A look back at the devastating day that reshaped American history.
NEW YORK — On Sept. 11, 2001, the United States was struck by coordinated terrorist attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.
Two commercial planes, hijacked by terrorists, were deliberately flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
A third hijacked aircraft crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., striking the heart of the nation’s military headquarters.
A fourth hijacked plane went down in an open field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Authorities believe it was likely bound for Washington, D.C., before passengers, having learned of the earlier attacks, bravely fought to regain control of the aircraft.
This year marks 25 years since the attacks that shocked the nation, changed the way we fly and prompted the global “War on Terror.”
Here is a timeline of events of that day:
Warning: This story contains images and videos from 9/11 that some may find disturbing
9/11 Timeline:
5:45 a.m.: Hijackers pass through security screening in Portland, Maine
7:59 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 11 takes off from Boston, headed to Los Angeles. Eleven crew members, 76 passengers, and five hijackers are on board.
8:15 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 175 takes off from Boston for Los Angeles. There are nine crew members, 51 passengers, and five hijackers on board.
8:19 a.m.: American Airlines flight attendant Betty Ann Ong, using an inflight phone, alerts ground personnel to a hijacking underway on Flight 11, reporting that the cockpit is unreachable. The call lasts 25 minutes and Ong is able to relay detailed information about the hijacking. Ong is able to give the hijackers’ seat numbers to the airline.
Shortly before Ong’s call, one of the hijackers had stabbed a passenger seated directly in front of him in first class. That passenger, identified by the flight crew as Daniel M. Lewin, was likely the first person killed in the attacks.
According to the Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Lewin, a 31-year-old who had served four years in the Israeli military, was seated behind hijackers Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al-Omari and may have tried to stop them, unaware that there was another hijacker behind him.
8:20 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Washington Dulles International Airport. It’s headed to Los Angeles with six crew members, 53 passengers, and five hijackers on board.
8:24 a.m.: Hijacker Mohamed Atta, inside Flight 11’s cabin, mistakenly sends a message to air traffic control, alerting controllers to the attacks. He had meant to press a button that would have allowed him to talk to passengers.
8:32 a.m.: Flight attendant Madeline Amy Sweeney, on board Flight 11, is able to reach a manager at Boston Logan International Airport. She is able to give a description of the attackers.
8:37 a.m.: After hearing Atta’s message, Boston’s air traffic control alerts the Air Force, which mobilizes Air National Guard jets to follow Flight 11.
8:42 a.m.: Flight 93 departs from Newark airport, headed to San Francisco. Seven crew members, 33 passengers and four hijackers are on board.
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8:46 a.m.: Flight 11 crashes into floors 93 through 99 of 1 World Trade Center (North Tower). Employees above the 91st floor of that tower are trapped.
8:50 a.m.: While speaking at an elementary school, President George W. Bush is alerted that a small plane has hit the North Tower. They initially assume that the crash was an accident.
8:52 a.m.: A flight attendant on board Flight 175 alerts a United Airlines operator that a hijacking is underway.
8:59 a.m.: Both World Trade Center towers are ordered to be evacuated. One minute later, all civilians in the World Trade Center complex are ordered to evacuate.
9:03 a.m.: Flight 175 crashes into floors 77 through 85 of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
9:12 a.m.: Flight attendant Renee A. May calls her mother, Nancy, and tells her that hijackers have seized control of Flight 77. Passengers and crew members have been forced to the rear of the plane. Nancy May calls American Airlines.
Another Flight 77 passenger, Barbara K. Olsen, calls her husband, U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olsen, and tells him passengers have used box cutters and knives to take over the flight.
9:36 a.m.: Secret Service agents move Vice President Dick Cheney to the Presidential Emergency Operations Center beneath the White House.
9:37 a.m.: Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon. The crash and ensuing fire kills 125 military and civilian personnel on the ground, and all on-board the plane.
9:42 a.m.: The FAA grounds all flights in the U.S. airspace.
9:59 a.m.: The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses in 10 seconds.
10:03 a.m.: Flight 93 crashes into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
10:15 a.m.: The Pentagon e-ring collapses.
10:28 a.m.: The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
12:16 p.m.: U.S. airspace is closed. All commercial and private flights in the United States have landed.
5:20 p.m.: The 47-story 7 World Trade Center collapses.
8:30 p.m.: Bush addresses the nation, saying, “The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I’ve directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.”
Information from 9/11 Memorial and Museum