Terror struck America Tuesday, September 11, as three out of four airliners struck their targets and killed thousands and injured more in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
At 8:45 am, a Boeing 767, American Airlines Flight 11, struck one of the twin towers. At 9:03 am, a second airliner struck the second tower, just as emergency crews were helping people in the first tower, and as America watched everything on television.
Both towers were burning and pluming smoke, ash and debris. At 9:17 am, the FAA shut down New York City airports, and moments later, all routes out of New York were closed.
President Bush made his first statement of the day at 9:30 am from Florida, stating that America had suffered an “apparent terrorist attack.”
At 9:40 am, the FAA shut down all US airports and for the first time in history, halts air traffic nationwide.
Only three minutes later, a third jet crashed into the Pentagon, followed by an immediate evacuation and partial building collapse. The White House was evacuated two minutes later at 9:45 am.
The South tower fell moments later, crashing to the streets below, sending a fast moving cloud of smoke and debree.
Meanwhile, at the Pentagon, a portion of the side struck by the third jet, colapses. A fourth plane would be reported as having gone down near Pittsburgh.
At 10:13 am, over 12,000 employees evacuated the United Nations.
The North tower fell at 10:28 am, and the skyline of New York City was forever changed, scarred by the collapse of two of the tallest buildings in the world. Over 200 stories of concrete, glass, and metal fell to the ground as millions watched on national television.
At 10:48 am, a fourth jet was confirmed to have crashed near Pittsburgh. Local news in Pittsburgh would later report that it was thought the pilot crashed the plane as it was being hijacked.
By this time, all government buildings in Washington D.C. were evacuated. The devastation was, however, not over.
For the hours that followed, rescue efforts were organized, and citizens of New York rallied to donate blood, which was in short supply as the injured were brought in to over 50 hospitals in the area.
Just after noon, it was announced by the Immigration and Naturalization Services that all borders to Mexico and Canda were sealed, and later, national news would report that battle groups had been deployed on the east coast, including two aircraft carriers.
At 2:00 pm, the FBI announced to CNN that they were under the assumption that the four planes were hijacked as part of a terrorist attack.
Around 5:30 pm, World Trade Building Number Seven collapsed due to the extensive damage sustained during the collapse of the other buildings.
The repercussions continue, as the leaders of the country continually try to form support for the president and the country, and try to send the message to the world that the U.S. is still together. The media continue to provide possible suspects, starting with Bin Laden.
Today, September 11, is national “911 Day.”