09/12/2026
September 11, 2001 — Remembering 9/11
September 11, 2001, was one of the deadliest days in American history.
That morning, 19 terrorists associated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two of the aircraft were deliberately flown into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., and United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower at 9:03 a.m.
At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.
A fourth aircraft, United Airlines Flight 93, was hijacked after departing Newark, New Jersey. After passengers and crew learned about the other attacks, they attempted to regain control of the airplane. At 10:03 a.m., Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The 9/11 Commission concluded that the hijackers had intended to use the aircraft against a target in Washington, D.C.
The Twin Towers collapsed after suffering catastrophic structural damage from the aircraft impacts and the resulting fires. The South Tower collapsed at approximately 9:59 a.m., followed by the North Tower at approximately 10:28 a.m.
In total, 2,977 people were killed in the September 11 attacks, not including the 19 hijackers. The victims came from 90 countries. Of those killed, 2,753 were killed in New York, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 aboard Flight 93.
Thousands of firefighters, police officers, emergency medical personnel, military personnel, government workers, and civilians responded. At the World Trade Center alone, approximately 2,000 police officers and nearly 1,000 firefighters deployed in response to the attacks.
September 11 changed the United States and affected people around the world. It changed aviation security, national security, emergency response, foreign policy, and countless individual lives.
But beyond the dates, times, buildings, and numbers are the people who were there—the victims, their families, survivors, first responders, rescue and recovery workers, and ordinary people who helped others during an extraordinary crisis.
September 11, 2001, should be remembered through the facts, honored through the lives lost, and never forgotten.
We remember the 2,977.
We remember the survivors.
We remember the first responders.
We remember the families who were forever changed.
We remember. 🇺🇸🙏🇺🇸
