NEW YORK CITY – Back on September 11, 2001, FOX 5 News started LIVE reports on the 9/11 attacks at 8:48 a.m., just two minutes after the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
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Twenty-five years later, we look back at the moment Good Day New York began reporting on the unfolding events of that day.
‘Smoke coming out of the tower’
The backstory:
“Just a few moments ago, something, believed to be a plane, crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center,” former Good Day New York reporter Dick Oliver reported to anchor, Jim Ryan. “I just saw flames inside, you can see the smoke coming out of the tower.”
A few moments later, Ryan spoke with an eyewitness, Rosa Cardona Rivera, via phone: “I hear a plane, and I usually don’t see planes in this area, then all a sudden I see it go right into the World Trade Center, to the building.”
At 9:03 a.m., FOX 5 News remained live when the second plane struck: “Oh my goodness, there’s another one,” Ryan said live on air.
How many people died on 9/11?
By the numbers:
On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four planes, crashing two into the Twin Towers in New York City, one into the Pentagon, and the fourth into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to regain control. The attacks claimed the lives of 2,977 people.
In New York City, 2,753 people died, including 343 firefighters and rescue workers, when the World Trade Center towers fell after the hijacked planes crashed into the buildings. All 87 people — 76 passengers and 11 crew members on board American Airlines Flight 11 and 56 passengers and nine crew members of United Airlines Flight 175, were killed.
File: Firefighters walk towards one of the tower at the World Trade Center before it collapsed after a plane hit the building September 11, 2001 in New York City. (Photo by Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images)
At the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, 184 people died — 64 who were on board American Airlines Flight 77 and 125 in the Pentagon — when the hijacked plane crashed into the building.
The 40 passengers and crew members on board United Airlines Flight 93 were killed after they fought back, leading the hijackers to crash the plane in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
9/11 timeline of events
Timeline:
Here’s what transpired on that day:
5:45 a.m.
A total of 19 hijackers begin passing through security at various airports.
7:59 a.m.
American Airlines Flight 11 takes off from Boston’s Logan International Airport. The Boeing 767 is headed toward Los Angeles with 92 people on board, comprised of 11 crew members, 76 passengers and five hijackers.
8:15 a.m.
United Airlines Flight 175 takes off, also from Boston’s Logan International Airport headed for Los Angeles. The Boeing 767 had 64 people on board, comprised of nine crew members, 51 passengers and five hijackers.
8:19 a.m.
American Airlines Flight 11 crew members Betty Ann Ong and Madeline Amy Sweeney report the hijacking to ground personnel, providing key information about the hijacking.
8:20 a.m.
American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Washington Dulles International Airport for Los Angeles. The Boeing 757 carried 65 people, comprised of six crew members, 53 passengers and five hijackers.
8:24 a.m.
One of the hijackers on American Airlines Flight 11 accidentally calls ground control when trying to transmit a message to the passengers in the plane’s cabin, unwittingly alerting ground control to the attacks. Victor J. Saracini, the pilot of American Airlines Flight 175, hears the accidental transmission and alerts the Federal Aviation Administration just minutes before his plane is hijacked.
8:40 a.m.
The FAA notifies the Northeast American Aerospace Defense Command’s Northeast Air Defense Sector about suspected hijacking of American Flight 11. NEADS then mobilizes Air National Guard jets at Otis Air Force Base in Falmouth, Mass., to identify and follow Flight 11.
8:42 a.m.
United Airlines Flight 93 takes off from Newark International Airport for San Francisco. The Boeing 757 has 44 people on board, comprised of seven crew members, 33 passengers and five hijackers.
8:43 a.m.
FAA notifies NORAD about suspected hijacking of United Flight 175.
What time was the first tower hit on 9/11
8:46 a.m.
The first plane crashes. American Airlines Flight 11 strikes the North Tower of the World Trade Center traveling at hundreds of miles per hour and carrying around 10,000 gallons of jet fuel. The flight crashes into floors 93-99 and severs all three emergency stairwells, trapping hundreds of people above the 91st floor.
8:50 a.m.
U.S. President George W. Bush, visiting an elementary school in Sarasota, Florida, is notified that a plane has hit the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
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8:59 a.m.
Port Authority Police Department Sergeant Al DeVona issues orders to evacuate the Twin Towers. One minute later, evacuation orders are extended for all civilians in the World Trade Center Complex.
What time was the second tower hit on 9/11
9:03 a.m.
The second plane crashes. United Flight 175 strikes the South Tower on floors 77-85. Two of the three emergency stairwells are rendered impassible and most elevator cables in the area are severed by the crash, trapping many on floors above the impact and in elevators.
9:05 a.m.
President George W. Bush is alerted to the second crash into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
9:08 a.m.
FAA bans all takeoffs for flights nationwide which were either going to or passing through its New York Center airspace.
9:12 a.m.
Flight attendant Renee A. May and passenger Barbara K. Olson aboard Flight 77 call family members and alert them to the hijacking. Their family members alert American Airlines and federal officials.
9:21 a.m.
All bridges and tunnels into Manhattan are closed.
9:24 a.m.
FAA notifies NORAD of suspected hijacking of American Airlines Flight 77.9:26 a.m.FAA bans takeoffs of all civilian aircraft.
9:31 a.m.
From Florida, President George Bush calls the crashes an “apparent terrorist attack on our country.” He and his staff leave the elementary school and begin traveling back to Washington.
9:37 a.m.
The third plane crashes. American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the western face of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
9:45 a.m.
FAA grounds all flights, ordering all aircraft to land at nearest airport as soon as practical. More than 4,500 aircraft are in air at the time.
9:45 a.m.
The U.S. Capitol and White House’s West Wing begin evacuating. The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are in session.
9:58 a.m.
Flight 93 passenger Edward P. Felt is able to hide in a bathroom and make a phone call to 911.
9:59 a.m.
After burning for 56 minutes, the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses. The collapse takes a shocking 10 seconds. More than 800 civilians and first responders are killed.
10:03 a.m. (approximately)
The fourth plane crashes. Heroic crew members and passengers of United Flight 93 storm the cockpit, forcing the hijackers to crash the plane into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at a location just 20 minutes flying time from Washington D.C. The 9/11 Commission Report determined that this plane was likely headed for Washington D.C. or the White House.
10:15 a.m.
A damaged section of the Pentagon E Ring, a west-facing outer ring, collapses.
10:28 a.m.
After burning for 102 minutes, the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses. More than 1,600 civilians and first responders are killed.
11:02 a.m.
New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani orders evacuation of lower Manhattan.
1:04 p.m.
President George W. Bush, at Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana, announces that the U.S. military is on high alert worldwide.
2:51 p.m.
The U.S. Navy dispatches missile destroyers to New York and Washington.
3:07 p.m.
President George W. Bush arrives at Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
5:25 p.m.
After burning for hours, the empty 47-story 7 World Trade Center collapses.
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8:30 p.m.
President George Bush addresses the Nation from the White House.