’ll know exactly what you’re talking about. No need to even say the year.
September 11 was the day so many things changed. For the first time since the British burned down the White House in 1814, the continental United States was attacked. In Manhattan (one of New York City’s five boroughs). In Washington, D.C. And in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The attacks were carried out by 19 terrorists connected to al-Qaeda, an Islamist militant group. They hijacked four commercial airplanes and used them as weapons. The events took place in a matter of hours. They started early that Tuesday morning.
◀ American Airlines Flight 11 takes off from Boston Logan International Airport in Massachusetts. The plane is headed for Los Angeles, California. On board are 11 crew members, 76 passengers, and 5 hijackers. Plus, over 76,000 pounds of fuel.
United Airlines Flight 175 takes off from Boston Logan International Airport. It is bound for Los Angeles. In addition to 5 hijackers, 9 crew members and 51 passengers are on board. The plane is carrying 76,000 pounds of fuel. ▶
◀ American Airlines Flight 77 is headed for Los Angeles. It takes off from Dulles International Airport, outside of Washington, D.C. It’s carrying 6 crew members, 53 passengers, 5 hijackers, and 49,900 pounds of fuel.
▲ The World Trade Center is a busy place. The North Tower (1 World Trade Center) and the South Tower (2 World Trade Center) are each over 100 stories tall. About 50,000 people work here. At least three times that number pass through as visitors every day. About 17,400 people are in the WTC buildings at 8:30 a.m.
United Airlines Flight 93 takes off from Newark International Airport in New Jersey. The plane, which is filled with almost 49,000 pounds of fuel, is bound for San Francisco, California. On board are 7 crew members, 33 passengers, and 4 hijackers. ▶
The hijackers deliberately crash United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower. No one on board the plane survives. Hundreds inside the building are killed instantly. Hundreds more have no means of escape. Airspace over New York City is shut down. ▶
◀ The hijackers deliberately crash American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower. No one on board the plane survives. Hundreds inside the building become instant victims. Hundreds more are trapped inside. Firefighters, paramedics, and police are sent to the scene immediately. By 9:02 a.m., people are being told to evacuate both towers.
▲ The hijackers deliberately crash American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, in Washington, DC. No one on the airplane survives. Over 100 people working at the Pentagon are also victims. Within five minutes, all planes in U.S. airspace are ordered to land. Two and a half hours later, the last of 4,500 planes lands. Buildings, bridges, and other public spaces are being closed throughout the country. A few minutes after 9:37, everyone at the White House and the U.S. Capitol building is evacuated.
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▲ The South Tower collapses. The process takes place in only 10 seconds. One eyewitness describes the collapse as a loud cracking sound. People who live and work near the Trade Center describe how the collapse broke windows, letting in a huge cloud of dust and debris. The dust and debris traveled far from the scene. It floated across the East River to the streets and gardens in Brooklyn and beyond.
▲ The crew and passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 break into the cockpit to retake control of the plane from the hijackers. But the plane crashes into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. (That’s near Shanksville, about 20 minutes from Washington, D.C. Many believe the plane was headed for the White House or the Capitol building.) Five minutes before the crash, 37 phone calls are made from passengers on the flight, including one to 9-1-1.
▲ The part of the Pentagon that was damaged in the attack collapses.
▲ The North Tower burns for over an hour and a half and then collapses in a matter of seconds. More than a thousand people are trapped inside at the time of the collapse. Thirteen first responders and one “civilian” survive. One of the survivors, a firefighter, describes a very loud noise, like a roar, and wind that actually lifted him off the ground.
Search and rescue work began at Ground Zero right after the attack. (Ground Zero is a term usually used to describe the destruction created by an atomic bomb, but it came to be used to describe the exact location of the attacks.) Sixteen people survived the collapse. Fourteen of them were all in a particular stairwell, known as Stairwell B, in the North Tower. Rescue operations ended midday on September 12. ▶
◀ The 47-story building known as 7 World Trade Center collapses. (The original World Trade Center complex included seven buildings.) 7WTC had been burning for hours. But since the entire area had been evacuated earlier, there were no fatalities.
◀ On the night of September 11, President George Bush spoke to the country from the White House. He explained what the country would do in response to the attacks. The next day, President Bush visited the Pentagon site. On September 14, he visited Ground Zero in Manhattan. Here is some of what President Bush said the day of the attack.
The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I’ve directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor [hide] them.
Think Piece!
What do you think President Bush meant by the phrase “bring them [the terrorists] to justice”? What are your ideas about what justice for the terrorists might be?
