Appendix I
Timeline of Terror
Watch the video
Below is a timeline of significant events that took
place on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. This timeline
captures the enormity of this day and the scope of
its impact on America. All times indicated are
Eastern Standard Time
6:30 AM
U.S. President George Bush awakens in Sarasota, Florida, and goes for a four mile run. This morning he plans to visit Emma Booker Elementary School where he will read to children and emphasize the importance of reading and education. After his visit, he is scheduled to return to the capital.
7:59 A.M.
American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767, takes off from Boston’s Logan International Airport with 76 passengers, 11 crew members, and five terrorists on board. Its scheduled destination is Los Angeles. In less than 50 minutes every one on this flight will die. This will be the first plane to crash into the Trade Center.
8:14 A.M.
United Airlines Flight 175, also a Boeing 767, takes off from Logan International Airport in route to Los Angeles. On board are 51 passengers, nine crew members, and five terrorists. During the 50 minute flight, passenger Peter Burton Hanson calls his father twice and explains that his plane has been hijacked. He also informs his father that the hijackers were stabbing flight attendants in order to force the crew to open the cockpit doors. Mr. Hanson was traveling with his wife, Sue, and three year old daughter, Christine.
8:15 A.M.
American Airlines Flight 11, which took off 16 minutes earlier, ignores air traffic controller’s transmission granting permission to climb to 31,000 feet. This is the first indication the plane has been hijacked.
8:20 A.M.
AA Flight 11's transponder, which broadcasts the aircraft location, is turned off. Shortly afterward, the plane turns south toward New York City and air traffic controllers hear a highjacker’s voice in the background.
8:21 A.M.
American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C. The plane, a Boeing 757, is bound for Los Angeles with 53 passengers, six crew members and five terrorists. On board this flight is Barbara Olsen, the wife of the Solicitor General, Theodore Olsen.
8:27 A.M.
Less than 30 minutes after its departure, AA Flight 11 makes a hard left turn over upstate New York and increases its air speed. It is now 18 minutes from the Trade Center in New York City.
8:28 A.M.
UA Flight 175, which took off just 14 minutes earlier, passes the Massachusetts-Connecticut border and makes a 30 degree turn left toward New Jersey. The plane was taken over by five terrorists almost immediately after take off. It is now 35 minutes from the World Trade Center.
8:30 AM
The presidential motorcade leaves for Emma Booker Elementary School. At this point three of the four hijacked planes are in the air. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93 should also have been up, but is still on the tarmac waiting for clearance to take off, with all passengers on board.
8:40 AM
Flight attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney (AA Flight 11) calls Michael Woodward, a ground supervisor with American Airlines at Logan Airport. She indicates that a hijacking is in progress, and that the hijackers have wounded some passengers. She also passes along the seat number of one of the hijackers, a key clue for investigators. According to family members, Sweeney ends the call by saying she sees water and buildings, and then says, “Oh my God!”
At this point Boston Air Traffic Control Center notifies the North Atlantic Air Defense Command (NORAD), and informs them that AA Flight 11 has been hijacked.
8:43 A.M.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notifies NORAD that a second plane, UA Flight 175 has also been hijacked.
8:44 A.M.
United Airlines Flight 93 is on the runway at Newark International Airport preparing for departure to San Francisco. On board are 33 passengers, seven flight personnel and 4 terrorists. The plane, which had been on the tarmac for 41 minutes because of traffic, is taking off as the first plane hits the Trade Center.
8:45 AM
AA Flight 11, which had taken off less than 50 minutes earlier, slams into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at an estimated speed of more than 400 miles per hour, and creates a massive plume of smoke. The plane, loaded with 16,000 pounds of jet fuel, tears a gaping hole in the building and sets it afire.
At this point NORAD orders two F-15 fighters at Otis Air National Guard Base in Falmouth, Massachusetts into the air. They will be airborne in less than five minutes.
8:49 AM
CNN anchor Carol Lin interrupts a commercial with breaking news: “This just in. You are looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. This is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.”
8:50 A.M.
Responding to 911 calls, the first New York City Fire Department trucks arrive at the World Trade Center. The department broadcasts a fifth alarm, its highest alarm for a fire.
Additionally, while this is taking place, UA Flight 175, which departed 35 minutes earlier from Logan International Airport deviates from its assigned flight path and turns toward New York City. It is now 13 minutes from the World Trade Center.
9:00 AM
President Bush arrives at Emma Booker Elementary School and speaks by phone to national security advisor Condoleezza Rice who tells him that a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center 15 minutes earlier.
UA Flight 175 is within 20 miles of the Trade Center. The smoke from the north tower is clearly visible and the passengers and crew are within three minutes of their death.
Also at this time the transponder on AA Flight 77, which departed from Dulles Airport 45 minutes earlier, is turned off by it’s hijackers. The plane then changes direction and heads east toward Washington D.C.
9:03 AM
United Airlines Flight 175 smashes into the World Trade Center south tower between the 78th and 84th floors. The plane is traveling at more than 500 mph at impact. The F-15 fighter jets dispatched 18 minutes earlier are approximately 70 miles (eight minutes) away.
The impact and explosion are broadcast around the world by television cameras trained on the massive fire in the north tower. A few blocks away CNN producer Rose Arce sees the plane hit the building and hears a young girl who is being evacuated tell her father, “Look Daddy! They’re doing it on purpose.”
9:04 AM
The Federal Aviation Administration’s Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center stops all departures from airports in New England and eastern New York state.
9:05 AM
The New York City Fire Department issues a second fifth alarm to bring more companies to fight the south tower fire.
9:06 AM
The FAA halts takeoffs bound to or through the airspace of its New York center from airports in an area north of North Carolina to as far west as eastern Michigan.
9:07 AM
While President Bush is sitting in front of the children at Emma Booker Elementary School, White House Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, walks over to him and whispers, “A second plane has hit the second tower.” The President’s face tightens.
9:10A.M.
All bridges and tunnels into Manhattan are closed.
9:24 A.M.
The FAA notifies NORAD that AA Flight 77 has been hijacked. NORAD then scrambles two F-16 fighters from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia to intercept the aircraft. The F-16s are in the air within five minutes.
9:25 A.M.
Barbara K. Olsen, a hostage on flight 77, calls her husband, Solicitor General Theodore Olsen, at the Justice Department and informs him that her flight has been hijacked. At 9:30 she would place a second call and explain that the pilots and passengers were being held in the back of the plane. Theodore Olsen immediately notifies the Justice Department command post.
9:26 AM
The FAA orders a national ground stop, halting the takeoff of all civilian aircraft regardless of destination.
9:30 AM
Still in Florida, a grim President Bush makes a brief statement before television cameras, saying the country has suffered an “apparent terrorist attack.” He asks for a moment of silence.
9:35 AM
Air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington DC notify the Secret Service that an unidentified aircraft is approaching the area.
9:39 A.M.
UA Flight 93, the last hijacked plane to take off, makes a hard turn south while over Cleveland. It then turns east and begins a heading toward Washington.
9:40 A.M.
A third fifth alarm is broadcast by the New York City Fire Department. More that 50 companies arrive to fight the fires at both towers.
9:42 A.M.
The FAA orders the shutdown of all U.S. airspace and directs all planes in flight to land regardless of their destination. There are more than 4,500 flights in the air at this time. This is the first time in U.S. history that all air traffic in the country has been halted.
9:43 A.M.
American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon. The two F-16 fighter jets sent to intercept the plane were 12 minutes and 105 miles away. They would remain airborne to perform combat air patrols over the Capitol.
9:45 A.M.
Several passengers on board UA Flight 93 call loved ones and explain that their plane has been hijacked. Passenger Mark Bingham speaks to his mother and informs her that the passengers have voted to try to retake the plane. He then tells her, “I love you very, very much.” This is the only hijacked aircraft still flying.
9:46 A.M.
After receiving word that a fourth plane is headed toward Washington, Secret Service agents order the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Building evacuated. At first, they tell staffers and the media to file out in an orderly way. They then scream at them to run as fast as they can across Pennsylvania Avenue to Lafayette Park.
9:55 AM
President Bush leaves Florida aboard Air Force One. In flight, the President telephones Vice President Dick Cheney and puts the U.S. military worldwide on “high alert.”
During this call, the President receives word of the plane crash at the Pentagon (AA Flight 77) as well as the plane crash in Pennsylvania (UA Flight 93). Flight 93 crashes during the call.
9:59 A.M.
The south tower of the Trade Center collapses and plunges into the streets below, causing a massive cloud of dust and debris.
10:00 A.M.
Passengers and crew members on board UA Flight 93 begin their fight to retake their hijacked plane. Some have suggested that out of fear, all four hijackers have barricaded themselves in the cockpit. It is at this time that passenger Todd Beamer utters the words, “Let”s roll.”
10:03 A.M.
UA Flight 93 crashes in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
10:08 A.M.
Secret Service agents armed with automatic rifles are deployed into Lafayette Park across the street from the White House.
10:10 A.M.
A portion of the Pentagon collapses.
10:21 AM
The FAA orders all international flights in progress to the United States to land in Canada.
10:22 A.M.
The Justice and State Departments are evacuated along with the World Bank.
10:28 A.M.
The World Trade Center’s north tower collapses from the top down as if it were being peeled apart. The collapse causes a massive cloud of dust and smoke. It has been roughly 100 minutes since the building was struck by AA Flight 11.
10:31 AM
The FAA authorizes all military and law enforcement flights to resume.
10:40 A.M.
All federal office buildings in Washington are evacuated.
10:46 A.M.
U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, cuts short his trip to Latin America and leaves Peru to return to the United States.
11:02 A.M.
New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay at home and orders an evacuation of the area south of Canal Street.
11:45 AM
Air Force One lands at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. President Bush makes a series of telephone calls from a general’s conference room.
12:04 PM
Los Angeles International Airport, the destination of three of the hijacked airplanes, is evacuated.
12:14 P.M.
Congressional leaders issue a statement pledging full support for President Bush. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Senate Minority Leader, Trent Lott, House Speaker, Dennis Hastert, and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, along with other senior leaders in Congress have been flown by helicopter to a secure location outside Washington.
12:15 P.M.
San Francisco International Airport, the destination of UA flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania, is shut down.
12:16 P.M.
The FAA command center reports that U.S. airspace has been cleared of all commercial and general aviation aircraft; only military and police flights are airborne.
12:36 PM
President Bush makes a two-minute taped statement. In the statement, the President tells the nation, “Freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward.” He asks for prayers for those killed or wounded and says, “The resolve of our great nation is being tested, but make no mistake, we will show the world that we will pass this test.”
1:27 P.M.
A state of emergency is declared in Washington DC.
1:48 PM
President Bush leaves Barksdale Air Force Base aboard Air Force One and flies to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. On this flight, the President speaks to his father, former President George Herbert Walker Bush who is at an airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, because all flights are grounded.
2:07 P.M.
The FAA announces that all domestic flights have been accounted for.
2:30 P.M.
The FAA announces that there will be no U.S. commercial air traffic until noon EST Wednesday, September 12, 2001 at the earliest.
2:49 P.M.
At a news conference, Mayor Giuliani announces that subway and bus service is partially restored in New York City. When asked about the number of people killed, the mayor says, “I don’t think we want to speculate about that -- more than any of us can bear.”
2:50 PM
Air Force One lands at Offutt Air Force Base, and President Bush is taken to the base’s secure command center. The base is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command, which controls the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The underground center at this site was built to survive a nuclear attack.
3:07 PM
President Bush convenes the National Security Council, holding a video conference with council members in Washington.
3:55 PM
White House counselor Karen Hughes informs the nation that President Bush is conducting a National Security Council meeting via video conference. She also indicates that Vice President Dick Cheney and national security advisor Condoleezza Rice are in a secure location at the White House and that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is at the Pentagon command center.
Also at this time, Mayor Giuliani indicates that the number of people critically injured in New York City is up to 200 with 2,100 total injuries reported.
4:10 P.M.
Building seven of the Trade Center complex is reported on fire. It is 47 stories tall.
4:25 P.M.
The American Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange announce they will remain closed Wednesday.
4:36 PM
President Bush leaves Offutt Air Force Base aboard Air Force One to return to Washington. En route, he calls the First Lady and says, “I’m coming home. See you at the White House.”
5:20 P.M.
Building seven of the Trade Center complex collapses. The evacuated building is mortally damaged when the twin towers across the street collapse earlier in the day. Other buildings nearby are still on fire.
6:10 P.M.
Mayor Giuliani urges New Yorkers to stay home Wednesday if they can.
6:34 PM
Air Force One lands at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland with a three-fighter jet escort. The President then boards Marine One, the helicopter used to take him back to the White House.
6:40 P.M.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld holds a news conference in the Pentagon, noting the building is operational. “It will be in business tomorrow,” he says.
6:54 PM
President Bush arrives at the White House aboard Marine One. The helicopter lands on the South Lawn, which is routine procedure when the President returns to the White House. First Lady Laura Bush arrived earlier by motorcade from a secure location.
7:00 PM
President Bush and his aides begin work on a speech he will deliver to the nation in 90 minutes.
7:45 P.M.
The New York Police department announces that at least 78 officers are missing. The city also states that as many as half of the first 400 firefighters on the scene were killed.
8:30 PM
President Bush addresses the nation. In his speech, he says, “Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil.” He then states, “These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” He then indicates that the United States government will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.
9:00 PM
President Bush convenes a meeting of the National Security Council, which is followed by a smaller meeting of key advisors. In this meeting, the President begins planning the military response to the attacks.
9:57 P.M.
Mayor Giuliani announces that New York City schools will be closed Wednesday and that no more volunteers are needed for Tuesday evening’s rescue efforts. He also states that there is hope that there are still people alive in the rubble. Additionally the mayor indicates that power is out on the west side of Manhattan and that health department tests show there are no airborne chemical agents about which to worry.