Moment of impact

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 16, 2001

7:59 a.m. American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 with 81 people aboard, takes off from Boston bound for Los Angeles. It is hijacked and forced south toward New York.

8:45 a.m. Flight 11 crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center as thousands of people begin work inside.

9:03 a.m. United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 737 carrying 64 people to Los Angeles, is hijacked shortly after takeoff from Boston. It crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center as America watches live TV coverage of the aftermath of the first crash.

9:05 a.m. President Bush, reading to children at an elementary school in Sarasota, is quietly informed of the apparent attack by chief of staff Andrew Card. Twenty minutes later, he addresses the nation before boarding Air Force One, declaring: "Terrorism against our nation will not stand."

The New York Stock Exchange and other U.S. financial markets suspend trading for the day.

9:40 a.m. American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 737 bound for Los Angeles with 58 people on board, is hijacked just after takeoff from Washington Dulles Airport and crashes into the side of the Pentagon.

The impact crushes one side of America's military headquarters, trapping personnel inside. Nearly 100 people are feared dead or injured. Smoke billows across the Potomac River to Washington.

9:49 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration shuts down all aircraft takeoffs nationwide, for the first time in history. Shortly after, all planes in the air are ordered to land at the nearest airport. Incoming flights from Europe are diverted to Canada.

9:50 a.m. The White House and U.S. Capitol are evacuated after threats of terrorist acts against them. Air Force One, en route from Sarasota, is diverted from Washington and escorted by fighter jets to Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

10 a.m. As emergency officials frantically try to evacuate the wounded and clear the area, the south World Trade Center tower collapses in a maelstrom of fire and rubble.

10:10 a.m. A passenger on United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 bound from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, dials 911 on his cell phone and tells a dispatcher, "We are being hijacked, we are being hijacked" before the line goes dead. The plane crashes near Somerset, Pa., 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

Officials later say the hijacker apparently was trying to force the plane to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland. It was carrying 45 people.

10:29 a.m. The north World Trade Center tower collapses. Hundreds of police and firefighters, along with thousands of office workers, are believed trapped in the rubble of the two towers.

10:30 a.m. The federal government closes offices in and around Washington. All 340,000 federal employees are allowed to leave. The National Park Service closes major landmarks and monuments, including the Statue of Liberty, Washington Monument and the St. Louis Gateway Arch.

Other major facilities are closed or evacuated around the nation, including the tallest skyscrapers in Boston, Cleveland and Minneapolis and Seattle's landmark Space Needle. The United Nations in New York is evacuated.

Noon: Blood collection centers are set up at around the country to ensure a steady supply for the thousands of injured people expected at hospitals in New York and Washington. At Florida Blood Services in St. Petersburg, 1,000 people will have given blood by 2 p.m.

1:04 p.m. President Bush, via videotape from Barksdale, vows to "hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts." He flies to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Neb.

1:44 p.m. Two aircraft carriers are deployed off New York Harbor. Battleships are deployed in the Atlantic off Washington.

5:25 p.m. A third, 47-story building at the World Trade Center -- called Seven World Trade Center -- collapses after being set on fire by burning debris. It had been evacuated earlier and was believed to be empty.

6:04 p.m. CNN reports explosions north of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, which is harboring terrorist Osama bin Laden, the chief suspect in Tuesday's attacks. The White House denies U.S. involvement.

6:45 p.m. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield addresses the nation, saying "The Pentagon is functioning. It'll be in business tomorrow."

8:30 p.m. Back in Washington, President Bush addresses nation, saying that the attacks will not cow the nation and that federal agencies will be reopen this morning. He vows to find those responsible.

- Compiled from reports by the Associated Press, Washington Post, New York Times, Scripps Howard and CNN.

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