| Terrorist attacks on the United States.
Timeline of events (Eastern Daylight Time): 8:46am
American Airlines flight 11, flying from Boston to Los
Angeles with 92 people on board, crashes into the north
tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, ripping
into multiple floors and igniting a massive fire.
8:47am
Firefighters and emergency crews begin heading for the Trade
Center.
8:50am
Bridges and tunnels leading to Lower Manhattan are closed to
all but emergency vehicles.
9:02am
United Airlines flight 175, flying from Boston to Los
Angeles with 65 people on board, crashes into the south
tower of the World Trade Center, damaging multiple floors
and bursting into flames.
9:17am
The Federal Aviation Administration shuts down every airport
in the New York City area.
9:21am
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey closes every
bridge and tunnel in the New York area.
9:30am
From Florida, President George W. Bush announces the country
has suffered an "apparent terrorist attack," and pledges
that the United States will hunt down the responsible
parties.
9:38am
American Airlines flight 77, flying from Dulles Airport in
Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles with 64 people on board,
crashes into the Pentagon, in northern Virginia, and
explodes into flames.
9:40am
The Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) halts all
flight operations at American airports, and orders every
commercial airliner to land immediately, marking the first
time in U.S. history that air traffic nationwide has been
suspended.
9:48am
In Washington, D.C., workers are evacuated from the U.S.
Capitol and the White House.
9:58am
The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
An emergency operator in Pennsylvania receives a call
from a passenger on United Airlines flight 93, flying from
Newark to San Francisco with 45 people aboard, stating the
plane is being hijacked.
10:10am
Damage from the plane crash causes part of the Pentagon to
collapse.
United Airlines flight 93 crashes to the ground in
Somerset County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh,
heroically brought down by its own passengers after hearing
about the attacks on the World Trade Center. Officials later
speculate that the plane's hijackers had intended to attack
the White House or the Capitol.
10:13am
In New York City, the United Nations is evacuated.
10:24am
The F.A.A. diverts all transatlantic aircraft flying to the
U.S., sending them to Canada.
10:28am
The north tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
11:02am
New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani orders Lower Manhattan to be
evacuated.
11:40am
With the U.S. military on nuclear alert, President Bush is
taken to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
1:04pm
From Barksdale Air Force Base, President Bush states that
the nation is taking appropriate security measures, and the
U.S. military is on high alert worldwide. He asks Americans
to pray for the victims of the attacks and says America
"will hunt down and punish those responsible for these
cowardly acts." The President will soon depart for Offutt
Air Force Base in Nebraska.
1:44pm
The Pentagon announces that two aircraft carriers, the
U.S.S. George Washington and the U.S.S. John F.
Kennedy, along with five other war ships, are leaving
the U.S. Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia, headed for New
York.
2:49pm
Mayor Giuliani announces that New York's subway and bus
service have been partially restored. When asked how many
people he thinks have been killed, Giuliani voices the grief
many feel by saying, "I don't think we want to speculate
about that -- more than any of us can bear."
4:00pm
U.S. officials say there are "good indications" that Saudi
terrorist Osama bin Laden, who is suspected of coordinating
the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998, is
behind the attacks.
4:10pm
Number 7 World Trade Center, which sustained massive damage
from the collapse of the north tower, is on fire. Everyone
in the building has already been evacuated.
4:25pm
The New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, and
Nasdaq announce they will not open on Wednesday, September
12.
4:30pm
President Bush returns to Washington from Offutt Air Force
Base in Nebraska.
5:20pm
Number 7 World Trade Center collapses.
6:10pm
Mayor Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay at home on the next
day, Wednesday, September 12.
7:45pm
New York's police department announces that at least 78 of
its officers are missing. The city also announces that
hundreds of firefighters have been killed.
8:31pm
In a televised address, President Bush says, "thousands of
lives were suddenly ended by evil" and asks Americans to
pray for the victims and their families. The president
announces the U.S. government will not differentiate between
terrorists and those who harbor them.
9:52pm
Mayor Giuliani announces that the city does not need any
more volunteers for the immediate rescue work. |
