9/11 terror attack: Did you know? Lesser-known facts about the major strikes

September 11, 2001, remains the deadliest attack. Suicide attackers seized US passenger jets and crashed them into two New York skyscrapers, killing thousands of people. Nearly 3,000 people were killed across multiple coordinated strikes involving four hijacked airplanes. Among the dead were 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers, and 55 military personnel. What’s less known is that citizens from over 90 countries perished in the attacks. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York were hit by two planes. Within two hours, both 110-storey towers collapsed in massive clouds of dust. The third plane’s target was the western face of the Pentagon, the giant headquarters of the US military and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back. 

America grounded: An aviation first

In response to the unfolding attacks, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) took the unprecedented step of grounding all civilian aircraft across the United States. For the first time in U.S. history, the skies were emptied, as over 4,500 planes were ordered to land immediately, and all takeoffs were suspended for days.

The Flight 93 story 

United Flight 93 was bound for California when it was hijacked approximately 40 minutes after departing Newark Liberty International Airport. A delayed takeoff turned out to be a critical factor. Passengers learned of the other attacks through cell phones and Airfone calls, realising their fate could mirror the devastation in New York and Washington. Several passengers coordinated an uprising. Thomas Burnett Jr. called his wife, saying, “I know we’re all going to die. There’s three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey.”

Todd Beamer, another passenger, said, “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll.” Flight attendant Sandy Bradshaw reportedly filled pitchers with boiling water in preparation to fight. Her last words to her husband were, “Everyone’s running to first class. I’ve got to go. Bye.”

The passengers are believed to have used a fire extinguisher to storm the cockpit. In response, the hijackers crashed the plane into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all 44 onboard. 

A target once before

9/11 was not the first terrorist attempt on the World Trade Center. In February 1993, a truck bomb detonated in the parking garage of the North Tower, killing six people and injuring over 1,000. 

The human scale: Life inside the towers

On a typical weekday, the Twin Towers housed 50,000 employees, with another 40,000 passing through daily. The scale of the disaster and potential casualties could have been far greater had the attacks occurred later in the day. In the aftermath, 18 people were miraculously rescued alive from beneath the rubble.

A 9-month effort

Clearing the devastation from Ground Zero required a nine-month rescue and recovery operation. An estimated 1.8 million tons of debris was removed, with rescue workers, construction crews, and volunteers risking their health in hazardous conditions.

Health and psychological effects

First responders and survivors continue to experience respiratory illnesses, including asthma and lung inflammation, due to exposure to toxic dust. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is also prevalent among those who lived through the event or assisted in its aftermath. In 2019, the US Senate passed legislation to permanently fund the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, ensuring that survivors and first responders would never again need to lobby Congress for support. 

The global impact of a national tragedy

Though rooted in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, the effects of 9/11 were felt globally. Travel, international diplomacy, intelligence-sharing, and the global fight against terrorism were transformed. The attacks prompted the War on Terror. While the images of collapsing towers and fiery explosions are etched into global memory, the stories beneath those images reveal the horror of that day.