Feb 26, 1993, 12:18 pm – Sep 11, 2026·142 events
9/11 Timeline: The September 11 Attacks Minute by Minute
All 142 events
In date order. Indented events happen within the event above them. Times are in EST unless another zone is shown. Last updated September 29, 2026.
· President, government and context
Truck bomb explodes under the World Trade Center
At 12:18 p.m. a truck bomb left on level B-2 of the underground garage exploded, opening a hole seven stories up. The 9/11 Commission reports that six people died and more than a thousand were injured.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 3; 9/11 Memorial & Museum, FAQs
· President, government and context
Bin Laden issues his first public fatwa
Usama Bin Ladin issued a self-styled fatwa calling on Muslims to drive American soldiers out of Saudi Arabia, according to the 9/11 Commission.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 2
· Property, insurance and investigations
Securacom wins a World Trade Center security contract
Securacom was awarded an $8.3 million contract as part of a security upgrade at the World Trade Center and expected to finish most of the work in 1997, its 1997 prospectus says. Marvin Bush, brother of George W. Bush, had been a director since 1993. He is not listed in the company's 2000 proxy statement.
Sources: Securacom, prospectus (424B3), SEC filing, October 1997; Stratesec (formerly Securacom), proxy statement, SEC filing, May 2000
· President, government and context
Bin Laden and Zawahiri publish a second fatwa
Bin Ladin and Ayman al Zawahiri arranged for an Arabic newspaper in London to publish a fatwa in the name of a "World Islamic Front." The 9/11 Commission calls it Bin Ladin's February 1998 declaration of war.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 2
· President, government and context
Al Qaeda bombs US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
Bombs hit the embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam about five minutes apart. The Nairobi blast killed 12 Americans and 201 others; the Dar es Salaam blast killed 11 more, according to the 9/11 Commission.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 2; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 4
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
First two hijackers arrive in Los Angeles
Nawaf al Hazmi and Khalid al Mihdhar, later among the hijackers of American 77, arrived in Los Angeles and settled in San Diego, according to the 9/11 Commission.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 7
· President, government and context
Think-tank report mentions "a new Pearl Harbor"
The Project for the New American Century's report Rebuilding America's Defenses said military transformation was likely to be slow "absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event" such as "a new Pearl Harbor." The passage is about the pace of change in military technology.
Sources: Project for the New American Century, Rebuilding America's Defenses (2000), p. 51
· President, government and context
USS Cole attacked in Aden, Yemen
Al Qaeda operatives in a small boat packed with explosives attacked the Navy destroyer, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 40. The Commission says Bin Ladin supervised the operation directly.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 6
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
Flight school tells the FAA it doubts Hanjour's skills
An operations manager at JetTech in Phoenix called an FAA inspector three times about Hani Hanjour, later the pilot of American 77. "I couldn't believe he had a commercial license of any kind with the skills that he had," she told the AP. The inspector took no further action. Hanjour passed a certification flight in Maryland in August 2001, the Commission reports.
Sources: AP via ABC News, May 10, 2002; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 7
· President, government and context
The other hijackers begin arriving in the US
The hijackers the Commission calls the "muscle," who would help seize the cockpits, began arriving in the United States in late April 2001.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 7
· Property, insurance and investigations
Port Authority agrees to lease the Twin Towers to Silverstein
The Port Authority board approved a 99-year net lease, worth an estimated $3.2 billion, to Silverstein Properties and Westfield America. It covered 1, 2, 4 and 5 World Trade Center and about 400,000 square feet of retail space. Silverstein's company had developed 7 World Trade Center, completed in 1987.
Sources: Port Authority of NY & NJ, press release #68, April 26, 2001; FEMA 403, World Trade Center Building Performance Study, ch. 5
· Property, insurance and investigations
Port Authority loses its claim for asbestos removal costs
The Port Authority had sued its insurers for the cost of removing asbestos from its buildings. Business Insurance put the claim at more than $600 million, over $200 million of it for the World Trade Center. A federal court ruled against the Port Authority. NIST says asbestos fireproofing had been sprayed as high as the North Tower's 38th floor.
Sources: Business Insurance, "Port loses claim for asbestos removal," May 2001; Port Authority v. Affiliated FM Insurance, 311 F.3d 226 (3d Cir. 2002); NIST NCSTAR 1, Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers
· Property, insurance and investigations
Silverstein and Westfield sign the World Trade Center lease
The complex was insured for $3.54 billion per occurrence under more than 30 policies, according to a later federal appeals ruling. Before 9/11, commercial property policies generally covered terrorism at no extra premium, the GAO reported. Westfield said the day after the attacks that its cover included terrorism.
Sources: Voice of America, Ground Zero timeline; World Trade Center Properties v. Hartford Fire Insurance (2d Cir. 2006); GAO-04-307, Terrorism Insurance (2004); CNN, September 12, 2001 (archived)
· President, government and context
Daily brief: "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US"
The President's Daily Brief carried this article. The Commission says it was the 36th PDB item that year about Bin Ladin or al Qaeda and the first about an attack in the US. President Bush told the Commission it was historical in nature.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 8
· President, government and context
Zacarias Moussaoui arrested in Minnesota
FBI and INS agents took Moussaoui into custody on an immigration charge. A Minneapolis FBI supervisor said he was trying to keep someone from "taking a plane and crashing into the World Trade Center." FBI headquarters lawyers declined to seek a FISA warrant to search his belongings.
Sources: DOJ Inspector General, FBI handling of intelligence before 9/11, ch. 1; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 8
· President, government and context
Two future hijackers are put on the watchlist
The CIA knew in January 2000 that Khalid al Mihdhar held a US visa, and in March 2000 that Nawaf al Hazmi had flown to Los Angeles. Neither was put on the State Department's TIPOFF watchlist until August 24, 2001, the Commission found.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 6; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 8
· Property, insurance and investigations
Unusual trading in airline put options
Put options, which pay off when a stock falls, surged on United's parent on September 6 and on American's on September 10. The Commission reports that one US investor "with no conceivable ties to al Qaeda" bought 95 percent of the United puts, and that much of the American trading followed a newsletter's recommendation.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, notes; US Department of State, "Identifying Misinformation" on 9/11 conspiracy theories, September 2005 (archived)
· President, government and context
Rumsfeld: "we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions"
In a speech the day before the attacks, the Defense Secretary called the Pentagon bureaucracy an adversary and said, "According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions." The figure came from a February 2000 Inspector General report on accounting entries that lacked adequate audit trails.
Sources: Rumsfeld, remarks at DoD Acquisition and Logistics Excellence Week, September 10, 2001 (archived); DoD Inspector General, report D-2000-091, February 25, 2000 (archived)
· President, government and context
September 11, 2001
Nineteen hijackers took over four airliners. Two hit the World Trade Center, one the Pentagon, and one crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back. Both towers and 7 World Trade Center collapsed.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia, Timeline for the day of the September 11 attacks
· President, government and context
The toll: 2,977 people killed
The 9/11 Memorial counts 2,977 victims from 90 nations: 2,753 in New York, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 on Flight 93. The FDNY lost 343. The Commission's 2004 report gave 2,973.
Sources: 9/11 Memorial & Museum, FAQs; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
Hijacker's passport handed to an NYPD detective
A passerby gave Satam al Suqami's passport to a detective while debris was falling from the South Tower, shortly before it collapsed. It was one of four hijacker passports that survived. Two were found at the Flight 93 site, and Abdul Aziz al Omari's was in luggage that missed Flight 11.
Sources: 9/11 Commission, Staff Statement No. 1; 9/11 Commission, 9/11 and Terrorist Travel, staff monograph
· President, government and context
The morning of September 11
From the first hijackers' flight out of Portland, Maine, to the collapse of the North Tower. The 9/11 Commission reconstructed this period from radar, cockpit recorders, phone calls and air traffic tapes.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia: Timeline for the day of the September 11 attacks
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
Atta and Omari fly from Portland to Boston
Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al Omari boarded a 6:00 a.m. flight from Portland, Maine, to Boston's Logan Airport. Atta was selected by the CAPPS prescreening system, which only meant his checked bags were held until he boarded.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
Hijackers check in for American 77 at Dulles
Khalid al Mihdhar and Majed Moqed checked in at 7:15. At the checkpoint both set off the first metal detector; Moqed and later Nawaf al Hazmi were hand-wanded and let through.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
Five hijackers board United 175
Marwan al Shehhi and four others, none of them selected by CAPPS, boarded between 7:23 and 7:28. The plane pushed back from the gate at 7:58.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
Five hijackers board American 11
Atta, Omari and Satam al Suqami sat in business class and Wail and Waleed al Shehri in first class. They boarded between 7:31 and 7:40, and the plane pushed back from the gate at 7:40.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 93
Four hijackers board United 93 at Newark
Ziad Jarrah and three others boarded between 7:39 and 7:48 and sat in first class. Ahmad al Haznawi was selected by CAPPS, so his checked bag was screened for explosives.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
American Airlines Flight 11
A Boeing 767 from Boston to Los Angeles, flown by Captain John Ogonowski and First Officer Thomas McGuinness, with nine flight attendants and 81 passengers, including the five hijackers.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia: American Airlines Flight 11
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
American 11 takes off from Boston
The flight left Logan International Airport, bound for Los Angeles. It had been scheduled to depart at 7:45.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
Hijacking of American 11 begins
The flight acknowledged a routine instruction from Boston Center, then ignored an order to climb to 35,000 feet sixteen seconds later. The Commission concludes the hijacking began at 8:14 or shortly after.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia: American Airlines Flight 11
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
Flight attendant Betty Ong reports the hijacking
Calling American's reservations office in Cary, North Carolina, Ong said the cockpit was not answering and someone had been stabbed. Her call lasted about 25 minutes.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
American 11's transponder is turned off
The Boston Center controller told his supervisor something was seriously wrong with the plane, though neither yet suspected a hijacking.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
"We have some planes"
A hijacker keyed the radio, apparently meaning to address the passengers: "We have some planes. Just stay quiet, and you'll be okay." Boston Center heard it. From the next transmission the controller knew it was a hijacking.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; 9/11 Commission Staff Statement No. 17: Improvising a Homeland Defense
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
Flight attendant Amy Sweeney calls Boston
Madeline "Amy" Sweeney reached American's flight services office in Boston. After being cut off she reconnected and reported the hijacking, the stabbings and the hijackers' seat numbers to manager Michael Woodward.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
American 11 turns south
A minute after Betty Ong reported the plane was "flying erratically," Flight 11 turned south toward New York.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
Sweeney: "We are flying way too low"
Nydia Gonzalez lost phone contact with Ong. About the same time Sweeney told Woodward the plane was in a rapid descent and flying very low. Seconds later her call ended.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
Flight 11 hits the North Tower
American 11 struck the upper North Tower, cutting through floors 93 to 99, killing everyone aboard and an unknown number in the tower. Accounts differ by seconds: the 9/11 Commission gives 8:46:40, NIST 8:46:30.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9; NIST NCSTAR 1, Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
United Airlines Flight 175
A Boeing 767 from Boston to Los Angeles, flown by Captain Victor Saracini and First Officer Michael Horrocks, with seven flight attendants and 56 passengers.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia: United Airlines Flight 175
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
United 175 takes off from Boston
The flight departed Logan Airport as American 11 was being hijacked, and reached its cruising altitude of 31,000 feet by 8:33.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
United 175's pilots report a suspicious transmission
The crew told New York Center they had heard someone key the mike after leaving Boston and say "everyone stay in your seats." It was the flight's last communication with the ground.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
United 175 is hijacked
The hijackers attacked sometime between 8:42 and 8:46, using knives, Mace and the threat of a bomb. A flight attendant later reported both pilots had been killed.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia: United Airlines Flight 175
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
United 175's beacon code changes
Seconds after American 11 hit the North Tower, United 175 changed beacon codes twice within a minute. The New York Center controller, who was also searching for American 11, did not notice for several minutes.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
Calls from United 175 report the hijacking
Passenger Peter Hanson called his father in Connecticut, and a male flight attendant called a United office in San Francisco to report that both pilots had been killed.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
United 175 turns toward New York City
After flying southwest, the plane took a heading toward New York. At 9:02 a New York controller warned a colleague: "it looks like another one coming in."
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
Flight 175 hits the South Tower
United 175 struck the South Tower from the south, crashing through the 77th to 85th floors and killing everyone aboard. The 9/11 Commission gives 9:03:11; NIST gives 9:02:59.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9; NIST NCSTAR 1, Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
American Airlines Flight 77
A Boeing 757 from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles, flown by Captain Charles F. Burlingame and First Officer David Charlebois, with four flight attendants and 58 passengers.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia: American Airlines Flight 77
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
American 77 takes off from Dulles
The flight pushed back at 8:09 and took off at 8:20. It reached its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet at 8:46.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
American 77 is hijacked
After its last routine radio call at 8:51, the flight was taken over between 8:51 and 8:54. A passenger reported the hijackers had box cutters and had moved passengers to the rear.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia: American Airlines Flight 77
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
American 77 turns south off course
The aircraft deviated from its assigned course with a turn toward the south. Two minutes later it disappeared from Indianapolis Center's radar.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
American 77's transponder is turned off
Indianapolis Center lost the plane and believed it had crashed. Radar tracked it, but for 8 minutes and 13 seconds its primary return was not shown to controllers, and it flew east for 36 minutes unnoticed.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
Flight attendant Renee May calls her mother
May told her mother in Las Vegas that six hijackers had taken the plane and moved everyone to the rear, and asked her to alert American Airlines. Her parents did so.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
Barbara Olson calls her husband
Sometime between 9:16 and 9:26, passenger Barbara Olson called Solicitor General Ted Olson twice, reporting hijackers with knives and box cutters. He told her of the two earlier crashes.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
Autopilot switched off near Washington
The autopilot was disengaged with the plane at 7,000 feet, about 38 miles west of the Pentagon.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
American 77 makes a 330-degree turn
Five miles west-southwest of the Pentagon the plane turned, descending through 2,200 feet. The hijacker pilot then advanced the throttles to maximum and dove toward the building.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
Flight 77 hits the Pentagon
American 77 crashed into the Pentagon at about 530 miles per hour. Everyone aboard and many civilian and military personnel in the building were killed; the 9/11 Memorial counts 184 dead at the Pentagon.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; 9/11 Memorial & Museum, FAQs
· FAA and NORAD
Boston Center reports a hijacking to the FAA Command Center
Boston Center told the Command Center in Herndon, Virginia, that it believed American 11 had been hijacked and was heading toward New York airspace.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
Boston Center asks NORAD for fighters
Bypassing the chain of command, Boston Center called NORAD's Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS). NEADS asked, "Is this real-world or exercise?" It was the military's first notice of any hijacking, nine minutes before impact. NORAD was running an exercise, Vigilant Guardian, that morning. The Commission found the extra staff on duty, if anything, sped the response.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; The 9/11 Commission Report, notes (ch. 1, note 116)
· Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93
A Boeing 757 from Newark to San Francisco, flown by Captain Jason Dahl and First Officer Leroy Homer, with five flight attendants and 37 passengers, including four hijackers.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia: United Airlines Flight 93
· Flight 93
United 93 takes off from Newark
Heavy morning traffic held the flight on the ground. It left more than 25 minutes late, and its crew did not know about the hijacking of American 11.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 93
United 93 gets a cockpit-intrusion warning
Dispatcher Ed Ballinger's message, "Beware any cockpit intrusion," reached the cockpit. At 9:26 Captain Dahl replied: "Ed, confirm latest mssg plz-Jason."
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 93
Hijackers attack on United 93
Over eastern Ohio the plane dropped 700 feet. Cleveland Center heard a pilot declare "Mayday" amid sounds of a struggle, then shout "get out of here." The takeover came 46 minutes after takeoff.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; 9/11 Commission Staff Statement No. 17: Improvising a Homeland Defense
· Flight 93
Hijacker announces a bomb on board
A hijacker, probably Jarrah, told passengers to sit down because there was a bomb aboard. He then set the autopilot to turn the plane around and head east.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 93
Cleveland hears a second hijacker announcement
Jarrah said there was a bomb on board and the plane was going back to the airport. The Commission believes he meant to speak to the cabin but did not know how to work the radio.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 93
United 93's transponder is turned off
Cleveland Center found the plane on primary radar, matched it with sightings from other aircraft, and tracked it as it turned east, then south.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 93
Passengers and crew fight back
Through phone calls at least ten passengers and two crew members learned of the other attacks. Five calls described a plan to revolt, and one said they voted. The assault on the cockpit began at 9:57.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia: United Airlines Flight 93
· Flight 93
Hijacker pilot rolls and pitches the plane
At 9:58:57 Jarrah told another hijacker to block the door. He rolled the plane left and right, then from 9:59:52 pitched the nose up and down, as the assault continued outside the cockpit.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 93
Hijackers decide to crash the plane
With the passengers still fighting, a hijacker said "Pull it down! Pull it down!" The control wheel was turned hard right and the plane rolled onto its back.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 93
Flight 93 crashes near Shanksville, Pennsylvania
The plane hit an empty field at 580 miles per hour, about 20 minutes' flying time from Washington, killing all 40 passengers and crew and the four hijackers. The Commission says the exact time has been disputed; it gives 10:03:11.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; 9/11 Memorial & Museum, FAQs
· FAA and NORAD
F-15s scrambled from Otis Air Force Base
Two alert F-15s on Cape Cod, 153 miles from New York, were scrambled at the same minute American 11 hit the North Tower. NEADS did not know where to send them.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
The North Tower burns
The 102 minutes between Flight 11's impact and the North Tower's collapse. NIST estimates about 8,900 people were in the building shortly before 9:00 a.m.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9; NIST NCSTAR 1, Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
First fire companies reach the North Tower
A battalion chief with two ladder and two engine companies arrived at about 8:52. By 9:00 about 235 firefighters had been dispatched, according to the Commission.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
Port Authority orders the complex evacuated
The Port Authority Police commanding officer at the World Trade Center ordered all civilians out of the complex, citing the damage to the North Tower.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
Firefighters ordered out of the North Tower
Within a minute of the South Tower's collapse, a chief radioed: "Command to all units in Tower 1, evacuate the building." Many firefighters inside did not hear it or did not know the South Tower had fallen.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
The North Tower collapses
The collapse killed everyone still on the upper floors and scores of first responders, including the FDNY Chief of Department. Sixteen people in stairwell B survived. NIST gives 10:28:22; the 9/11 Commission gives 10:28:25.
Sources: NIST NCSTAR 1, Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9
· FAA and NORAD
Otis fighters airborne
Lacking a target, the F-15s were sent to military airspace off Long Island and held there from 9:09 to 9:13. They reached Manhattan at 9:25 and set up a combat air patrol.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· President, government and context
Bush hears of the first crash at a Sarasota school
Arriving at Emma E. Booker Elementary School, Bush was told a small plane had hit the World Trade Center. At 8:55, before entering the classroom, he spoke to Condoleezza Rice, who told him it was a commercial aircraft.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
Fire chiefs ask for the South Tower to be evacuated
By 8:57 FDNY chiefs had asked building staff and Port Authority police to evacuate the South Tower. At about 9:02 its public-address system told civilians they could begin an orderly evacuation.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9
· President, government and context
Satellite intelligence agency had a plane-crash drill scheduled
The National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, Virginia, had planned an exercise in which a small corporate jet would crash into one of its four towers after a mechanical failure. UPI reported it was set for 9 a.m. It was cancelled when the real attacks began. A spokesman called it "an incredible coincidence."
Sources: AP via Deseret News, August 22, 2002; UPI, August 22, 2002
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
The South Tower burns
The 56 minutes between Flight 175's impact and the South Tower's collapse. At least four people descended stairwell A from the 81st floor or above. The Commission says the stairwell may have been passable for others.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9
· Flight 175 and the South Tower
The South Tower collapses
The South Tower fell in ten seconds, 56 minutes after it was hit, killing everyone inside and people in the concourse, the Marriott hotel and nearby streets. It was hit second and fell first.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 9; NIST NCSTAR 1, Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers
· FAA and NORAD
New York Center stops all traffic
New York Center declared "ATC zero": no aircraft could depart from, arrive at or pass through its airspace. Boston Center stopped departures at its airports.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· President, government and context
Card tells Bush: "America is under attack"
Chief of Staff Andrew Card whispered to the President in the classroom: "A second plane hit the second tower." Bush told the Commission he wanted to project calm, and stayed another five to seven minutes as the children read.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; NBC News: He told Bush that 'America is under attack'
· President, government and context
Bush leaves the classroom and makes calls
Shortly before 9:15 the President returned to a holding room, watched the coverage, and spoke to Vice President Cheney, Rice, Governor George Pataki and FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
Mistaken report: American 11 still airborne
The FAA told NEADS that American 11 was still in the air and heading for Washington. The Commission could not identify the source of this mistaken information.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
NEADS scrambles fighters from Langley
Responding to the phantom American 11, NEADS ordered Langley's alert fighters toward Washington. They were airborne at 9:30 but, following a generic flight plan, headed east over the ocean.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
FAA orders a nationwide ground stop
While FAA headquarters was still discussing it, the Command Center in Herndon ordered that no more flights take off anywhere in the country.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; 9/11 Commission Staff Statement No. 17: Improvising a Homeland Defense
· President, government and context
White House video conference begins
Richard Clarke ran a video teleconference from the Situation Room with the CIA, FBI, and the departments of State, Justice and Defense. The Commission found that in the first hour its information was not passed to the Pentagon's command center.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· President, government and context
Bush speaks at the school
"Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country," the President said, adding that he was returning to Washington. His motorcade left at 9:35.
Sources: White House, Remarks by the President After Two Planes Crash Into World Trade Center; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
Dulles controllers spot a fast eastbound target
Controllers at the Dulles radar facility saw a primary target "tracking eastbound at a high rate of speed" and warned Reagan National. It was American 77.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
NEADS learns American 77 is missing
Calling about American 11, NEADS was told by Washington Center: "We're looking, we also lost American 77." It was the military's first notice that the flight was missing, and it came by chance.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
FAA headquarters learns United 93 is hijacked
Word of the hijacking reached FAA headquarters by 9:34. No one at headquarters asked the military for help with United 93, the Commission found.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· President, government and context
Secret Service rushes Cheney to the bunker
As an unidentified aircraft neared Washington, agents moved the Vice President out of his office just before 9:36. He entered the tunnel to the shelter at 9:37, where he learned the Pentagon had been hit.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· President, government and context
Pentagon air threat conference call begins
The National Military Command Center's air threat conference call lasted more than eight hours. The FAA was not on it for the first 48 minutes. The Commission says its times are accurate to about three minutes.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
FAA orders every aircraft to land
After news of the Pentagon crash, national operations manager Ben Sliney ordered all aircraft to land at the nearest airport. About 4,500 aircraft landed without incident. The Commission gives 9:42; some timelines give 9:45.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; Wikipedia, Timeline for the day of the September 11 attacks
· President, government and context
Bush to Cheney: "We're at war"
After boarding Air Force One in Sarasota, the President called the Vice President at about 9:45. Notes of the call record him saying he had heard about the Pentagon and "We're at war."
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
Command Center asks about scrambling fighters
Thirteen minutes after Cleveland Center asked about military help, the Command Center suggested FAA headquarters decide whether to request it. Headquarters replied, "everybody just left the room."
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· President, government and context
Air Force One takes off with no fixed destination
The Secret Service judged Washington too unstable for the President's return, and Card agreed. The Commission says Bush wanted to go back and only reluctantly agreed to go elsewhere.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Flight 77 and the Pentagon
Part of the Pentagon collapses
Arlington County's after-action report puts the collapse of the upper floors at the impact area at 9:57, minutes after a fire captain saw movement and ordered everyone out. Other timelines give 10:10 or 10:15.
Sources: Arlington County After-Action Report on the Response to the September 11 Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon; Wikipedia, Timeline for the day of the September 11 attacks
· President, government and context
Cheney enters the shelter conference room
The Commission concludes the Vice President reached the conference room shortly before 10:00, perhaps at 9:58, and says the evidence on the time conflicts. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta testified to an earlier time.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; 9/11 Commission, public hearing transcript, May 23, 2003
· FAA and NORAD
NEADS first hears of United 93
Cleveland Center's military liaison passed along United 93's last known position. The plane had already crashed, so NEADS never found it on radar.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
Fighters over Washington told: no clearance to shoot
Shortly after 10:10 the NEADS mission crew commander told the Langley fighters over the capital "negative clearance to shoot."
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· President, government and context
Cheney authorizes fighters to engage
Told an inbound aircraft was 80 miles out, the Vice President authorized fighters to engage it. It was United 93, already down. He said he acted on an earlier call with the President; the Commission found no record of that call but called the sources incomplete.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; HISTORY: Behind the 9/11 White House Order to Shoot Down U.S. Airliners; 9/11 Commission Staff Statement No. 17: Improvising a Homeland Defense
· FAA and NORAD
NEADS learns United 93 is down
Washington Center told NEADS that United 93 was down "somewhere up northeast of Camp David." The Commission says the military learned of the flight only after it had crashed.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· President, government and context
Cheney and Bush confirm the shootdown order
Prompted by deputy chief of staff Joshua Bolten, the Vice President was logged calling the President for a two-minute call. Press secretary Ari Fleischer noted that at 10:20 Bush told him he had authorized a shootdown if necessary.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
Shootdown authorization reaches NORAD
General Larry Arnold had NORAD's chat system carry the Vice President's clearance to shoot down aircraft that did not respond. NEADS leaders did not pass it to the pilots, whose orders remained to identify type and tail number.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· President, government and context
A false alarm 5 miles from Washington
Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley relayed the Vice President's guidance to "take them out" for a reported aircraft 5 miles out. It turned out to be a medevac helicopter.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· FAA and NORAD
Andrews fighters launch "weapons free"
DC Air National Guard fighters took off from Andrews at the Secret Service's request, outside the NORAD chain of command. Pilots launching from 10:42 were told the decision to shoot rested with the lead pilot.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· President, government and context
Air Force One lands at Barksdale Air Force Base
The plane landed in Louisiana at about 11:45. There Bush said: "The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 10; White House, Remarks by the President Upon Arrival at Barksdale Air Force Base
· President, government and context
Rumsfeld in aides' notes: "hit S.H. at same time"
Notes taken by aides record the Defense Secretary at 2:40 p.m.: "Judge whether good enough hit S.H. at same time. Not only UBL." CBS News reported the notes in 2002. The 9/11 Commission later found no evidence of "a collaborative operational relationship" between Iraq and al Qaeda.
Sources: CBS News, "Plans For Iraq Attack Began On 9/11," September 4, 2002; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 2
· President, government and context
Bush arrives at Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt in Nebraska was chosen for its command facilities. At about 3:15 Bush met his advisers by secure video. Rice said he opened with "We're at war"; George Tenet said early signs pointed to al Qaeda.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 10
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
BBC reports 7 World Trade Center has collapsed
At 4:54 p.m. BBC News 24 reported the collapse of "the 47-storey Salomon Brothers building." BBC World then aired a live report with the building still standing behind the correspondent. It fell at 5:20. In 2007 the BBC called the report an error and said it no longer had its original tapes of the coverage.
Sources: BBC The Editors, "Part of the conspiracy?", February 27, 2007; BBC The Editors, "Part of the conspiracy? (2)", March 2, 2007; Full Fact, BBC and World Trade Center 7
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
7 World Trade Center collapses
Debris from the North Tower set the 47-story building on fire, and the fires burned for almost seven hours. Its tenants included the SEC, the Secret Service, the CIA, the IRS, the Defense Department and the city's Office of Emergency Management. NIST gives the collapse time as 5:20:52 p.m.
Sources: NIST NCSTAR 1A, Final Report on the Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7; Wikipedia, Timeline for the day of the September 11 attacks; FEMA 403, World Trade Center Building Performance Study, ch. 5
· President, government and context
Bush addresses the nation from the White House
"We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them," the President said.
Sources: White House, Statement by the President in His Address to the Nation; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 10
· FAA and NORAD
National airspace reopens
On the morning of September 13, airspace reopened for airports that met newly improvised security standards. It was the first time all nonemergency civilian aircraft in the US had been grounded.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 10
· President, government and context
Bin Laden denies planning the attacks
In a statement carried by Al Jazeera, Osama bin Laden said, "I would like to assure the world that I did not plan the recent attacks." He later took responsibility on video.
· Property, insurance and investigations
BBC reports some named hijackers are alive
A BBC article headlined "Hijack 'suspects' alive and well" reported that men with the names of several listed hijackers, including Waleed al Shehri, were alive. In 2006 the BBC said the confusion may have come from common Arabic names. The FBI said it was "confident that it has positively identified the nineteen hijackers."
Sources: BBC News, "Hijack 'suspects' alive and well," September 23, 2001; BBC The Editors, "9/11 conspiracy theory," October 27, 2006
· President, government and context
US war in Afghanistan
From the first strikes on al Qaeda camps and the Taliban on October 7, 2001, to the last US military flight out of Kabul on August 30, 2021.
Sources: White House, Presidential Address to the Nation, October 7, 2001; US Army, Military phase of evacuation ends, as does America's longest war
· President, government and context
US strikes on Afghanistan begin
"On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan," President Bush said from the White House.
Sources: White House, Presidential Address to the Nation, October 7, 2001; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 10
· President, government and context
Last US troops leave Afghanistan
The last C-17 lifted off from Kabul's airport at 3:29 p.m. East Coast time, General Kenneth McKenzie announced, ending the military evacuation and the US mission in Afghanistan.
Sources: US Army, Military phase of evacuation ends, as does America's longest war; CNN, The last US military planes have left Afghanistan
· Property, insurance and investigations
House hearing: steel removed before investigators arrived
At a House Science Committee hearing, Chairman Sherwood Boehlert said "no organized team was at the site for weeks," and the committee noted a significant amount of steel had been removed before the investigators deployed. In January, Fire Engineering's editor had written that the steel was being "cut up and sold for scrap."
Sources: House Science Committee, "Learning from 9/11," March 6, 2002; Fire Engineering, "$elling Out the Investigation," January 2002
· Property, insurance and investigations
FEMA study cannot fully explain the 7 WTC collapse
FEMA's building performance study said the specifics of how the fires caused 7 World Trade Center to collapse "remain unknown at this time." It added that its best hypothesis "has only a low probability of occurrence." NIST later took up the question.
Sources: FEMA 403, World Trade Center Building Performance Study, ch. 5
· Property, insurance and investigations
ABC reports on five Israelis detained after 9/11
ABC's 20/20 reported that five Israeli men were held on immigration violations, given polygraphs and deported after 71 days. A witness told ABC the men "didn't look shocked" by the attack. The FBI told ABC it had "not identified anybody who in this country had pre-knowledge" of the attacks.
Sources: ABC News 20/20, "The White Van," June 2002 (archived)
· Property, insurance and investigations
Silverstein on 7 WTC: "the smartest thing to do is to pull it"
In the PBS documentary America Rebuilds, Larry Silverstein recalled a fire commander telling him the fire might not be contained, and said, "Maybe the smartest thing to do is to pull it." In 2005 a Silverstein Properties spokesman said "it" meant the contingent of firefighters remaining in the building.
· Property, insurance and investigations
The 9/11 Commission is created
President Bush signed the law creating the commission and named Henry Kissinger chairman. Kissinger resigned on December 13, facing questions about conflicts of interest involving his consulting firm. The commission started with $3 million, and its budget grew to $15 million. Its chair and vice chair later wrote, "We were set up to fail."
Sources: 9/11 Commission, FAQ; CNN, "Kissinger resigns as head of 9/11 commission," December 13, 2002 (archived); Kirkus Reviews, Kean and Hamilton, Without Precedent (2006)
· Property, insurance and investigations
Mineta's account of the Vice President's morning
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta testified that he reached the White House shelter at about 9:20 a.m. and heard an aide ask the Vice President, "Do the orders still stand?" as a plane approached. The Commission's report places Cheney's arrival at about 9:58 and does not mention Mineta's account.
Sources: 9/11 Commission, public hearing transcript, May 23, 2003; The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1
· Property, insurance and investigations
Bush and Cheney meet the Commission together
The President and Vice President answered all ten commissioners' questions together in the Oval Office for three hours and ten minutes. No oath was administered and the session was not recorded. Commissioners were allowed to take notes.
Sources: NBC News, April 29, 2004
· President, government and context
9/11 Commission releases its final report
The ten commissioners, five Republicans and five Democrats, released a unanimous report with 37 recommendations, including a National Counterterrorism Center and a National Intelligence Director.
Sources: 9/11 Commission, media advisory, July 22, 2004; govinfo, The 9/11 Commission Report
· Property, insurance and investigations
Commission refers FAA and NORAD accounts to inspectors general
NORAD officials had testified they were told of United 93's hijacking at 9:16. The Commission found NEADS first heard of it at 10:07. It referred the inaccurate accounts to the Defense and Transportation inspectors general, who reported in 2006 that they found no evidence officials knowingly made false statements.
Sources: The 9/11 Commission Report, ch. 1; DOT Inspector General, report CC-2006-085, August 31, 2006; AP via NBC News, August 2006
· President, government and context
Bin Laden takes responsibility in a video
In a video aired by Al Jazeera, Osama bin Laden said, "We agreed with the leader of the group, Mohammed Atta, to perform all attacks within 20 minutes." In a tape the Defense Department released in December 2001, he had discussed calculating the casualties in advance.
Sources: CNN, bin Laden video transcript, October 29, 2004; CNN, bin Laden tape transcript, December 13, 2001
· Property, insurance and investigations
Jury rules the attacks were two occurrences for nine insurers
In April 2004 a first jury had found most insurers bound by a policy form that treated the attacks as one occurrence. This second jury found nine insurers liable for two occurrences, up to $1.1 billion each, raising what Silverstein could collect. An appeals court upheld both verdicts in 2006.
Sources: CNN, December 6, 2004 (archived); AP via NBC News, April 2004; World Trade Center Properties v. Hartford Fire Insurance (2d Cir. 2006)
· President, government and context
Rumsfeld refers to the plane "shot down" over Pennsylvania
Speaking to troops in Baghdad, the Defense Secretary referred to "the people who attacked the United States in New York, shot down the plane over Pennsylvania." A Pentagon spokesman said he had misspoken.
Sources: CNN, December 27, 2004
· Property, insurance and investigations
Pentagon security camera videos released
After a Freedom of Information Act request by Judicial Watch, the Defense Department released video from two Pentagon security cameras. Still frames from one camera had been released in March 2002. Videos from a nearby gas station and hotel were released later in 2006.
Sources: CNN, May 16, 2006; CNN, March 7, 2002; Judicial Watch v. FBI, No. 06-1135
· Property, insurance and investigations
Insurance settlement brings Silverstein's total to $4.55 billion
Governor Eliot Spitzer announced that seven insurers would pay $2 billion. With $2.55 billion already paid, the insurance recovery came to $4.55 billion. Separate claims against the airlines were settled in 2017 for about $95 million, after a judge ruled that insurance had already covered the losses.
Sources: AP via NBC News, May 23, 2007; Courthouse News, 2013; AP via Fox News, November 2017
· Property, insurance and investigations
NIST: fire caused the collapse of 7 WTC
NIST's final report called it "the first known instance of the total collapse of a tall building primarily due to fires." After questions in public comments on its August draft, NIST added that the building fell at free-fall acceleration for about 2.25 seconds. No steel from 7 WTC had been identified for testing.
Sources: NIST NCSTAR 1A, Final Report on the Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7; NIST, WTC 7 investigation FAQs
· President, government and context
Bin Laden killed in Pakistan
US forces killed Osama bin Laden in a raid on a compound in Abbottabad, shortly before 1 a.m. local time on May 2. President Obama announced it in a late-night address from the White House.
Sources: White House, Remarks by the President on Osama Bin Laden; Wikipedia, Killing of Osama bin Laden
· President, government and context
The 9/11 Memorial opens
The memorial at the World Trade Center site opened on the tenth anniversary of the attacks. Its two reflecting pools, each about an acre, sit in the footprints of the Twin Towers.
Sources: 9/11 Memorial & Museum, The 9/11 Memorial: 10 Years Later
· President, government and context
The 9/11 Memorial Museum is dedicated
President Obama, victims' families, rescue workers and survivors attended the dedication. The museum opened to the public on May 21, 2014.
Sources: 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Obama, 9/11 Families, Rescuers and Survivors Dedicate Museum
· Flight 11 and the North Tower
One World Trade Center opens
The 1,776-foot tower opened on the World Trade Center site as the first tenant, the publisher Condé Nast, moved in.
Sources: PBS NewsHour, World Trade Center reopens as Condé Nast employees arrive
· Property, insurance and investigations
Congress releases the "28 pages"
The classified section of the 2002 congressional inquiry said some hijackers "were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi government." House Intelligence chairman Devin Nunes called them "unverified leads that were later fully investigated."
Sources: NBC News, July 15, 2016
· Property, insurance and investigations
FBI releases a declassified memo on Saudi contacts
Under an executive order signed September 3, the FBI released a 16-page 2016 document about hijackers Hazmi and Mihdhar. It says Omar al Bayoumi's help to them "included translation, travel, lodging and financing." The AP noted it offered no evidence the Saudi government was complicit.
Sources: Executive Order 14040, September 3, 2021; Al Jazeera, September 12, 2021
· Property, insurance and investigations
Judge lets families' case against Saudi Arabia proceed
The case relies on the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which Congress passed over President Obama's veto in 2016. Judge George Daniels denied Saudi Arabia's motion to dismiss, finding Bayoumi and Fahad al Thumairy "were acting within the scope of their employment in assisting the hijackers." Saudi Arabia appealed, and arguments were set for October 7, 2026.
Sources: Transnational Litigation Blog, 2025; ASIL, JASTA veto override, September 28, 2016; Anderson Kill, 9/11 litigation updates
· President, government and context
25th anniversary ceremonies
Former presidents attended the reading of names at the memorial in New York, and President Trump attended the Pentagon ceremony. A seventh moment of silence was added for people who died of 9/11-related illnesses.
Sources: ABC11 and AP, 9/11 25th anniversary ceremony updates; CBS News, 25 years after Sept. 11 attacks, America reflects and remembers