Americas day of terror
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Front Page | One year on
THE FOUR
HIJACKS		 TRADE CENTER
DISASTER		 IN PICTURES TWIN TOWERS
TENANTS		 TIMELINE EYEWITNESS


0838 Eastern Daylight Time
The Federal Aviation Administration alerted NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command: the military organisation which monitors the skies over the United States and Canada] that American Airlines Flight 11 had been hijacked.

1238
GMT		  AUDIO/VIDEO

0846
At the height of New York’s morning rush hour American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

1253
GMT
10 Video footage of the first crash 10
10 The BBC's Stephen Evans was in the Trade Center when the first explosion happened
10

0853
F-15 fighters scrambled to deal with American Airlines Flight 11 are airborne, having taken off from Otis Air National Guard Base in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

 1246
GMT

0903
News cameras trained on the burning tower captured the horrifying view of another passenger jet, United Airlines Flight 175, crashing into the south tower of the Trade Center causing a devastating explosion. It had left Boston for Los Angeles carrying 65 passengers and crew. It became clear that the catastrophe was not an accident.

At the same time, FAA notified NORAD that United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston to Los Angeles had also been hijacked.

 1303
GMT
10 The second crash was seen live on TV 10
10 Eyewitness Ash Rajan described the moments when the towers were hit
10

0910
In Florida President Bush was reading to children in a classroom when his chief of staff, Andrew Card, whispered news of the attacks into his ear.

1310
GMT

0920
The FBI announced that it was investigating reports of planes being hijacked.

 1320
GMT

0929
Rescue workers and firefighters rushed to the foot of the World Trade Center as the upper floors blazed. On an ordinary day, up to 50,000 people would be working in the Trade Center.

 1329
GMT
10 Kenneth Jahanaman, a janitor at the World Trade Center, describes the chaos
10
10 Eyewitnesses saw people jumping from the towers
10

0930
A grim-faced President Bush declared: "We have had a national tragedy. Two aeroplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country."

 1330
GMT
10 President Bush makes an emergency statement
10

0937
American Airlines Flight 77, carrying 64 people from Washington to Los Angeles, crashed into the Pentagon in Washington. The nerve centre of the US military burst into flames and a section of the five-sided structure collapsed. F-16 fighters were still 100 miles away when the plane crashed. President Bush authorised fighters to shoot down any other aircraft that threatened targets in Washington.

 1337
GMT
10 The BBC’s Stephen Cviic described the reaction in Washington
10

0945
The White House and The Capitol were evacuated amid further threats.

 1345
GMT
10 The BBC’s Rob Watson reported on the day in Washington
10

0950
All airports across the US were shut down and all commercial flights grounded.

 1350
GMT

0957
Passengers on United Flight 93 over Pennsylvania began a revolt. A hijacker at the controls attempted to roll the plane and pitch it up and down, in order to disrupt the assault. At 1002, the hijackers were about to be overcome. One of them can be heard on the cockpit voice recorder shouting to his co-hijacker: "Pull it down! Pull it down!"

 1357
GMT

0959
The south tower of the World Trade Center suddenly collapsed sending a massive pall of smoke across Manhattan. Many emergency workers and firefighters were crushed, as well all those who could not get out of the tower.

 1403
GMT
10 The first tower collapses 10

1003
United Airlines Flight 93 crashed 80 miles (128 km) south east of Pittsburgh. It had been bound for San Francisco from Newark, New Jersey.

 1405
GMT
10 Relatives of passenger Mark Bingham said he called them on his mobile phone just before the crash
10

1028
The north tower of the World Trade Center collapsed as well, adding to the devastation and loss of life. The southern part of Manhattan Island was covered in a thick layer of debris and dust

 1429
GMT

1239
President Bush made a second statement, in which he vowed to hunt down and punish those responsible.

 1629
GMT

1320
President Bush left Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and flew to Omutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.

 1720
GMT

1344
The Pentagon deployed five battleships and two aircraft carriers along the east coast of the US to provide upgraded air defence for the New York and Washington areas.

 1744
GMT

1350
Washington DC Mayor Anthony Williams declared a state of emergency in the US federal capital.

 1750
GMT

1448
New York's mayor Rudy Giuliani said the eventual death toll from Tuesday's attack may be "more than any of us can bear”.

 1848
GMT

1630
President Bush left Offutt Air Force Base aboard Air Force One to return to the White House in Washington.

 2030
GMT

1720
Number 7, World Trade Center, a 47 storey building adjacent to the ruins of the twin towers, collapsed.

 2120
GMT

2030
President Bush addressed the nation on TV and hinted at a strong US response against the "terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them".

0030
GMT
10 President Bush “Today our fellow citizens, our freedom, our way of life came under attack”
10
10 The BBC’s James Robbins looks back over America’s darkest day
10
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