9/11: a Day Never Forgotten

“Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American Resolve.” –President George W. Bush. On September 11, 2001, America was hit with one of the largest terrorist attacks in history. Four different acts of terror were thrown upon America that day, but the damage was worse than anyone could imagine. These series of four terrorist attacks were organized by the Islamic terrorist group “al-Qaeda”. This day in history will never be forgotten by any American.

Four planes were hijacked during the September 11th attacks. The first of the four commercial planes to depart was American Airlines Flight 11. This flight was going on its daily flight from Boston to Los Angeles, and had 81 passengers, out of 158 seats. The second commercial flight to takeoff was United Airlines Flight 175. It was arranged to fly from Boston to Los Angeles, and it held 65 passengers out of 168 seats. The third plane to take the skies was American Airlines Flight 77. This plane was from Dulles and going to Los Angeles, and it had 64 passengers out of 176 seats. The fourth and final plane of the September 11th attacks to take off was United Airlines Flight 93. Coming from New Jersey, going to San Francisco, holding only 44 passengers out of 182 seats. The hijackers took airplanes that were going across the country, because they would have to most jet fuel left for impact.

The nineteen hijackers were taking commercial flights four months before the actual attacks. These nineteen being; Mohamed Atta, Abdulaziz al-Omari, Wail al-Shehri, Satam al-Suqami (American Airlines Flight 11), Marwan al-Shehhi, Fayez Banihammad, Mohand al-Shehri, Hamza al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Ghamdi (United Airlines Flight 175), Hani Hanjour, Khalid al-Mihdhar, Majed Moqed, Nawaf al-Hazmi, Salem al-Hazmi (American Airlines Flight 77), Ziad Jarrah, Ahmed al-Haznawi, Ahmed al-Nami, and Saeed al-Ghamdi (United Airlines Flight 93). These hijackers were taking commercial flights to study the way American planes work and fly. They noted when the seatbelt signs would go on and off. They would also take note if and when the cockpit is guarded.

All nineteen hijacker made it through airport security, and all were carrying knives. Before September 11th, a passenger could bring a knife that was up to four inches on board. Other items that were then allowed include baseball bats, darts, box cutters, scissors and knitting needles. These certain items were considered not threatening. All these items were forbidden either right after the attack, or shortly after. To be able to hijack the planes, the men stabbed many flight attendants and the pilots, using the knives that were apparently “not menacing.”At 9:37 a.m., American Flight 77 was flown into the Pentagon. This aircraft came in at 530 miles per hour, and hit the Pentagon on the first-floor level. The airplane reached 350 feet into the building, which was the three outermost rings out of the five that the building had. Impact created a breech that was 2 stories tall and 70 feet wide. This crash killed all people on board, and 125 people that were in the building, 92 were on the first floor, and 41 were on the second. Thirty-three minutes after the attack, the west wall caved in from top to bottom.

United Airlines Flight 93 was a different story. Passengers on the plane found out about the other attacks that had been made from the terrorist group al-Qaeda, and so they created a revolt. The plan was to regain control over the aircraft, and to try and land it safely, or at least stop them from hitting what was thought to be the Capital building. During this revolt, United Airlines Flight 93 plunged toward the earth at 580 miles per hour, and crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This aircraft was the only one that did not hit an intended target.

New York City Fire Department Marshal Ronald Paul Bucca was one of the firefighters that kept blueprints of the World Tarde Center after the 1993 bombing. He did so because he thought al-Qaeda was going to comeback and “finish the job.” The 1993 bombing was a terrorist attack on The World Trade Center. It was planned by a group of terrorists, and carried out by driving a truck bomb underneath the North Tower of the World Tarde Center.The intention was to blow the North Tower into the South Tower, which would bring both of them down and kill thousands of New Yorkers. The terrorist attack failed, only killing six people, and injuring almost one thousand. “Ronald Bucca is the only fire marshal in the history on New York City Fire Department to killed in the line of duty.” (Ronald Bucca Wiki).

President George W. Bush made a brief statement in Sarasota, Florida at 9:29 a.m. before he left in Air Force 1. “Today we’ve had a national tragedy. Two planes have crashed into the World trade center, in an apparent terrorist attack on our country.”President Bush was in Florida at Emma E. Booker Elementary School to visit the children there and to promote a new education bill. “Within an hour of this first report, Bush was reading along with children in a classroom when he was informed that a second airliner had crashed into a second tower.” (History). On his way to the airport the President had then heard about the third attack, which would be on The Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The September 11th attacks had a total death toll of 2,996 people, which includes all 19 hijackers. 2,606 deaths came from the World Trade Center, and 125 from the Pentagon. “Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, remained at large until May 2, 2011, when he was finally tracked down and killed by U.S. forces at a hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In June 2011, President Barack Obama announced the beginning of large-scale troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.” (9/11 Attacks). Memorials are all around to remember the fallen heroes and all the human beings that were lost on this horrid day. “On that terrible day, a nation became a neighborhood, all Americans became New Yorkers.” –George Pataki, former Governor of New York.