9/11/01 Timeline - The day the hearts of America broke.

5:45 AM 

Starting at 5:45 AM and over the next hour and a half, 19 hijackers are ultimately cleared through several airport security stations in the north east. This includes 8 randomly tagged for screening and two being flagged as suspicious. None are prevented from boarding.

6:00 AM 

September 11 is a primary election day in New York City. Many police officers begin their days early at polling stations.

7:59 AM 

Flight 11 takes off from Logan Airport bound for Los Angeles. (76 passengers, 11 crew, and 5 hijackers are on the flight)

8:00 AM 

Conferences open at The World Trade Center; Risk Waters Technology at Windows on the World, National Association of Business Economics, a dance concert in The World Trade Center’s outdoor plaza and a Peace Corps information session are included amongst the day’s events.

8:14 AM 

Flight 175 takes off from Logan Airport bound for Los Angeles. ( 51 passengers, 9 crew, and 5 hijackers are on the flight)

8:14 AM

Al Qaeda terrorists hijack Flight 11 and it is rerouted towards Manhattan using the Hudson River as a navigational guide. (76 passengers, 11 crew, and 5 hijackers are on the flight)

8:19 AM 

Flight 11 flight attendants Betty Ong and Madeline Sweeney stay on the line for almost the entire duration of the flight after its seizure by terrorists. They alert ground personnel of a hijacking in progress “I don’t know, but I think we’re getting hijacked” Flight attendant; Betty Ong. Acting on Ong and Sweeny’s information, American Airline alert the FBI which starts an investigation that will become the largest in the agency’s history. (76 passengers, 11 crew, and 5 hijackers are on the flight)

8:20 AM 

Flight 77 takes off from Washington Dulles International Airport bound for Los Angeles. (53 passengers, 6 crew, and 5 hijackers are on the flight)

8:24 AM 

Flight 11 one of the hijackers unknowingly communicates with air traffic control “We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you will be o.k. We are just returning to the airport.” (76 passengers, 11 crew, and 5 hijackers are on the flight)

8:37 AM 

After hearing the hijackers transmissions, air traffic control contacts the military (NEADS) regarding the hijacking. NEADS alerts Air National Guard and pilots are ordered to locate and tail hijacked flight 11.

8:42 AM 

Flight 93 takes off from Newark International Airport bound for San Francisco. (33 passengers, 7 crew, and 4 hijackers are on the flight)

8:45

Al Qaeda terrorists hijack Flight 175 and it is rerouted towards Manhattan. (51 passengers, 9 crew, and 5 hijackers are on the flight)

8:46 AM – Crash of Flight 11 - North Tower

Flight 11, under control of the hijackers, is crashed into floors 93 - 99 of The World Trade Center North Tower. Of those killed instantly are 76 passengers, 11 crew, 5 hijackers and hundreds in the building. 

“I could see the big airline coming straight towards us” Connie Labetti, South Tower, 99th floor. 

The impact severs all three emergency stairwells, trapping nearly 1,400 people above the 91st floor. 

The numbers of those that immediately perish in the attack: 

Fred Alger Management – 35

Marsh and McClennan-295

Carr Futures-69

Cantor Fitzgerald-658

8:46 AM 

The Fire Department of New York and New York Police Department dispatch units to The World Trade Center. Evacuation of north tower is commenced by the assistance of Port Authority Police Department and other assisting command posts.

8:50 AM 

During a visit to an elementary school in Florida, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card tells President George W. Bush that a plane has hit The World Trade Center. 

8:54 AM 

Al Qaeda terrorists hijack Flight 77 and reverse its route back towards Washington D.C. (53 passengers, 6 crew, and 5 hijackers are on the flight)

8:55 AM 

South Tower Port Authority official via Public Address inside the South Tower, “Building two is secure. There is no need to evacuate Building 2. If you are in the midst of evacuation, you may use the re-entry doors and the elevators to return to your office. Repeat, Building two is secure.”

8:59 AM 

Flight 175 transmissions are made from passengers and crew members to loved ones and authorities on the ground as it approaches The World Trade Center. “Hi Jules, its Brian. I’m on an airplane that’s been hijacked…” message left by Brian Sweeney, passenger on flight 175.

9:02 AM 

South Tower Port Authority official via Public Address inside the South Tower; “May I have your attention please. Repeating this message, the situation occurred in Building 1. If the conditions warrant on your floor, you may wish to start and orderly evacuation.” An estimated ten to fourteen thousand people are already evacuating The World Trade Center.

9:03 AM – Crash of Flight 175 - South Tower

Flight 175 under control of the hijackers, is crashed into floors 77 to 85 of The World Trade Center South Tower. Of those killed instantly are 51 passengers, 9 crew, 5 hijackers and hundreds in the building. 

“I could see the big airline coming straight towards us” Connie Labetti, South Tower, 99th floor.

The impact severs two of three emergency stairwells and 80% of the elevator cables, trapping many inside the elevator cars and cutting off escape routes. Stairwell A remains passable and 18 people successfully evacuate down it from above the impact zone.

9:05 AM

President George W. Bush is informed by White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card that a second plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.

9:10 AM

NYPD calls a second Level 4 Mobilization which brings the total deployment to 2,000 men and women. The FDNY issues a second Fifth Alarm dispatching 235 firefighters, 20 engines and eight ladder companies. Other companies and off-duty personnel, not directly called respond to the attacks as well.

9:12 AM

Flight attendant Renee May calls her mother Nancy from Flight 77 and tells her that the flight has been hijacked. She says hijackers took control and herded the passengers and crew to the back of coach class. Renee asks Nancy to contact American Airlines headquarters. Minutes later, passenger Barbara Olson calls her husband, Ted Olson. He tells her of the attacks on The World Trade Center.

9:15 AM

First responders arrive and deploy into the buildings as tenants evacuate North and South Towers. 

The Flight 11 crash severed all three North Tower emergency stairwells. Evacuation on or above the impact floors is impossible.

The Flight 175 crash severed two of the three emergency stairwells. 18 people successfully use the third stairwell to evacuate from above the impact zone.

“It was about the 40th floor when the firefighters started to come up and I remember thinking ‘they are going to climb all the way up to 80?” Connie Labetti, South Tower, 99th Floor.

“The security personnel and fire department people… their eyes… they knew something…. it was dangerous. While I was walking down, they were going up to their death… and I was walking down to live.” Bruno Dellinger, North Tower, 47th Floor.

9:28 AM

Al Qaeda terrorists hijack Flight 93 and it is rerouted towards Washington D.C. (33 passengers, 7 crew, and 4 hijackers are on the flight)

9:30 AM 

The New York City Office of Emergency Management evacuates the headquarters at 7 WTC after Secret Service warns them about additional hijacked planes believed to be heading for New York.

9:36 AM

Secret Service agents evacuate U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and his aides.

9:37 AM - Crash of Flight 77 - Pentagon

Flight 77 under control of the hijackers, is crashed into the Pentagon’s western facade. Of those killed instantly are the 53 passengers, 6 crew, 5 hijackers and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building. An additional 106 are severely injured in the ensuing fire.

“Do me a favor. For the rest of the day, work beneath your desk.” Wife’s comment to John Yates, Army civilian security manager at the Pentagon. This was said during a phone conversation regarding the WTC crashes and yet prior to the pentagon crash.

9:41 AM

The Falling Man photograph is taken by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew. While the falling man’s identity remains uncertain, it is speculated as being that of Jonathan Briley, who worked in a top-floor restaurant. As many as 200 people jumped to their deaths that day. “I just remember looking up and thinking, how bad is it up there that the better option is to jump.” Firefighter Joe Casaliggi.

9:42 AM

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) grounds all flights over or bound for the continental United States.

9:45 AM

Evacuations begin at the White House and Capitol building as well as other high profile buildings in the D.C. area.

9:57 AM - Fight in Flight 93

Thirteen of Flight 93’s crew and passengers manage to alert loved ones and authorities to the hijacking. In turn they are told of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. 

One of the passengers Todd Beamer told a GTE operator supervisor, Lisa Jefferson, that some of the plane's passengers were planning to "jump on" the hijackers and fly the plane into the ground before the hijackers' plan could be followed through. Beamer also recited The Lord's Prayer with Jefferson. According to Jefferson, Beamer's last audible words were "Are you guys ready? Let's roll.”

9:59 AM – Collapse of the South Tower

After burning for 56 minutes, the South Tower collapses in 10 seconds killing approximately 600 workers and first responders in the building and surrounding area.

“We were going down the stairways, the lights flickered, this tremendous roar, the stairway shook… and the building was down…and we were holding onto the banister and the building is shaking… and no one said a word… until the noise stopped. That’s when we were afraid…you could see the fear in people’s faces.” Dianne DeFontes, North Tower, 89th floor describing the sound of the other tower’s collapse as her and others were evacuating North Tower.

10:03 AM – Crash of Flight 93 - Pennsylvania

Flight 93 is crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Of those killed instantly are 33 passengers, 7 crew, and 4 hijackers.

The crash site is approximately 20 minutes flying time from Washington D.C.

Eyewitnesses on the ground report the aircraft’s erratic flight, ending with a crash in the field.

10:15 AM – Collapse of the Pentagon E Ring

At the time of the attack, the Pentagon was under renovation and many offices were unoccupied. Because of the renovation, only 800 of 4,500 people who would have been in the area were there. Furthermore the area hit, was the section best prepared for such an attack. The renovation there (improvements which resulted from the Oklahoma City bombing) had nearly been completed. It was the only area with a sprinkler system and it had been reconstructed with a web of steel columns and bars. This reinforcement kept that section of the building from collapsing for 30 minutes, enough time for hundreds of people to crawl to safety.

10:28 AM – Collapse of the North Tower

After burning for 102 minutes, The North Tower collapses in 11 seconds, killing approximately 1,400 in the building and surrounding areas. After the collapse, light dust reached as far as the Empire State Building 2.93 miles away.

11:02 AM

New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani calls for the evacuation of over one million residents, workers and tourists from lower Manhattan. 

12:16 PM

The last commercial flight above the continental United States lands. In total, air traffic controllers countrywide guide 3,300 commercial flights and 1,200 private planes to airports in Canada and elsewhere in the United States. 

12:30 PM

Miraculously, a section of the North Tower’s stairwell B survives the violent collapse, shielding 13 first responders and a civilian evacuee who are still attempting to evacuate down the stairs. 

“A 110 story building fell on us, and I’m looking up at the sun.” FDNY Lt. Mickey Kross, Engine 16, originally presumed dead.

1:00 PM

Throughout the afternoon, volunteers, first responders, and construction professionals arrive at the site to help search for survivors.

“I didn’t want to see what I knew I was going to see.” John Napolitano, retired FDNY firefighter.

3:00 PM

Rescuers extract Port Authority employee Pasquale Buzzelli from the rubble of the Stairwell B.

5:20 PM – Collapse of 7 WTC

Because lower Manhattan’s waterlines have been compromised, and FDNY cannot get water to the flames, WTC building 7 collapses after burning for hours. There are zero casualties due to the prior evacuations.

8:00 PM

Rescue workers locate trapped PAPD Officers Sgt. John McLoughlin and Officer William Jimeno in the debris of the World Trade Center. They free Officer Jimeno after three hours and Sgt. McLoughlin after 11 hours of dangerous tunneling work. Workers will then extricate the eighteenth survivor, Genelle Guzman-McMillan from the remains of Stairwell B on the afternoon of September 12th. She will be the last person rescued alive.

8:30 PM

President George W. Bush addresses the nation.

“America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism.”