William Kratzke, The Associated PressA plane approaches New York's World Trade Center moments before it struck the tower at left, as seen from downtown Brooklyn, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. In an unprecedented show of terrorist horror, the 110 story towers collapsed in a shower of rubble and dust after 2 hijacked airliners carrying scores of passengers slammed into them.
Carmen Taylor, The Associated PressIn this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, a jet airliner is lined up on one of the World Trade Center towers in New York.
Chao Soi Cheong, The Associated PressSmoke billows from one of the towers of the World Trade Center and flames and debris explode from the second tower, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Chao Soi Cheong, The Associated Press
Todd Hollis, The Associated PressA fireball erupts from one of the World Trade Center towers as it is struck by the second of two airplanes in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
Spencer Platt, Getty ImagesHijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center and explodes at 9:03 a.m. on September 11, 2001 in New York City.
Richard Drew, The Associated PressDebris falls from one of the burning twin towers of the World Trade Center after a hijacked plane crashed into the tower on Sept. 11, 2001 in New York City. Richard Drew, The Associated Press
The Associated Press, ABC via APTNA ball of fire explodes from one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York after a plane crashed into it in this image made from television Tuesday Sept. 11, 2001. The aircraft was the second to fly into the tower Tuesday morning.
Gene Boyars, The Associated pressAs seen from the New Jersey Turnpike near Kearny, N.J., smoke billows from the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York after airplanes crashed into both towers Tuesday, Sept.11, 2001.
David Karp, The Associated PressFire and smoke billows from the north tower of New York's World Trade Center Tuesday Sept. 11, 2001 after terrorists crashed two hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and brought down the twin 110-story towers.
Richard Drew, The Associated PressDebris fall from one of the burning twin towers of the World Trade Center after a hijacked plane crashed into the tower on September 11, 2001 in New York City.
Gulnara Samoilova, The Associated PressSmoke billows from the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York Tuesday Sept. 11, 2001.
Jose Jimenez, Primera Hora, Getty ImagesPeople hang from the windows of the North Tower of the World Trade Center after a hijacked airliner hit the building September 11, 2001 in New York City.
Marty Lederhandler, The Associated PressThis Sept. 11, 2001 file photo shows the twin towers of the World Trade Center burning behind the Empire State Building in New York.
Gulnara Samoilova, Associated Press fileThe south tower of New York's World Trade Center, left, begins to collapse after a terrorist attack on the buildings on Sept. 11, 2001. Federal investigators believe the second World Trade Center tower fell much more quickly than the first because it faced a more concentrated, intense fire inside, officials said Tuesday. Oct. 19, 2004. Investigators have singled out this Associated Press photograph that they said may provide evidence to support their theory which shows a "kink" in the building's corner at the 106th floor. Gulnara Samoilova, The Associated Press
Suzanne Plunkett, The Associated PressPeople run from the collapse of World Trade Center Tower Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 in New York. Suzanne Plunkett, The Associated Press
Richard Drew, The Associated PressA person falls from the north tower of New York's World Trade Center in this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, after terrorists crashed two hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and brought down the twin 110-story towers.
Doug Mills, The Associated PressPresident Bush's Chief of Staff Andy Card whispers into the ear of the President to give him word of the plane crashes into the World Trade Center, during a visit to the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
Richard Drew, Associated Press fileThe south tower of New York's World Trade Center collapses Tuesday Sept. 11, 2001.
Shawn Baldwin, The Associated PressA man cries on Sept. 11, 2001 after witnessing the collapse of the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
People run from the collapse of World Trade Center Tower Sept. 11, 2001 in New York.
Mario Tama, Getty ImagesA firefighter breaks down after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed Sept. 11, 2001 after two hijacked airplanes slammed into the twin towers in a terrorist attack.
Survivors of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks make their way through smoke, dust and debris on Fulton St., about a block from the collapsed towers Sept. 11, 2001 in New York.
Gulnara Samoilova, The Associated PressEmergency workers help a women after she was injured in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
Mario Tama, Getty ImagesPeople walk in the street in the area where the World Trade Center buildings collapsed September 11, 2001 after two airplanes slammed into the twin towers in a suspected terrorist attack.
Gulnara Samoilova, The Associated PressJulie McDermott, center, walks with other victims as they make their way amid debris near the World Trade Center in New York Tuesday Sept. 11, 2001.
Stan Honda, AFPThis 11 Sept. 2001 file photo shows Marcy Borders covered in dust as she takes refuge in an office building after one of the World Trade Center towers collapsed in New York. Borders was caught outside on the street as the cloud of smoke and dust enveloped the area.
Doug Kanter, AFP/Getty ImagesAn ambulance, covered with debris, is on fire after the collapse of the first World Trade Center Tower 11 September, 2001 in New York.
Robert Mecea, The Associated Press via NewsdayA fireman screams in pain during his rescue shortly after both towers of New York's World Trade Center collapsed following a terrorist attack, Sept. 11, 2001.
Mark Lennihan, The Associated PressDestroyed mullions, the vertical struts which once faced the soaring outer walls of the World Trade Center towers, are the only thing left standing behind a lone fireman, after a terrorist attack on the twin towers of lower Manhattan Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
Doug Kanter, AFPA man with a fire extinguisher walks through rubble after the collapse of the first World Trade Center Tower 11 September, 2001, in New York. The man was shouting as he walked looking for victims who needed assistance. Both towers collapsed after being hit by hijacked passengers planes.
Alexandre Fuchs, AFPThe rubble of the World Trade Center smolders following a terrorist attack 11 Sept. 2001 in New York.
Stan Honda, AFPEdward Fine covering his mouth as he walks through the debris after the collapse of one of the World Trade Center Towers in New York. Fine was on the 78th floor of 1 World Trade Center when it was hit by a hijacked plane 11 September, 2001.
Daniel Shanken, The Associated PressPeople flee lower Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, following a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Thomas E. Franklin, The Associated Press via The RecordBrooklyn firefighters George Johnson, left, of ladder 157, Dan McWilliams, center, of ladder 157, and Billy Eisengrein, right, of Rescue 2, raise a flag at the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, as work at the site continues after hijackers crashed two airliners into the center.
Gulnara Samoilova, The Associated PressDeputy U.S. marshal Dominic Guadagnoli helps a women after she was injured in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
Graham Morrison, The Associated PressFirefighters walk through smoldering debris at the site of the World Trade Center in New York Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
Diane Bondareff, The Associated PressPeople flee the scene near New York's World Trade Center after terrorists crashed two planes into the towers Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
Amy Sancetta, The Associated PressPedestrians flee the area of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan following a terrorist attack on the New York landmark Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
Will Morris, The Associated PressFlames and smoke pour from a building at the Pentagon Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, after a direct, devastating hit from an aircraft.
Alex Wong, Getty ImagesSmoke comes out from the Southwest E-ring of the Pentagon building Sept. 11, 2001 in Arlington, Va., after a plane crashed into the building and set off a huge explosion. Alex Wong, Getty Images
Wally Santana, the Associated PressConstruction workers continue to clear the rubble at the site of the World Trade Center, destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, on September 15, 2001.
Ron Edmonds, The Associated PressWork continues at the Pentagon Monday, Sept. 17, 2001, six days after a hijacker flew American Airlines Flt. 77 into the building during the Sept. 11 attacks.
David Maxwell, AFPOfficials examine the crater 11 Sept. 2001 at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The plane from Newark, New Jersey, and bound for San Francisco, California, was hijacked and crashed in the field killing all 45 people on board.
Shawn Baldwin, The Associated PressCars are buried under debris in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Doug Kanter, AFP/Getty ImagesA truck sits in the rubble in lower Manhattan 11 September, 2001, in New York after two planes flew into the World Trade Center twin towers.
Beth A. Keiser, The Associated PressAn American flag flies over the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York, Sept. 13, 2001.
Jim Watson, Getty Images via U.S. NavyA New York City fireman calls for 10 more rescue workers to make their way into the rubble of the World Trade Center Sept. 14, 2001 days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
Dan Loh, The Associated PressThe Statue of Liberty can be seen at first light from a view from Jersey City, N.J., as the lower Manhattan skyline is seen though a thick smoke filled the sky early Saturday, Sept. 15, 2001.
William Kratzke, The Associated Press
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A plane approaches New York's World Trade Center moments before it struck the tower at left, as seen from downtown Brooklyn, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. In an unprecedented show of terrorist horror, the 110 story towers collapsed in a shower of rubble and dust after 2 hijacked airliners carrying scores of passengers slammed into them.
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By Glen Barber | The Denver Post
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Getting your player ready...
At 8:46 on the morning of September 11, 2001, the United States became a nation transformed. An airliner traveling at hundreds of miles per hour and carrying some 10,000 gallons of jet fuel plowed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. At 9:03, a second airliner hit the South Tower.
Fire and smoke billowed upward. Steel, glass, ash, and bodies fell below. The Twin Towers, where up to 50,000 people worked each day, both collapsed less than 90 minutes later.
At 9:37 that same morning, a third airliner slammed into the western face of the Pentagon. At 10:03, a fourth airliner crashed in a field in southern Pennsylvania. It had been aimed at the United States Capitol or the White House, and was forced down by heroic passengers armed with the knowledge that America was under attack.
More than 2,600 people died at the World Trade Center; 125 died at the Pentagon; 256 died on the four planes. The death toll surpassed that at Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
This immeasurable pain was inflicted by 19 young Arabs acting at the behest of Islamist extremists headquartered in distant Afghanistan. Some had been in the United States for more than a year, mixing with the rest of the population. Though four had training as pilots, most were not well-educated. Most spoke English poorly, some hardly at all.
In groups of four or five, carrying with them only small knives, box cutters, and cans of Mace or pepper spray, they had hijacked the four planes and turned them into deadly guided missiles.
— The 9/11 Commission Report
