On September 11, 2001, four commercial airplanes were hijacked and crashed at three locations: two into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and one into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The attacks killed 2,976 people and injured thousands more.
World Trade Center, New York City
The first plane to hit was American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 traveling from Boston to Los Angeles. At 8:46 a.m., it struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center between floors 93 and 99, with its nose impacting the 96th floor. The plane was traveling roughly 429 mph and carrying about 10,000 gallons of jet fuel. Everyone above the impact zone, more than a thousand people in the top 18 stories, was trapped with no way to escape.
Seventeen minutes later, at 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175, also a Boeing 767 out of Boston bound for Los Angeles, slammed into the South Tower. It hit at approximately 503 mph, significantly faster than the first plane. The impact was broadcast live on television, as cameras had already been trained on the burning North Tower. The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., and the North Tower followed at 10:28 a.m. The collapse of both towers destroyed or severely damaged multiple surrounding buildings across Lower Manhattan.
The Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia
American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757 that had departed Washington Dulles for Los Angeles, hit the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. traveling about 345 mph. The plane struck the western side of the building, hitting between two sections known as Wedge 1 and Wedge 2. This detail turned out to matter: Wedge 1 had just undergone a major renovation that included structural reinforcements designed to protect against bombings. The first tenants had only moved back into the renovated section in February 2001, seven months before the attack. That upgraded portion held up far better than the older, unrenovated section next to it, likely reducing the death toll. Even so, 184 people were killed at the Pentagon, including everyone on the plane and workers inside the building.
Shanksville, Pennsylvania
United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 flying from Newark to San Francisco, crashed into an empty field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:03 a.m. It was the only hijacked plane that did not reach its intended target. Investigators later determined, through recovered evidence and interrogations, that the terrorists were most likely heading for the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., where Congress was in session that morning.
The plane never made it because the passengers and crew fought back. After learning about the other attacks through phone calls to family members, they mounted an assault on the cockpit. The hijackers ultimately crashed the plane into the ground rather than lose control of it. All 40 passengers and crew members on board were killed.
How the Four Flights Connected
All four planes were transcontinental flights departing from East Coast airports, chosen because they carried large fuel loads for cross-country travel. Two left from Boston’s Logan Airport (Flights 11 and 175), one from Washington Dulles (Flight 77), and one from Newark (Flight 93). The 19 hijackers divided into four teams, with five on each plane except Flight 93, which had four. The entire sequence of attacks unfolded in just 77 minutes, from the first impact at 8:46 a.m. to the final crash at 10:03 a.m.
The Crash Sites Today
Each of the three crash sites is now home to an official memorial. In Lower Manhattan, the National September 11 Memorial occupies the footprints of the twin towers, with two massive reflecting pools surrounded by bronze panels inscribed with the names of those who died. The 9/11 Memorial Museum sits below ground at the same site. At the Pentagon, 184 illuminated benches, one for each victim, are arranged in an outdoor memorial park on the western side of the building where the plane hit. Near Shanksville, the Flight 93 National Memorial, managed by the National Park Service, marks the crash site with a Wall of Names and a visitor center overlooking the field where the plane went down.