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Do not fill this in! === The four crashes === {{See also|Media documentation of the September 11 attacks}} {{multiple image | total_width = 410 | image1 = | image2 = WTC 2 plane crash (Myers clip6).webm | image3 = | image4 = | caption1 = [[American Airlines Flight 11]] crashes into the North Tower, the first such attack. | caption2 = [[United Airlines Flight 175]] crashes into [[2 World Trade Center]] }} At 7:59 a.m., [[American Airlines Flight 11]] took off from [[Logan International Airport]] in [[Boston]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm |title=Probe reconstructs horror, calculated attacks on planes |last=Johnson |first=Glen |date=November 23, 2001 |work=The Boston Globe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202072139/http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/planes_reconstruction.htm |archive-date=December 2, 2012 }}</ref> Fifteen minutes into the flight, five hijackers armed with [[Utility knife|boxcutter]]s took over the plane, injuring at least three people (and possibly killing one)<ref>{{cite news |title=Excerpt: A travel day like any other until some passengers left their seats |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001986488_planes23.html |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=July 23, 2004 |access-date=May 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119033249/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001986488_planes23.html |archive-date=November 19, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Inside the failed Air Force scramble to prevent the Sept. 11 attacks |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5315883/ |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |date=June 28, 2004 |access-date=May 23, 2008|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918164352/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5315883/ |archive-date=September 18, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Woolley |first=Scott |title=Video Prophet |url=https://www.forbes.com/home/technology/forbes/2007/0423/068.html |date=April 23, 2007 |work=Forbes |access-date=May 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216103647/http://www.forbes.com/home/technology/forbes/2007/0423/068.html |archive-date=December 16, 2008 }}</ref> before forcing their way into the cockpit. The terrorists also displayed an apparent explosive and sprayed [[Tear gas|mace]] into the cabin, to frighten the hostages into submission and further hinder resistance.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Sheehy, Gail |url=http://www.observer.com/node/48805 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071207153421/http://www.observer.com/node/48805 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 7, 2007 |title='Stewardess ID'd Hijackers Early, Transcripts Show' burden |work=New York Observer |date=February 15, 2004 |access-date=Sep 30, 2010}}</ref> Back at Logan, [[United Airlines Flight 175]] took off at 8:14 a.m., approximately the same time as Flight 11's hijacking.<ref name="We have some planes">{{cite web|url=https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch1.htm|title=WE HAVE SOME PLANES|publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States|access-date=December 7, 2023|archive-date=December 5, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205190225/https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Hundreds of miles southwest at [[Dulles International Airport]], [[American Airlines Flight 77]] left the runway at 8:20 a.m.<ref name="We have some planes" /> Flight 175's journey proceeded normally for 28 minutes until 8:42 a.m., when a group of five hijacked the plane, murdering both pilots and stabbing several crew members before assuming control of the aircraft. These hijackers also used bomb threats to instil fear into the passengers and crew,{{sfn|9/11 Commission|2004a|pp=7–8}} also spraying chemical weapons to disable any opposition.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/september-11-remembered/2011-09-06/september-11-timeline/2862086|title=September 11: From take-off to tragic loss|date=September 5, 2011|access-date=November 29, 2022|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|archive-date=November 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129075152/https://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/september-11-remembered/2011-09-06/september-11-timeline/2862086|url-status=live}}</ref> Concurrently, [[United Airlines Flight 93]] departed from [[Newark Liberty International Airport|Newark International Airport]] in [[New Jersey]];<ref name="We have some planes" /> originally scheduled to pull away from the gate at 8:00 a.m., the plane was running 42 minutes late. At 8:46 a.m., Flight 11 was deliberately crashed into the north face of the World Trade Center's North Tower (1 WTC),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB196/doc01.pdf |title=Flight Path Study – American Airlines Flight 11 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=February 19, 2002 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |archive-date=February 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214030913/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB196/doc01.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> although the initial presumption by many was that this was merely an accident.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5335a3.htm|title=Preliminary Results from the World Trade Center Evacuation Study – New York City, 2003|access-date=November 30, 2022|archive-date=December 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204032648/https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5335a3.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> At 8:51 a.m., [[American Airlines Flight 77]] was also taken over by another group of five who forcibly entered the cockpit 31 minutes after takeoff.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gregor |first=Joseph A. |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/foia/9_11/ATC_Report_AA77.pdf |title=ATC Report American Airlines Flight 77 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=December 21, 2001 |access-date=September 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029094317/https://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/foia/9_11/ATC_Report_AA77.pdf |archive-date=October 29, 2012 }}</ref> Although the hijackers on this flight were equipped with knives,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/09/12/on-flight-77-our-plane-is-being-hijacked/85b3c4b3-876b-4bb5-b1f7-00cc8c37b75e/|title='On Flight 77: 'Our Plane Is Being Hijacked'|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 12, 2001|access-date=November 27, 2022|archive-date=January 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111151019/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/09/12/on-flight-77-our-plane-is-being-hijacked/85b3c4b3-876b-4bb5-b1f7-00cc8c37b75e/|url-status=live}}</ref> there were no reports of anyone on board being stabbed, nor did the two people who made phone calls mention the use of mace or a bomb threat. Seventeen minutes after the first plane crashed into the North Tower, Flight 175 was flown into the South Tower's southern facade (2{{spaces}}WTC)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB196/doc03.pdf |title=Flight Path Study – United Airlines Flight 175 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=February 19, 2002 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |archive-date=June 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617050241/http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB196/doc03.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> at 9:03 a.m.,{{efn|name=Time}} demonstrating that the first crash was not an accident, but rather a terrorist attack.<ref>{{cite news|title=9:03 a.m.: The 9/11 moment when many grasped a new reality|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/10/903-a-m-the-9-11-moment-when-many-grasped-a-new-reality/|website=[[The Mercury News]]|date=September 10, 2021|access-date=February 5, 2023|archive-date=November 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130094708/https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/10/903-a-m-the-9-11-moment-when-many-grasped-a-new-reality/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='By 9:05 a.m., it was clear America was under attack'|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/11/it-was-the-loudest-explosion-ive-ever-heard-a-9/11-survivor-on-her-harrowing-escape-from-the-pentagon.html|publisher=[[CNBC]]|date=September 11, 2021|access-date=February 5, 2023|archive-date=November 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130094707/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/11/it-was-the-loudest-explosion-ive-ever-heard-a-9/11-survivor-on-her-harrowing-escape-from-the-pentagon.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Four men aboard Flight 93 struck suddenly, killing at least one passenger, after having waited 46 minutes to make their move—a holdup that proved disastrous for the terrorists when combined with the delayed takeoff from the runway;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/26/arts/united-93-and-the-politics-of-heroism.html|title='United 93' and the politics of heroism|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 26, 2006|last1=Longman|first1=Jere|access-date=December 7, 2023|archive-date=March 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306235027/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/26/arts/united-93-and-the-politics-of-heroism.html|url-status=live}}</ref> they stormed the cockpit and seized control of the plane at 9:28 a.m., turning the plane eastbound and setting course for Washington, D.C.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stout |first=David |title=Recording From Flight 93 Played at Trial |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/12/us/12cnd-moussaoui.html?hp&ex=1144900800&en=f6fc83f83a632d06&ei=5094&partner=homepage |date=April 12, 2006 |work=The New York Times |access-date=August 24, 2008 |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904030034/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/12/us/12cnd-moussaoui.html?hp&ex=1144900800&en=f6fc83f83a632d06&ei=5094&partner=homepage |url-status=live }}</ref> Much like their counterparts on the first two flights, the fourth team also used bomb threats and filled the cabin with mace.<ref>{{cite news |title=Transcript: Paula Zahn Now |date=April 12, 2006 |publisher=CNN|url=http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/12/pzn.01.html |access-date=April 5, 2010 |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021015137/http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/12/pzn.01.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Nine minutes after Flight 93's hijacking, Flight 77 crashed into the west side of the Pentagon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB196/doc02.pdf |title=Flight Path Study – American Airlines Flight 77 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=February 19, 2002 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |archive-date=August 24, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824050511/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB196/doc02.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Because of the two delays,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/09/09/flight-93-target-capitol/|title=What was Flight 93's target on 9/11?|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 9, 2021|access-date=November 27, 2022|archive-date=January 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110042815/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/09/09/flight-93-target-capitol/|url-status=live}}</ref> the passengers and crew of Flight 93 had time to be made aware of the previous attacks through phone calls to the ground, and as a result an uprising was hastily organized to take control of the aircraft at 9:57 a.m.<ref name="WP93">{{cite news |first=David |last=Snyder |title=Families Hear Flight 93's Final Moments |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-351703.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602123513/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-351703.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 2, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 19, 2002 |access-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref> Within minutes, passengers had fought their way to the front of the cabin and began breaking down the cockpit door. Fearing their captives would gain the upper hand, the hijackers rolled the plane and pitched it into a nosedive,<ref name="Flight93Xscript">{{cite wikisource |title=Flight 93 Cockpit Transcript}}</ref><ref name="NPS Flight 93 Story">{{cite web |title=The Flight 93 Story |url=http://www.nps.gov/flni/historyculture/index.htm |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=September 21, 2011 |archive-date=January 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112214156/http://www.nps.gov/flni/historyculture/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> crashing into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh, at 10:03 a.m. The plane was about twenty minutes away from reaching D.C. at the time of the crash, and its target is believed to have been either the [[United States Capitol|Capitol Building]] or the [[White House]].<ref name="Chap7">{{cite book |chapter=The Attack Looms |chapter-url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch7.htm |year=2004 |title=''9/11 Commission Report'' |publisher=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States |access-date=September 1, 2011 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205050859/http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch7.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WP93" /> Some passengers and crew members who called from the aircraft using the cabin air phone service and mobile phones provided details: several hijackers were aboard each plane; they used [[Mace (spray)|mace]], tear gas, or pepper spray to overcome attendants; and some people aboard had been stabbed.<ref name="93phone">*{{cite news |last=McKinnon |first=Jim |title=The phone line from Flight 93 was still open when a GTE operator heard Todd Beamer say: 'Are you guys ready? Let's roll' |url=http://old.post-gazette.com/headlines/20010916phonecallnat3p3.asp |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=September 16, 2001 |access-date=April 10, 2011 |archive-date=October 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001003507/http://old.post-gazette.com/headlines/20010916phonecallnat3p3.asp |url-status=dead }} *{{cite news |title=Relatives wait for news as rescuers dig |url=http://europe.cnn.com/2001/US/09/12/family.reacts/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=September 13, 2001 |access-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111213433/http://europe.cnn.com/2001/US/09/12/family.reacts/index.html |url-status=live }} *Summers and Swan (2011), pp. 58, 463n, 476n. *{{cite news |last1=Wilgoren |first1=Jodi |last2=Wong |first2=Edward |title=On Doomed Flight, Passengers Vowed To Perish Fighting |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/us/after-attacks-united-flight-93-doomed-flight-passengers-vowed-perish-fighting.html |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |date=September 13, 2001 |access-date=September 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820221831/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/us/after-attacks-united-flight-93-doomed-flight-passengers-vowed-perish-fighting.html |archive-date=August 20, 2009 }} *{{cite news |last=Serrano |first=Richard A. |title=Moussaoui Jury Hears the Panic From 9/11 |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2006/apr/11/nation/na-moussa11 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 11, 2006 |access-date=September 1, 2011 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225172359/http://articles.latimes.com/2006/apr/11/nation/na-moussa11 |url-status=live }} *{{cite news |last1=Goo |first1=Sara Kehaulani |last2=Eggen |first2=Dan |title=Hijackers used Mace, knives to take over airplanes |url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Hijackers-used-Mace-knives-to-take-over-2805009.php |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=January 28, 2004 |access-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112202350/http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Hijackers-used-Mace-knives-to-take-over-2805009.php |url-status=live }} *{{cite news|last=Ahlers|first=Mike M.|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/01/27/911.commis.knife/|title=9/11 panel: Hijackers may have had utility knives|date=January 27, 2004|access-date=September 1, 2011|publisher=CBS News|archive-date=June 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604231807/http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/01/27/911.commis.knife/|url-status=live}}</ref> Reports indicated hijackers stabbed and killed pilots, flight attendants, and one or more passengers.<ref name="911-ch1">''The 9/11 Commission Report'', pp. 4–14.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/06/lklw.00.html |title=Encore Presentation: Barbara Olson Remembered |work=Larry King Live |publisher=CNN |date=January 6, 2002 |access-date=September 1, 2011 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225172447/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/06/lklw.00.html%20 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the 9/11 Commission's final report, the hijackers had recently purchased multi-function hand tools and assorted [[Leatherman]]-type utility knives with locking blades (which were not forbidden to passengers at the time), but these were not found among the possessions left behind by the hijackers.<ref name="commission">{{cite web |title=National Commission Upon Terrorist Attacks in the United States |url=http://www.9-11commission.gov/archive/hearing7/9-11Commission_Hearing_2004-01-27.htm |publisher=National Commission Upon Terrorist Attacks in the United States |access-date=January 24, 2008 |date=January 27, 2004 |archive-date=September 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905073043/http://www.9-11commission.gov/archive/hearing7/9-11Commission_Hearing_2004-01-27.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Summers and Swan (2011), p. 343.</ref> A flight attendant on Flight 11, a passenger on Flight 175, and passengers on Flight 93 said the hijackers had bombs, but one of the passengers said he thought the bombs were fake. The FBI found no traces of explosives at the crash sites, and the 9/11 Commission concluded that the bombs were probably fake.<ref name="911-ch1" /> On at least two of the hijacked flights—American 11 and United 93—the terrorists claimed over the PA system that they were taking hostages and were returning to the airport to have a ransom demand met, a clear attempt to prevent passengers from fighting back. Both attempts failed, however, as both hijacker pilots in these instances (Mohamed Atta<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ntsb.gov/about/Documents/Flight_Path_Study_AA11.pdf|title=Flight Path Study – American Airlines Flight 11|publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]]|access-date=November 29, 2022|archive-date=November 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151105103018/http://www.ntsb.gov/about/Documents/Flight_Path_Study_AA11.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and Ziad Jarrah,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hirschkorn|first=Phil|title=On tape, passengers heard trying to retake cockpit|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/12/moussaoui.trial/|date=April 12, 2006|publisher=CNN|access-date=November 29, 2022|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501233708/http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/12/moussaoui.trial/|url-status=live}}</ref> respectively) keyed the wrong switch and mistakenly transmitted their messages to ATC instead of the people on the plane as intended, tipping off the flight controllers that the planes had been hijacked. [[File:Pentagon Security Camera 1.ogv|thumb|upright=1.15|thumbtime=01:31|Security camera footage of [[American Airlines Flight 77]] crashing into [[the Pentagon]];<ref name="jw">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L75Gga92WO8 |title=Flight 77, Video 2 |publisher=Judicial Watch |access-date=April 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/L75Gga92WO8 |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |url-status=live |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><!-- YouTube videos aren't normally reliable but this is Judicial Watch's official account --> The plane collides with The Pentagon approximately 86 seconds after the start of the recording.]] [[Collapse of the World Trade Center|Three buildings in the World Trade Center collapsed]] due to fire-induced structural failure. Although the South Tower was struck 17 minutes after the North Tower, the plane's impact zone was far lower, at a much faster speed, and into a corner, with the unevenly-balanced additional structural weight causing it to collapse first at 9:59 a.m.,<ref>{{cite journal|last=National Institute of Standards and Technology|title=Final Reports from the NIST World Trade Center Disaster Investigation|journal=NIST|year=2005|url=https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/NCSTAR/ncstar1-5av1.pdf|access-date=December 7, 2023|archive-date=September 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911011051/https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/NCSTAR/ncstar1-5av1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|80}}<ref name="finalreport">{{cite book|last=9/11 Final Report of the National Commission|title=Collapse of WTC2|year=2004|url=https://9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf|access-date=December 7, 2023|archive-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912055527/https://9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|322}} having burned for 56 minutes{{efn|NIST and the 9/11 Commission both state that the collapse began at 9:58:59 a.m., which is rounded to 9:59<ref>{{cite journal|last=National Institute of Standards and Technology|title=Final Reports from the NIST World Trade Center Disaster Investigation|journal=NIST|year=2005|url=https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/NCSTAR/ncstar1-5av1.pdf|access-date=December 7, 2023|archive-date=September 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911011051/https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/NCSTAR/ncstar1-5av1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|84}}<ref name="finalreport" />{{rp|322}} for simplicity. If the commission's claim that the South Tower was struck at 9:03:11 is to be believed, then the collapse began 55 minutes and 48 seconds after the crash, not 56 minutes.}} in the fire caused by the crash of United Airlines Flight 175 and the explosion of its fuel. The North Tower lasted another 29 minutes before collapsing at 10:28 a.m.,{{efn|The exact time of the North Tower's collapse initiation is disputed, with NIST dubbing the moment it began to collapse as being 10:28:22 a.m.<ref>{{cite web |title=Final Report on the Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-C13-4d4c17460292ee57ef313f6491fa8d1e/pdf/GOVPUB-C13-4d4c17460292ee57ef313f6491fa8d1e.pdf |publisher=National Institute of Standards and Technology |access-date=March 17, 2023 |archive-date=March 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309172011/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-C13-4d4c17460292ee57ef313f6491fa8d1e/pdf/GOVPUB-C13-4d4c17460292ee57ef313f6491fa8d1e.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and the 9/11 Commission recording the time as 10:28:25.<ref name="DOD Cronk Biden Announces" />{{rp|329}}}} one hour and forty-two minutes{{efn|name=Time1}} after being struck by American Airlines Flight 11. When the North Tower collapsed, debris fell on the nearby [[7 World Trade Center]] building (7{{spaces}}WTC), damaging the building and starting fires. These fires burned for nearly seven hours, compromising the building's structural integrity, and 7{{spaces}}WTC collapsed at 5:21{{spaces}}p.m.<ref>''World Trade Center Building Performance Study'', Ch. 5 WTC 7{{snd}}section 5.5.4</ref>{{sfnp|''Final Report on the Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7''|2008|p=xxxvii}} The west side of the Pentagon sustained significant damage. At 9:42 a.m., the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) grounded all civilian aircraft within the continental U.S., and civilian aircraft already in flight were told to land immediately.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chapter 1: "We have some planes" |url=http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch1.pdf |work=The 9/11 Commission Report |date=July 22, 2004 |access-date=July 5, 2015 |archive-date=September 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916171709/http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> All international civilian aircraft were either turned back or redirected to airports in Canada or Mexico, and were banned from landing on [[United States territory]] for three days.<ref>{{cite web |title=Profiles of 9/11 – About 9/11|url=http://www.biography.com/profiles-of-9-11/about911.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722151526/http://www.biography.com/profiles-of-9-11/about911.jsp |archive-date=July 22, 2011 |publisher=[[The Biography Channel]] |access-date=September 2, 2011}}</ref> The attacks created widespread confusion among news organizations and air traffic controllers. Among unconfirmed and often contradictory news reports aired throughout the day, one of the most prevalent claimed a car bomb had been detonated at the U.S. State Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C.<ref name="errors2">{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Mark |title=Three hours that shook America: A chronology of chaos |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/three-hours-shook-america-chronology-chaos/93600 |date=August 26, 2002 |website=[[Broadcasting & Cable]] |access-date=September 2, 2011 |archive-date=January 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130020702/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/three-hours-shook-america-chronology-chaos/93600 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another jet ([[Delta Air Lines Flight 1989]]) was suspected of having been hijacked, but the aircraft responded to controllers and landed safely in Cleveland, Ohio.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Marilyn |last2=Levin |first2=Alan |last3=Morrison |first3=Blake |title=Part II: No one was sure if hijackers were on board |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/sept11/2002-08-12-hijacker-daytwo_x.htm |work=[[USA Today]] |date=August 13, 2002 |access-date=September 2, 2011}}</ref> In an April 2002 interview, [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]] and [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]], who are believed to have organized the attacks, said Flight 93's intended target was the United States Capitol, not the White House.{{sfnp|Fouda|Fielding|2004|pp=158–59}} During the planning stage of the attacks, [[Mohamed Atta]] (Flight 11's hijacker and pilot) thought the White House might be too tough a target and sought an assessment from [[Hani Hanjour]] (who hijacked and piloted Flight 77).<ref name="The Eleventh Day pp 323">Summers and Swan (2011), p. 323.</ref> Mohammed said Al-Qaeda initially planned to target nuclear installations rather than the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but decided against it, fearing things could "get out of control".<ref name="AlQaedaplotted2002">{{cite news |title=Al-Qaeda 'plotted nuclear attacks' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2244146.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=September 8, 2002 |access-date=September 2, 2011 |archive-date=January 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103031125/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2244146.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Final decisions on targets, according to Mohammed, were left in the hands of the pilots.<ref name="The Eleventh Day pp 323" /> If any pilot could not reach his intended target, he was to crash the plane.<ref name="Chap7" /> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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