On September 11, 2001—a clear, sunny, late summer day—al Qaeda terrorists aboard three hijacked passenger planes carried out coordinated suicide attacks against the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing everyone on board the planes and nearly 3,000 people on the ground. A fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all on board, after passengers and crew attempted to wrest control from the hijackers. Below is a chronology of the events of 9/11 as they unfolded. All times are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
This map was created by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, more popularly known as the 9/11 Commission, depicting the movements of the four planes hijacked by terrorists on the morning of September 11, 2001, as well as the U.S. Air Force fighters that were scrambled to intercept them.
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States/The National Archives
• 7:59 am – American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 with 92 people aboard, takes off from Boston’s Logan International Airport en route to Los Angeles. read more