The Twin Towers Crash – A Sad Part Of American History
A lot of people have heard about 9/11 but never knew the details of how the story went. It’s important for people to learn about it because it’s a big part of American history. It all started on September 11, 2001, at 8:46 am. Everyone at NBC news thought it was an accident when American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the north Twin Tower. NBC news reporter Don Dahler said, “There was a loud sound that I couldn't describe but it sounded like a mistle.” Then at 9:03 am United Airlines flight 175 hit the south Twin Tower and they figured out the planes were purposely hitting the towers.
The Twin Towers were part of the World Trade Center which is located in lower Manhattan in New York City. Flight 11 was hijacked by Mohamed Atta. The plane was going at a speed of 740 mph crashing into the north Twin Tower. News reporter Brian Thumbell said “ we understand that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center” Flight 175 was also hijacked. ABC news reporter said, “we just saw another plane coming in from the side.” The plane was hijacked by Marwan al Shehhi. The plane was going at a speed of 590 mph crashing into the south Twin Tower.
The World Trade Center (WTC) was one of the tallest buildings in NYC. It was 110 stories high and 1362 feet tall. The WTC was the center of financial business for the U.S. These are some of the reasons why the WTC was a big target. Just like the WTC, the Pentagon was a big target. The Pentagon is the military command center and still is today. It didn't collapse completely because how thick the walls are so they fixed the walls that collapsed even though it took awhile. Flight 77 was the airplane to crash into the Pentagon. It crashed at approximately 9:37 am going at a speed of more than 500 mph. It crashed at a 40-degree angle; the airplane had 53 passengers and 6 crew members. 9/11 is one of the most historical events that ever happened in American history. In total over 200 firefighters died and about 78 police officers went missing or died. 2996 including 19 hijackers died, 125 people from the Pentagon and over 6000 people were injured. Another reason why 9/11 is historical was that it was a surprise attack so they didn’t have any time to prepare. There were a lot of different planes going to different places and all are part of 9/11. American Airlines flight 11 hit the north Twin Tower. Flight 11’s hijackers were Abdul Aziz al Omari from Saudi Arabia, Wail al Shehri from Saudi Arabia, Waleed al Shehri from Saudi Arabia, Satam al Suqami from Saudi Arabia and the pilot Mohamed Atta from Egypt.
United Airlines flight 175 was the second to hit. The plane hit the south Twin Tower. Flight 175’s hijackers were Fayez Banihammad from the United Arab Emirates, Ahmed al Ghamdi from Saudi Arabia, Hamza al Ghamdi from Saudi Arabia, Mohand al Shehri from Saudi Arabia and the pilot Marwan al Shehhi from the United Arab Emirates. American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon and was the third to hit. Flight 77’s hijackers were Nawaf al Hazmi from Saudi Arabia, Salem al Hazmi from Saudi Arabia, Khalid al Mihdhar from Saudi Arabia, Majed Moqed from Saudi Arabia and the pilot Hani Hanjour from Saudi Arabia. The last plane United Airlines flight 93 crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Flight 93’s hijackers were Saeed al Ghamdi from Saudi Arabia, Ahmad al Haznawi from Saudi Arabia, Ahmed al Nami from Saudi Arabia and the pilot Ziad Jarrah from Lebanon. Flight 93 wasn't like all the others. Flight 93 was sent to crash into The White House, another big target. There were 7 crew members and 37 passengers including the 4 hijackers on board. The plane ended up in a big field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Everyone including the hijackers died. Al-Qaeda was the group that caused it all. They were responsible for the terrorist attack. Al-Qaeda was a military organization composed of extreme Muslim leaders. They were against the western half of the world so that's where they attacked. The 9/11 memorial was built to honor the 2,977 that died in the terrorist attack, also the 6 people that died in 1993 in an earlier attack that failed to work. The place where the Twin Towers used to stand is now the largest manmade waterfalls in North America with every person that died name in it. The people that own the memorial had a global design competition that included more than 5200 entries from 63 nations. 9/11 was a very sad time for many people. 9/11 will always be very historical and even though it was sad it was very helpful for us today. Now because of that event, we have locks on the pilot's doors and the pilots and flight attendants will know if someone is hacking into the plane's route.
