Timeline of the September 11 Attacks | Planes, World Trade Center, Pentagon, & Facts

7:59 AM

American Airlines flight 11 takes off

Thematic map of the northeastern United States showing the flight paths of the four hijacked planes during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Color-coded arrows trace the routes of American Airlines flights 11 and 77, and United Airlines flights 175 and 93, with destinations in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Major cities and state boundaries are labeled for context. — Flight paths on September 11, 2001The routes of the four U.S. planes hijacked during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

American Airlines flight 11 departs from Boston’s Logan International Airport, bound for Los Angeles. Aboard are 11 crew members and 81 passengers, including 5 hijackers.

8:14 AM

United Airlines flight 175 departs

United Airlines flight 175 takes off from Boston, headed for Los Angeles. Aboard are 9 crew members and 56 passengers, including 5 hijackers.

8:14 AM

Contact with flight 11 lost

Flight 11 has its final routine communication with air traffic controllers. Sixteen seconds later, controllers instruct the pilot to increase the plane’s altitude. However, there is no response, and all subsequent messages are unanswered. Investigators believe the plane is hijacked around this time.

8:19 AM

Flight 11 sounds the alarm

A uniformed arm rests a hand on a service cap beside a small American flag. Large text reads: remembering 9/11. — 25 Years Later, How Do We Remember 9/11?It's a day to “never forget.” But what does remembrance look like 25 years later?
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Betty Ong, a flight attendant on flight 11, alerts American Airlines that the plane has been hijacked. She reports that the “cockpit is not answering” and that the hijackers reportedly have a bomb. In addition, two other flight attendants and a passenger have been stabbed. The passenger, later determined to be Daniel Lewin, formerly served in the Israeli military, and it is thought that he tried to stop the hijacking. Some speculate that he was the first victim of the 9/11 attacks.

8:20 AM

American Airlines flight 77 takes off

American Airlines flight 77 departs from Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., bound for Los Angeles. The plane is carrying 6 crew members and 58 passengers, including 5 hijackers. Before boarding, three of the terrorists had set off the metal detectors when going through security, but all passed subsequent inspections.

8:21 AM

Flight 11’s transponder goes silent

The transponder on flight 11 is turned off, making it difficult for air traffic controllers to monitor its course.

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8:24 AM

“We have some planes…”

Mistakenly broadcasting over the air traffic control channel instead of the public-address system, flight 11 hijacker Mohammad Atta, who is piloting the plane, announces, “We have some planes. Just stay quiet, and you’ll be okay. We are returning to the airport.” This was soon followed by “Nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you’ll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet.”

8:37 AM

The military is notified

Air traffic controllers at Boston’s Logan Airport alert the U.S. military’s Northeast Air Defense Sector.

8:42 AM

Flight 175 is hijacked

Flight 175 makes its last communication with air traffic controllers, reporting that during takeoff it heard a “suspicious transmission” from another airplane, later determined to be flight 11. Around this time, flight 175 is hijacked, and some five minutes later its transponder code is changed.

8:42 AM

United Airlines flight 93 takes off

United Airlines flight 93 departs from Newark International Airport in New Jersey, headed to San Francisco. Aboard are 7 crew members and 37 passengers, including 4 hijackers. At this point, no aircraft has been notified that flight 11 has been hijacked.

8:44 AM

“We are flying way too low…”

Flight attendant Madeline Sweeney on flight 11 is on the phone with air officials and reports that the plane is in “rapid descent” and that it is flying “way too low.” The call then abruptly ends.

8:46 AM

F-15s are scrambled

Two military jets are ordered to depart from Otis Air National Guard Base in Cape Cod, headed to New York.

8:46:40 AM

Flight 11 strikes the North Tower

Hijackers on flight 11 fly the airplane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City. The impact occurs between floors 93 and 99. The crash instantly kills hundreds, including all those on board. Almost immediately emergency responders are sent to the building.

8:51 AM

“United 175 do you read New York?”

Flight 175 changes from its assigned altitude, and repeated efforts by air traffic controllers to contact the plane are unsuccessful.

8:51 AM

Flight 77 is hijacked

Flight 77 has its last routine radio communication. It is believed the plane is hijacked shortly thereafter.

8:52 AM

The status of flight 175

On flight 175, a flight attendant believed to be Robert Fangman calls United Airlines and informs officials that the plane has been hijacked and that both pilots are dead. During this time passengers are also phoning friends and family. Passenger calls will provide important information about the hijackings in subsequent investigations.

8:54 AM

Flight 77 changes course

Flight 77 heads south from its assigned path, and two minutes later hijackers turn off the plane’s transponder. Efforts to contact the aircraft are unsuccessful.

8:55 AM

The president learns about the first plane

U.S. Pres. George W. Bush, who has arrived at an elementary school in Sarasota, Florida, is told that a plane has struck the World Trade Center, though details are uncertain.

8:58 AM

Flight 175 changes course

Flight 175 sets a course for New York City.

9:00 AM

Evacuation of the World Trade Center

The Port Authority Police Department orders the evacuation of all civilians in the World Trade Center complex.

9:00 AM

“It’s getting bad, Dad.”

Peter Hanson, a passenger on flight 175, contacts his father for the second time that morning and reportedly tells him, “I think they intend to go to Chicago or someplace and fly into a building—Don’t worry, Dad—If it happens, it’ll be very fast.”

9:03:11 AM

Flight 175 strikes the South Tower

United Airlines flight 175Hijacked flight 175 seconds before crashing into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, September 11, 2001; the billowing smoke is from American Airlines flight 11, which struck the North Tower.

Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, striking between floors 77 and 85.

9:05 AM

“A second plane hit the second tower.”

President Bush, who is reading to schoolchildren in a classroom, is told by his chief of staff, Andrew Card, that a second plane has struck the World Trade Center and that “America is under attack.”

9:24 AM

The pilots of Flight 93 learn about the attacks

Flight 93 is notified by a United dispatcher that two planes have flown into the World Trade Center. Two minutes later the pilot asks the dispatcher to confirm the message.

9:25 AM

Planes are held on the runway

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bars all civil aircraft in the United States from taking off.

9:29 AM

Flight 93 is hijacked

Hijackers on flight 93 attack the cockpit. “Mayday” is declared over a radio transmission and sounds of a physical struggle are heard. On another transmission seconds later, someone yells “get out of here.”

9:32 AM

Flight 77 is detected

Controllers at Dulles observe an airplane traveling at a “high rate of speed.” Two minutes later officials at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport alert the Secret Service of a plane (later determined to be flight 77) headed in the direction of the White House.

9:32 AM

The passengers of flight 93 learn about the attacks

A hijacker on flight 93 announces, “Ladies and Gentlemen: Here the captain, please sit down keep remaining sitting. We have a bomb on board. So, sit.” Passengers begin making phone calls, and they learn about the World Trade Center.

9:36 AM

The evacuation of the vice president

U.S. Vice Pres. Dick Cheney is evacuated to the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, which is located under the White House.

9:37:46 AM

Flight 77 strikes the Pentagon

The Pentagon building in Washington, D.C. with a section collapsed and engulfed in flames and thick smoke following the September 11, 2001 attack. — September 11 attacks: PentagonFire and smoke billowing from the Pentagon after hijackers crashed American Airlines flight 77 into the building during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Arlington, Virginia.

Flight 77 hits the Pentagon in Virginia with the throttle set to maximum power. In addition to all those on the plane, 125 people on the ground and in the building are ultimately killed.

9:41 AM

Flight 93’s transponder is silenced

The transponder from flight 93 is turned off.

9:42 AM

The nationwide ground stop

The FAA orders all 4,546 civil aircraft flying in U.S. airspace to land.

9:55 AM

Bush heads to Barksdale Air Force Base

George W. Bush on Air Force One after the September 11 attacksU.S. Pres. George W. Bush conferring with his chief of staff aboard Air Force One, September 11, 2001.

President Bush departs Florida on Air Force One. Although the initial plan had been to return to Washington, D.C., safety and other concerns result in a change of destination to an air force base in Louisiana.

9:57 AM

The passenger revolt on flight 93

Following a vote, passengers aboard flight 93 rush the cockpit in an attempt to retake the plane. Despite a hijacker rolling the aircraft from side to side—and later up and down—the passengers continue to batter at the cockpit door.

9:59 AM

The South Tower falls

September 11 attacksThe rubble at the World Trade Center site in New York City following the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Fifty-six minutes after it had been struck by flight 175, the South Tower collapses.

10:00 AM

The North Tower is evacuated

All members of New York’s fire department are ordered to evacuate the North Tower. While many begin leaving, some do not hear the order, while others are unaware of its urgency. More than 400 emergency responders are ultimately killed in the WTC attacks.

10:02 AM

The battle for flight 93

With the passengers apparently close to breaching the cockpit door on flight 93, the hijackers decide to “put it down” and begin a sharp descent. During this time, the plane rolls upside down. Subsequent audio recordings have led some to believe that the passengers managed to get inside the cockpit and struggle over the controls.

10:03 AM

Flight 93 crashes

September 11 attacks: United Airlines flight 93, PennsylvaniaWreckage of United Airlines flight 93, which was crashed during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Flight 93 crashes in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing everyone on board. The plane would have reached Washington, D.C.—its suspected destination—in about 20 minutes.

10:24 AM

Inbound air traffic is diverted

All transatlantic flights headed to the United States are diverted to Canada.

10:28 AM

The North Tower collapses

September 11 attacks: World Trade CenterAerial view of the World Trade Center in New York City after its collapse following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

One hour and 42 minutes after it was struck by flight 11, the North Tower collapses. In total, more than 2,700 people die at the World Trade Center complex.

11:02 AM

The evacuation of Lower Manhattan

New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani orders the evacuation of Lower Manhattan.

12:16 PM

The closing of U.S. airspace

U.S. airspace is clear after the last plane lands.

1:04 PM

“Make no mistake...”

After landing at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, President Bush vows to “hunt down and punish those responsible.” Osama bin Laden, founder of the militant Islamist organization al-Qaeda, is already suspected of being behind the attacks.

1:48 PM

Bush is relocated to Nebraska

Air Force One departs Louisiana, headed for Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, where the president will stay until 4:30 PM, when he leaves for Washington, D.C.

5:20 PM

Collapse of Seven World Trade Center

Seven World Trade Center collapses, though no deaths are reported.

6:54 PM

Bush returns to Washington

President Bush arrives back at the White House.

8:30 PM

“None of us will ever forget this day.”

President George W. Bush sits at a desk in the Oval Office, speaking to the American public on the evening of September 11, 2001, with hands raised, a printed speech in front of him and an American flag in the background. — George W. Bush: speech after the September 11, 2001, attacksU.S. Pres. George W. Bush addressing the country from the Oval Office on September 11, 2001.

President Bush addresses the nation. During the speech, he announces that “terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.”