What happened during 9/11 and how was everyone impacted?

“Running into danger when another is at risk has nothing to do with being a hero. Rather, it has everything to do with being a human.” 

― Craig D. Lounsbrough

Who was targeted in the attack of 9/11 and what happened?

World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and The White House were three of the main targets. 19 people who worked with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda made a suicide attack on these 3 building in the event of hijacking four airplanes. Two planes going to the the Twin Towers in New York City, another going to the Pentagon, and the last going to a field in Pennsylvania. During the 9/11 attack, nearly 3,000 people were killed.

Everything broken down

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at 8:45 in the morning a Boring 767 belonging to the American Airlines loaded with 20,000 gallons of fuel went full board into the north side of the World Trade Center in New York City. There ended up being a large, burning hole near the 80th floor of the worlds famous land mark, killing hundreds of people immediately and trapping hundreds of others on higher floors. Once evacuation began news broadcasters began releasing the most information that they knew, with live footage and film. At first, they began to think that it was a complete accident, then 18 minutes later the next plane hit, another Boeing 767. This is when things began to seem weird and not normal. The Boeing 767 took a sharp turn toward the World Trade Center and then hit the southern tower near the 60th floor. This massive explosion left burning debris all of the streets on New York City below the towers. This is when it became clear that America was under attack.

Pentagon Attack

At 9:45, after the plane circled over downtown Washington D.C. the Pentagon was announced to be attacked. Jet fuel from the 757 caused inferno that led to the collapse of most of this famous concrete building or better known as the U.S. Department of Defense. 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the attack of the pentagon as well as 64 people aboard the airline.

Twin Towers Collapse

Within 15 minutes, the Twin Towers collapsed in a massive cloud of dust, smoke, and everything inside of that building. Even the steel, built to stand 200 mph winds could take the heat that was generated from the burning jet fuel. 45 minuted after the pentagon collapsed, at 10:30 am the north building of the twin towers collapsed with only 6 survivors, and nearly 10,000 other injured with severe treatment.

How Many People Died in 9/11 Attack?

Nearly a total of 2,300 people were killed, including the 19 hijackers aboard the four different airplanes. The World Trade Center alone had 2,763 die after the 2 planes hit, including 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authoities trying to complete evacuation of people trapped on the high up floors. At the pentagon 189 people died, 64 aboard the American Airlines Flight, which struck the building. 44 people died when the plane crashed into the field located in Pennsylvania.

Why it is good to know this important event

This event is important to understand, and know because it was one of the first major attacks that the United States had every had. This event was tragic and impacted many people of the US and the people of New York City. As it took a long time to investigate, and things still may not be answered, it was an important day in history that people should be educated on and know the importance of the day.

Photos

9/11: World Trade Center

9/11: The Pentagon & Flight 93