On September 11, 2001, 19 Islamist Al Qaida terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger planes in a coordinated attack that changed the course of modern history. Two aircraft were deliberately flown into the North and South towers of New York’s World Trade Centre, while a third struck the Pentagon near Washington, DC. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers.
Flight 11 hit the North Tower at 8.46 am, followed by Flight 175 striking the South Tower at 9.03 am. The South Tower collapsed at 9.59 am, Flight 93 crashed at 10.03 am, and the North Tower fell at 10.28 am. The attacks killed 2,977 people from 90 countries and triggered a vast rescue and recovery operation.
Look back in photos at the events of that day, from the attacks
FILES) In this file photo, United Airlines Flight 175 approaches the South Tower of the World Trade Centre as smoke billows from the North Tower in lower Manhattan, New York, on September 11, 2001.An ambulance, covered with debris, is on fire after the collapse of the first World Trade Center Tower on September 11, 2001 in New York. September 11, 2026, marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. A military helicopter takes off after dropping off personnel at the Pentagon, Sept. 12, 2001, after a terrorist crashed a hijacked airliner into the building the day before.This 11 September 2001 file photo shows a police officer (R) and others walking up Park Row from St. Paul’s Chapel (background), a few blocks from the World Trade Center site, in streets covered with debris in New York City shortly after the two towers collapsed. This file photo from September 11, 2001 shows hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m. in New York CityA man standing in the rubble, and calling out asking if anyone needs help, after the collapse of the first World Trade Center Tower in New York City..The twin towers of the World Trade Center billow smoke after hijacked airliners crashed into them early on September 11, 2001.Smoke still billows from the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 in Washington, DC, after a hijacked airplane crashed into the facility, the nerve center of the United States military. The rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York. Then US President George W. Bush standing next to retired firefighter Bob Beckwith, 69, speaks to volunteers and firemen as he surveys the damage at the site of the World Trade Center in this September 14, 2001 file photo in New York.Two women embrace each other as they watch the World Trade Center burn following a terrorist attack on the twin skyscrapers in New York, Sept. 11, 2001. People in front of New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral react as they look down Fifth Ave towards the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001Pedestrians run from the scene as one of the World Trade Center Towers collapses on September 11, 2001 in New York.People make their way through a cloud of caustic dust after terrorists flew two airliners into the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York. Firefighters and engineers examine the damaged side of the Pentagon in Washington, DC on September 12, 2001. The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses sending dust and smoke into the streets on September 11, 2001, in New York. This file picture shows Edward Fine covering his mouth as he walks through the debris after the collapse of one of the World Trade Center Towers 11 September, 2001 in New YorkA hijacked commercial plane crashes into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York.Then US President George W. Bush talks on the phone with New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani and Gov. George Pataki aboard Air Force One on September 11, 2001. Firemen make their way through rubble and debris after the collapse of one of the World Trade Center Towers on September 11, 2001 in New York.Investigative personnel search the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 looking for debris and evidence, including the plane’s flight recorder, September 12, 2001 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Firefighters, police, and first responders’ families participate in a ceremony and mass to honor the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, on August 30, 2026, in New York City.
