A minute-by-minute account of the deadliest terrorist attack in American history — from the first hijacked departure in Boston to President Bush's address that night.
2,977
Lives lost
4
Hijacked flights
102 min
First impact to North Tower fall
14h 45m
Span of this timeline
5:45 AM
Hijackers Atta and al-Omari clear security in Maine
Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al-Omari pass through security at Portland International Jetport, then connect through Boston to board American Airlines Flight 11.
CHECK-IN
7:59 AM
Flight 11 departs Boston
Bound for Los Angeles with 76 passengers, 11 crew, and 5 hijackers aboard.
DEPARTURE
8:15 AM
United Flight 175 departs Boston
Also bound for Los Angeles, with 51 passengers, 9 crew, and 5 hijackers aboard.
DEPARTURE
8:19 AM
First hijacking alert reaches the ground
Flight attendant Betty Ann Ong radios ground personnel aboard Flight 11 that a hijacking is underway and the cockpit is unreachable.
ALERT
8:20 AM
Flight 77 departs Dulles
Bound for Los Angeles from Washington-area Dulles Airport, with 53 passengers, 6 crew, and 5 hijackers aboard.
DEPARTURE
8:24 AM
Atta's accidental broadcast tips off controllers
Meaning to address the cabin, hijacker Mohamed Atta unintentionally transmits to air traffic control, alerting Boston controllers to the hijacking.
ALERT
8:37 AM
Air National Guard scrambled
Boston ATC alerts the US Air Force's Northeast Defense Sector, which mobilizes the Air National Guard to intercept Flight 11.
MILITARY
8:42 AM
United Flight 93 departs Newark
Delayed by routine traffic, bound for San Francisco with 33 passengers, 7 crew, and 4 hijackers aboard.
DEPARTURE
8:46 AM
Flight 11 strikes the North Tower
All aboard are killed instantly; World Trade Center employees above the 91st floor are trapped.
IMPACT · WTC NORTH
9:03 AM
Flight 175 strikes the South Tower — live on TV
All aboard are killed instantly, along with an unknown number of people inside the tower. Millions watch the impact unfold on live television.
IMPACT · WTC SOUTH
9:05 AM
President Bush is briefed in a Florida classroom
Chief of Staff Andrew Card tells Bush of the second strike during a reading demonstration at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota.
COMMAND
9:28 AM
Hijackers seize Flight 93
Hijackers attack the cockpit crew and take control of the aircraft over Ohio.
HIJACK
9:37 AM
Flight 77 strikes the Pentagon
All aboard are killed instantly, along with 125 civilian and military personnel inside the building.
IMPACT · PENTAGON
9:45 AM
US airspace shut down
Operation Yellow Ribbon orders every civilian aircraft in US skies to land at the nearest airport.
COMMAND
9:55 AM
Air Force One departs Florida
President Bush is airborne, beginning a day of relocations to secure command facilities.
COMMAND
9:57 AM
Passengers storm the cockpit on Flight 93
As passengers rush forward, hijacker-pilot Ziad Jarrah rolls the plane to try to destabilize the revolt.
REVOLT
9:59 AM
The South Tower collapses
56 minutes after impact, the World Trade Center's South Tower falls.
COLLAPSE
10:02 AM
Flight 93 crashes in Shanksville, Pennsylvania
The plane goes down in an empty field; its target — likely the White House or the US Capitol — is never reached.
CRASH · SHANKSVILLE
10:18 AM
Bush authorizes shoot-down orders
All four hijacked planes have already crashed, but the president's team believes Flight 93 is still airborne.
COMMAND
10:28 AM
The North Tower collapses
102 minutes after Flight 11's impact, the North Tower falls.
COLLAPSE
10:53 AM
US military raised to DEFCON 3
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld orders a higher state of military alert.
MILITARY
11:45 AM
Air Force One lands at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana
Near Shreveport, as the president's team assesses the threat picture.
COMMAND
12:15 PM
US airspace fully cleared
All commercial and private flights are grounded nationwide.
COMMAND
1:30 PM
Air Force One leaves Barksdale
COMMAND
2:30 PM
Mayor Giuliani visits Ground Zero
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani tours the site of the fallen Twin Towers.
CIVIC
3:00 PM
Air Force One lands at Offutt AFB, Nebraska
Bush is taken to a secure bunker built to withstand a nuclear attack.
COMMAND
4:30 PM
Air Force One departs for Andrews AFB
Heading back toward Washington, DC, with Bush conferring by phone with Vice President Cheney en route.
COMMAND
5:30 PM
7 World Trade Center collapses
The 47-story building falls hours after the Twin Towers, having sustained major structural damage and fires.
COLLAPSE
8:30 PM
President Bush addresses the nation
Speaking from the Oval Office, Bush confirms the scale of the attacks and outlines the government's response.