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Terrorist attacks on the United States.
Timeline of events (Eastern Daylight Time):
8:46am
American Airlines flight 11, flying from Boston to Los Angeles with
92 people on board, crashes into the north tower of the World Trade
Center in New York City, ripping into multiple floors and igniting a
massive fire.
8:47am
Firefighters and emergency crews begin heading for the Trade Center.
8:50am
Bridges and tunnels leading to Lower Manhattan are closed to all but
emergency vehicles.
9:02am
United Airlines flight 175, flying from Boston to Los Angeles with
65 people on board, crashes into the south tower of the World Trade
Center, damaging multiple floors and bursting into flames.
9:17am
The Federal Aviation Administration shuts down every airport in the
New York City area.
9:21am
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey closes every bridge
and tunnel in the New York area.
9:30am
From Florida, President George W. Bush announces the country has
suffered an "apparent terrorist attack," and pledges that the United
States will hunt down the responsible parties.
9:38am
American Airlines flight 77, flying from Dulles Airport in
Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles with 64 people on board, crashes
into the Pentagon, in northern Virginia, and explodes into flames.
9:40am
The Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) halts all flight
operations at American airports, and orders every commercial
airliner to land immediately, marking the first time in U.S. history
that air traffic nationwide has been suspended.
9:48am
In Washington, D.C., workers are evacuated from the U.S. Capitol and
the White House.
9:58am
The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
An emergency operator in Pennsylvania receives
a call from a passenger on United Airlines flight 93, flying from
Newark to San Francisco with 45 people aboard, stating the plane is
being hijacked.
10:10am
Damage from the plane crash causes part of the Pentagon to collapse.
United Airlines flight 93 crashes to the
ground in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh,
heroically brought down by its own passengers after hearing about
the attacks on the World Trade Center. Officials later speculate
that the plane's hijackers had intended to attack the White House or
the Capitol.
10:13am
In New York City, the United Nations is evacuated.
10:24am
The F.A.A. diverts all transatlantic aircraft flying to the U.S.,
sending them to Canada.
10:28am
The north tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
11:02am
New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani orders Lower Manhattan to be
evacuated.
11:40am
With the U.S. military on nuclear alert, President Bush is taken to
Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
1:04pm
From Barksdale Air Force Base, President Bush states that the nation
is taking appropriate security measures, and the U.S. military is on
high alert worldwide. He asks Americans to pray for the victims of
the attacks and says America "will hunt down and punish those
responsible for these cowardly acts." The President will soon depart
for Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
1:44pm
The Pentagon announces that two aircraft carriers, the U.S.S.
George Washington and the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy, along
with five other war ships, are leaving the U.S. Naval Station in
Norfolk, Virginia, headed for New York.
2:49pm
Mayor Giuliani announces that New York's subway and bus service have
been partially restored. When asked how many people he thinks have
been killed, Giuliani voices the grief many feel by saying, "I don't
think we want to speculate about that -- more than any of us can
bear."
4:00pm
U.S. officials say there are "good indications" that Saudi terrorist
Osama bin Laden, who is suspected of coordinating the bombings of
two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998, is behind the attacks.
4:10pm
Number 7 World Trade Center, which sustained massive damage from the
collapse of the north tower, is on fire. Everyone in the building
has already been evacuated.
4:25pm
The New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, and Nasdaq
announce they will not open on Wednesday, September 12.
4:30pm
President Bush returns to Washington from Offutt Air Force Base in
Nebraska.
5:20pm
Number 7 World Trade Center collapses.
6:10pm
Mayor Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay at home on the next day,
Wednesday, September 12.
7:45pm
New York's police department announces that at least 78 of its
officers are missing. The city also announces that hundreds of
firefighters have been killed.
8:31pm
In a televised address, President Bush says, "thousands of lives
were suddenly ended by evil" and asks Americans to pray for the
victims and their families. The president announces the U.S.
government will not differentiate between terrorists and those who
harbor them.
9:52pm
Mayor Giuliani announces that the city does not need any more
volunteers for the immediate rescue work.
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