Pod Insights Murder In America NEW YORK - September 11th, 2001: Never Forget (AD-FREE RE-RELEASE): About this episode 9/11. A date that Americans will never forget. Many lost loved ones on that day. Some lost friends. Others lost siblings. Children. This, is the story, of September 11th, 2001. The day America was attacked. The true story of this event, and why almost 3,000 innocent Americans died, is saddening, shocking, and above all, extremely tragic. You're listening, to MURDER IN AMERICA.
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Transcript 15,743 words · 8 speakers
0:00 Speaker 00 Hey everybody, it's Colin here. Today, we are re-releasing our earlier episode about the 9/11 attacks, completely ad-free, because Courtney and I want to memorialize the victims and the events of that day in any way that we possibly can. This is a re-release of our episode from 2021, so you'll hear us discussing the 20th anniversary of the attacks, but that's because this episode was recorded and released over four years ago. It's kind of crazy to think that we've been doing this show for that long. Tomorrow, we will be back with a brand-new episode of Murder in America, telling some 9/11 stories that we feel haven't gotten enough representation in the media over the years. But anyways, let's get into this re-release of the episode,
0:44 Speaker 00 and Courtney and I's thoughts and love and good energy is with anyone who knew someone or loved someone affected by these horrific events. Warning: The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.
1:04 Speaker 01 Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children.
1:11 Speaker 00 This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.
1:18 Speaker 02 It is 8:00 a.m. in Salisbury, North Carolina, 7:00 a.m. in Chicago, 5:00 a.m. in Calaveras County, California, where the news is being made on this Tuesday, September 11.
1:26 Speaker 03 Mr. Roker, Al, it is such a pretty morning, isn't it?
1:28 Speaker 04 It is a perfect fall morning. Although it's not fall yet, so it's still a perfect summer morning.
1:34 Speaker 05 Miles and miles of sunshine, Miles Davis. We're gonna put miles out there today, nice as it can be across the northeast. Rough seas still from the chop from that hurricane, but other than that, it's kind of quiet around the country. We like quiet. It's quiet. It's too quiet.
1:48 Speaker 01 It's September 11, 2001, in New York City.
1:54 Speaker 01 Like the news reporter stated, it was quiet, a little too quiet on this beautiful Tuesday morning. Thousands of New Yorkers wake up and start getting ready for the day. They make their coffee, put on their clothes, grab a bite to eat, and kiss their loved ones before heading off to work. Their family members wave them goodbye as they walk out of the door for the very last time. Two thousand nine hundred and seventy-three people nationwide would leave their homes that morning, completely unaware that this would be their very last day on Earth. Because at 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 would crash into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
2:35 Speaker 01 At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 would crash into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 would crash into the Pentagon. And at 10:03 a.m., United Flight 93 would crash into the ground in Pennsylvania. In less than two hours, nearly 3,000 Americans would lose their lives. And our country would face the most devastating and deadly terrorist attack in United States history. Today, September 11th, 2021, is the 20th anniversary of the day that changed America forever. A day that we will never forget.
3:16 Speaker 01 This is the story of September 11th, 2001. And you're listening to Murder in America.
4:22 Speaker 00 It's the morning of September 11th, 2001, and our story starts at the Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. Many people are in a hurry, rushing to make American Airlines Flight 11, a flight leaving for Los Angeles at 7:59 a.m. Ninety-two people pile into the aircraft that morning, including the captain, John Oganowski, age 50, his co-pilot, Thomas F. McGinnis, age 42, nine flight attendants, and 81 total passengers. And as the plane takes off down the runway, no one has any idea that five of the passengers onboard are members of a terrorist group called Al Qaeda.
5:01 Speaker 01 The first 13 minutes of the flight went smoothly. Some people were looking out the window as the plane flew over Massachusetts. Others were chatting with their neighbors, and some even took a little nap. But two of the passengers, sitting in seats 2A and 2B, were patiently waiting for the perfect moment to start their reign of terror. At 8:13 a.m., air traffic control instructs the pilots to make a 20-degree right turn towards Los Angeles.
5:33 Speaker 06 American 11, turn 20 degrees right. Right, American 11.
5:37 Speaker 01 As the aircraft makes the turn, the two passengers signal at each other that it's time. They get up from their seats with weapons in hand, walk over to flight attendants Karen Martin and Barbara Aristegui, and violently stab them. They then walk over to passenger Daniel Lewin and slash his throat.
5:59 Speaker 00 The rest of the Al Qaeda members then get up from their seats and storm the cockpit, killing both pilots immediately. And they now have full control over the aircraft. The Boston Air Traffic Control, completely unaware of what's happening on the plane, radios into the pilots, instructing them to climb to 35,000 feet. But they're met with silence.
6:18 Speaker 06 American 11, climbing to level 350.
6:39 Speaker 06 American 11, Boston.
6:41 Speaker 00 At this point, chaos has erupted throughout the aircraft as people begin to realize that their plane is being hijacked. At 8:19 a.m., flight attendant Betty Ong runs to the back of the plane and places a call to American Airlines.
6:53 Speaker 07 Hello, my name is Betty Ong. I'm number three in the back. The cockpit's not answering. Somebody stabbed in business class. And I think there's nates that we can't breathe. I don't know, I think we're getting hijacked.
7:09 Speaker 07 Which plane is this one? I'm number three on flight 11. Okay, you're the flight attendant? Yes. And the cockpit is not answering their phone. Our number one is got stabbed. Our first-class galley's flight attendant and our purser is stabbed.
7:29 Speaker 07 And we can't get into the cockpit. The door won't open. Can anybody get up to the cockpit? I think the guys are up there. They might have found their way up there or something. Nobody can call the cockpit. We can't even get inside.
7:41 Speaker 00 The supervisor on the other end of the call does her best to keep Betty calm, and she places a call to an emergency number to report the hijacking. American Airlines Emergency Line, please state your emergency.
7:52 Speaker 07 Hey, this is Niti, the American Airlines caller. I am monitoring a call in which flight 11, the flight attendant is advising our reps that the pilot, everyone's been stabbed.
8:02 Speaker 00 Flight 11?
8:03 Speaker 07 Yep. They can't get into the cockpit, is what I'm hearing. Okay. I want a flight attendant on the line with one of our agents. Okay. Captain, go on with security, okay? You're doing a great job, just stay calm, okay?
8:20 Speaker 07 Okay, we're contacting the flight crew now, we're all con- uh, we're also contacting ATC. Okay. Okay. They are in the cockpit with the pilot.
8:28 Speaker 01 At 8:21 a.m., the leader of the terrorist group, Mohamed Ada, disables the aircraft's transponder, which tracks the location of the airplane. But the airline can still track Flight 11 through a primary radar, and they see that at 8:24 a.m., the plane changes direction, and instead of heading towards Los Angeles, it's heading towards New York. Around this time, Ada, the leader of the group, tries to make an announcement to the passengers, but instead, he transmits the message to air traffic control.
9:00 Speaker 06 Is that American 11 trying to call?
9:02 Speaker 07 Buddy, we have some planes, just stay quiet and you'll be okay, we're landing to the airport.
9:14 Speaker 06 And, uh, who's trying to call, we hear about?
9:22 Speaker 06 American 11, are you trying to call?
9:24 Speaker 07 Nobody move, everything will be okay. If you try to make any move, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet.
9:34 Speaker 01 Mohamed Ada could hear the commotion of the passengers onboard, and he knew that if he told everyone that they'd be safe as long as they remained calm, that he and his members could successfully execute their plan. But as we all know, the group didn't have plans to safely land the plane. Because at 8:26 a.m., the group makes a sharp 100-degree turn towards New York City.
9:58 Speaker 00 The members of Al Qaeda followed the Hudson River, knowing that it would lead them to Manhattan. At 8:34 a.m., Ada again tries to radio to the passengers of the plane, but instead, accidentally sends a message to air traffic control.
10:18 Speaker 00 At this point, the North American Aerospace Defense Command is sending out alerts that Flight 11 has been hijacked. Roger, Swat and certain Powell.
10:25 Speaker 06 Hi, Boston Center, TNU. We have a problem here. We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York, and we need you guys to, we need someone to scramble some N16s or something up there to help us out. Is this real world or exercise? No, this is not an exercise manifest.
10:41 Speaker 00 But since the aircraft's transponder has been turned off, they were having a hard time finding its exact location in the sky.
10:47 Speaker 01 At 8:44 a.m., Flight 11 begins descending quickly towards Manhattan, and the passengers on board know that things are not going to end well. As the plane speeds towards the city, many passengers begin crying with their loved ones. They say their goodbyes, and they even say a quick prayer, knowing that these will be their final moments. Another flight attendant on Flight 11 named Amy Sweeney called the airline officials and gave them seat numbers and descriptions of all of the hijackers. Her last words in this phone call were, quote, "I see water and buildings. We are flying very, very low. We are flying way too low.
11:31 Speaker 01 Oh my God, oh my God," end quote.
11:37 Speaker 00 At the World Trade Center, hundreds of people step inside the North Tower that morning, ready to start their workday. It was an average Tuesday. They walk through the front doors of the building and take the long elevator ride up to their floor. They step out, greet the receptionist, and start their day just like any other. They're in meetings, answering important phone calls, and rushing to meet deadlines. But their busy workday is interrupted when many people on the upper floors of the North Tower begin to notice that a plane is flying fairly close to the city. Many people stop what they're doing and watch in disbelief, saying, "Planes aren't supposed to fly that low, right?"
12:15 Speaker 01 They continue to watch, assuming that the plane will soon reach a higher altitude. But it never does. As the plane gets closer and closer to the North Tower, the people on the upper floors realize that it's coming straight towards them. And at 8:46 a.m., before they're even able to react, the plane plummets into floors 93 through 99, instantly killing everyone on board the plane and hundreds of people in the North Tower.
12:59 Speaker 01 This is, uh, 8:35, I'm Jermaine. I guess you caught this already. We got a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. You aware of that?
13:08 Speaker 04 You have a plane? That crashed into the World Trade Center in Manhattan? World Trade Center, Manhattan!
13:17 Speaker 06 A few moments ago, something, uh, allegedly a plane crashed into the tower of the World Trade Center.
13:23 Speaker 04 Oh my goodness.
13:24 Speaker 06 I just saw flames inside. You can see the smoke, uh, coming out of the, uh, of the tower. Unbelievable. No idea what it was. It was a tremendous boom just a few moments ago. You can hear around me, emergency vehicles heading towards the scene. Now, this could have been a, uh, an aircraft or it could have been something internal. Uh, it appears to be something coming from the outside or due to the, uh, nature of the opening, uh, on about the 100th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
13:58 Speaker 04 Uh, breaking news this out of, uh, downtown Manhattan. A plane is allegedly crashed into the World Trade Center. Details at this hour, very sketchy. Just a few moments ago, allegedly a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. We don't have any reports of what type of plane, what perhaps the- How many injuries are there right now? Police and fire units are being dispatched to the scene as we speak.
14:28 Speaker 04 The World Trade Center, Tower Number One is on fire. The whole outside is going to a sudden huge explosion.
15:06 Speaker 04 That's the building? Yes. Holy moly.
15:14 Speaker 04 Alright, lights are good, lights are good.
15:18 Speaker 04 Roll every available hand that you've got to this position.
15:23 Speaker 04 Rescue is responding, guys. I can tell you, as we are looking here at the north side, at the north face of Tower Number One, the gas that is in the building runs from about ten stories up to about fifteen stories, going from right to left. And now we have quite a bit of smoke and flame pouring out of the eastern side of Tower Number One. And at this point, Jeff, that is all we have. We are still looking at smoke billowing out of Tower Number One.
15:56 Speaker 04 It's 8:52 here in New York. I'm Bryant Gumbel. We understand that there has been a plane crash on the southern tip of Manhattan. You're looking at the World Trade Center. We understand that a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. We don't know anything more than that. We don't know if it was a commercial aircraft. We don't know if it was a private aircraft. We have no idea how many were on board or what is the extent of the injuries.
16:19 Speaker 00 As first responders rushed to the World Trade Center, calls started to come in from inside the North Tower. You see, the plane destroyed three stairwells inside the building, thus trapping over thirteen hundred people on floors ninety-two to one-hundred-and-ten. And as fire and smoke filled the rooms of the upper floors, the people trapped inside were beginning to panic. Some even started breaking the windows, trying to get some air. Within the first ten minutes of the crash, there were three thousand nine-one-one calls placed from inside of the tower. One of the first calls that dispatch received was from a man named Christopher Hanley, who was attending a work conference at the Windows on the World Restaurant, located on the one-hundred-and-sixth floor of the building.
17:04 Speaker 00 There were one hundred other people at this conference.
17:10 Speaker 07 Yeah, hi. I'm on the one-hundred-sixth floor of the World Trade Center. We just heard an explosion. The one-oh-sixth floor? Yes. One-oh-six, okay. We have smoke and it's pretty bad. We can't get down the stairs. All right. We have about a hundred people up here. Do not leave, okay? There's a fire or explosion or something in the building. All right, now watch it, stay where you are. Yes. All right, we're there, we're coming up to get you. See this smoke coming up from outside the windows down? All right, we're on the way. Just sit tight. All right, just sit tight, we're on the way. All right, please hurry.
17:48 Speaker 00 We don't have the audio for the next call, but a woman named Melissa Hughes placed a call to her father from the North Tower. She was in hysterics and told her dad that she was on the one-hundred-and-first floor of the World Trade Center. Her father did his best to keep her calm and told Melissa to find an exit sign and take the stairs down the building immediately. Little did he know that the stairs were already obliterated and that there was no way Melissa could escape that day. Melissa's father hoped that she would make it out alive, but as he watched the news coverage, he knew that things were not looking good. So the two said their "I love yous" and "goodbyes" before they both hung up the phone. This would be their very last conversation.
18:26 Speaker 01 Jim Gardenberg had worked at the World Trade Center for years, but four days before nine-eleven, he would accept another job offer that paid a little better. On the morning of September eleventh, he kissed his three-year-old daughter and his pregnant wife goodbye. And he left for his very last day of work at the World Trade Center's North Tower. When his wife Jill got to work that morning, she noticed she had a message on her answering machine from her husband.
19:03 Speaker 01 Jill immediately calls Jim back and although he sounded frantic on the voicemail, she said that he was very calm when he answered the phone this time. And he tells his wife, quote, "There's a fire. I'm gonna be okay, don't worry, I'm behind a desk, and I'm crouched on the floor, everything's going to be fine," end quote. But everything would not be fine. Jim was on the 86th floor, six floors beneath where the plane had hit. But he would never make it out alive that day.
19:35 Speaker 00 On the ground, hundreds of people in New York watched in disbelief as smoke and fire billowed from the building. Video footage from this day shows chaos all throughout New York City. In front of the Trade Center, first responders rushed to the scene and bystanders stood wide-eyed as paper from inside the tower rained down and covered the streets.
19:56 Speaker 07 It is Tuesday morning, the 11th of September, and you will not forget this date.
20:20 Speaker 01 Law enforcement soon started clearing people from the area. One, because of the falling debris. And two, because of the people jumping from the building. We heard a big bang, and then we saw smoke coming out, and everybody started running out, and we saw the plane on the other side of the building, and there was smoke everywhere, and people were jumping out the windows. Over there, they're jumping- out the windows, I guess because they're trying to see themselves, I don't know. And if you go over by that, you can see the people jumping out the window. They're jumping out the window right now. Oh my god. Alright ma'am, thank you. Many people that were on the ground that day said that they will never forget the sound and images of the jumpers hitting the pavement.
21:04 Speaker 01 As the fire and smoke filled the rooms of the North Tower, people inside began to hang out of the windows. Windows that they had broken themselves to get oxygen. There are countless images of people hanging outside of their office window, waving their shirts around, hoping that somebody would come to their rescue. When the fire on their floor would get too close and the oxygen became limited. These people were faced with an unthinkable decision: to burn and suffocate to death inside of the building. Or to jump off of the building to their death. And many people would choose the latter.
21:45 Speaker 01 The thought of even having to make that decision illustrates just how terrible the conditions were inside of the building. Some sources say that the temperatures on some of the floors reached upwards of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. And that some employees inside of the buildings had to stand on their desks because the floors were so hot. There are many pictures and videos online taken of people that jumped off the upper floors of the World Trade Center. Some held hands with a coworker as they jumped, not wanting to be alone as they fell to their death. Others jumped by themselves. And some even tried to make makeshift parachutes with their clothing.
22:27 Speaker 01 It's reported that their fall would take 10 whole seconds. 10 seconds of falling through the air, knowing that you're about to die. One Manhattan resident watched a woman jump from the tower and later said, quote, "She had a business suit on. Her hair was all askew." This woman stood there for what seemed like minutes. Then, she held down her skirt, and then stepped off the ledge. I thought, "How human, how modest, to hold down her skirt before she jumped." I couldn't look anymore. End quote. The images of these jumpers are ingrained in the minds of Americans still to this day. Images that we will never forget.
23:13 Speaker 01 It's estimated that nearly 200 people jumped to their death that day. And while the identities of the jumpers are still unknown, their bravery will never go unnoticed.
23:23 Speaker 00 Below the towers, people watched as thousands of pieces of paper rained down from the sky. I know it sounds strange, but if you look at the photos from that day, there was seriously paper everywhere from the office buildings inside of the towers. Along with paper, dust, debris, smoke, and absolute chaos filled the streets of Manhattan. Strangers were embracing each other and crying together as they watched people jump to their deaths. And many people were doing everything in their power to help those in need. At first, many people believed that this was all a horrible accident, that a plane must have lost control and just hit the tower. And while New Yorkers and the rest of the country were trying to comprehend what had just happened, another plane was on its way towards the World Trade Center. United Airlines Flight 175.
24:09 Speaker 00 This aircraft, like Flight 11, had departed from Logan International Airport in Boston and was headed to Los Angeles. The pilots were 51-year-old Victor Saracini and 38-year-old Michael Horrocks. In total, there were nine crew members and 65 passengers aboard. And amongst these five passengers were five members of Al Qaeda.
24:30 Speaker 01 At 8:37 a.m., Flight 175 was cruising at 31,000 feet when air traffic control contacted the pilots, letting them know that Flight 11 had been hijacked. A few minutes later, the pilots contacted New York to let them know about the suspicious transmission that they heard from Flight 11. This is New York, United 175 heavy. United 175, go ahead.
24:56 Speaker 07 We figured we'd like to go to your center. We heard a suspicious transmission on our departure out of Boston.
25:05 Speaker 07 With someone, someone keep a bike and said, "Everyone stay in your seats."
25:14 Speaker 04 Oh, okay. I'll pass it along over here.
25:18 Speaker 07 Cut it out.
25:19 Speaker 01 This would be the very last contact that the pilots would make with air traffic control. Because shortly after, sometime between 8:42 and 8:46, the hijackers would take over Flight 175. Two of the terrorists would storm the cockpit, immediately murdering both pilots. While the other three terrorists began moving all passengers toward the back of the plane. As soon as the hijackers take over Flight 175, Flight 11 crashes into the World Trade Center's North Tower.
25:54 Speaker 00 And tragically, most of the people working at the Air Traffic Control Center are so preoccupied with Flight 11 that they fail to notice that Flight 175 has turned off the aircraft's transponder. It isn't until 8:51 a.m., about five minutes later, that they finally notice that the aircraft has deviated from its initial route.
26:11 Speaker 04 United 175, recycle your transponder and score code of 1470.
26:22 Speaker 04 United 175, New York.
26:29 Speaker 04 United 175, do you read New York?
26:31 Speaker 00 The controller realizes that the aircraft has most likely been hijacked, but at this point, it's far too late because at 8:57 a.m., Flight 175 takes a sharp turn towards New York City and starts descending at 10,000 feet per minute.
26:45 Speaker 01 At this point, everyone on board can sense that they are not going to make it out of this alive. And many of the passengers begin to call their loved ones. One being a man named Ryan Sweeney, who at 8:59 a.m. leaves a voicemail for his wife, Julie.
27:03 Speaker 04 Julie, this is Ryan. Listen, on an airplane that's been hijacked, the things don't go well when the good thing goes. I just want you to know I absolutely love you. I want you to be good and go have a good time. Saying to my parents and everybody, that I just totally love you and I will.
27:21 Speaker 01 I know it's a little bit hard to hear, so if you didn't get that, he says, quote, "Jules, this is Brian. Listen, I'm on an airplane that's been hijacked. If things don't go well, and it's not looking good, I want you to know that I absolutely love you. I want you to do good. Go have good times. Same to my parents and everybody. And I just totally love you. I'll see you when you get there. Bye, babe." End quote. This is a voicemail that I listen to every 9/11, and every single time, it makes me
28:01 Speaker 01 cry when I hear it. Another passenger onboard, named Peter Hanson, decided to call his dad.
28:08 Speaker 00 Dad, we are on the plane. It's being hijacked. I think they've taken over the cockpit. An attendant has been stabbed, and someone else up front may have been killed. The plane is making strange moves. Call United Airlines.
28:19 Speaker 01 Peter's dad, Lee, would call for help, but was met with terrifying news after he heard about the first hijacked plane. Peter Hanson was on Flight 175 with his wife, Sue, and two-year-old daughter, Christine. Peter had finally gotten some vacation time at his job, and decided to take his family on a trip to Disneyland. It was their daughter Christine's first time on an airplane. Christine Hanson would be the youngest victim of 9/11. But before their plane crashed, Peter would call his dad one last time.
28:55 Speaker 00 Passengers are throwing up and getting sick. The plane is making jerky movements. I don't think the pilot is flying the plane. I think we're going down. I think they intend to go to Chicago or someplace and fly into a building. Don't worry, Dad. If it happens, it will be very fast.
29:08 Speaker 01 In Peter's last moments, he held his family in his arms. And the last thing his father heard him say was, "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." And then the sounds of people screaming. And then silence.
29:37 Speaker 00 After the first tower was hit, many people assumed that the crash at the World Trade Center was a horrible accident. But at exactly 9:03 a.m., as millions of people were watching the live news coverage of the towers, they noticed another plane come into view. The plane was getting close, too close to the World Trade Center, and then suddenly, it crashes directly into the south tower and explodes.
30:10 Speaker 07 Can you look out your window right now? Yeah. Can you see God about 4,000 feet, about 5 east of your pole right now? Yeah, I can. Is he descending through the building also? He's descending really quick too, yeah. Well, that's... 8500 feet now. He just stopped 800 feet in like one sweep.
30:33 Speaker 07 Another one just hit the building. Wow. Another one just hit it hard. Another one just hit the World Trade.
30:40 Speaker 00 Whole building just came apart. Holy smokes. And it was at that very moment that everybody knew that this was no accident. This was a terrorist attack.
30:50 Speaker 06 Not appear that there's any kind of an effort up there yet. Now remember, oh my God. Oh my God.
30:57 Speaker 04 That looks like a second plane. I just didn't see a plane go in. That just exploded. We just saw another plane coming in from the side. You did. That was absolutely by my view. Yes, and that's the second explosion. You could see the plane come in just from the right-hand side of the screen. So this looks like it is some sort of a concerted effort.
31:19 Speaker 06 Arriving at the scene. Jim Friedel in Hoboken said it appeared to back sharply and smash directly, perhaps purposefully, into... Oh my goodness. Oh God. There's another one. Oh. Oh my goodness, there's another one.
31:36 Speaker 05 This seems to be on purpose.
31:38 Speaker 06 Oh my goodness, now you...
31:39 Speaker 05 Another plane?
31:40 Speaker 06 Now it's obvious, I think, that there's a second plane just...
31:45 Speaker 05 Okay.
31:46 Speaker 04 Where do you get your knowledge from? How much time do you have in a pilot's... Oh, there's another...
31:51 Speaker 02 Oh, no. Okay. Explosion. Explosions, multiple explosions, ladies and gentlemen. We just saw another explosion. Obviously...
32:01 Speaker 04 We're just watching it again, it's the first time. This is now- This is the other tower, ladies and gentlemen. Another explosion at tower number two of the World Trade Center just happened, live on our air. You're over in Chelsea, um, did you hear the explosion from your position?
32:15 Speaker 07 Yes, we did, as a matter of fact. We, we heard it and, and, because I was just like standing there, pretty much looking out the window, I didn't see what caused it or if there was an impact.
32:26 Speaker 04 So you have no idea right now?
32:27 Speaker 07 Oh, there's another one, another plane just hit. Right, oh my gosh, another plane has just hit, it hit another building, flew right into the middle of it, explosion. Right, God, it's right in the middle of the building.
32:40 Speaker 04 This one into the east tower?
32:42 Speaker 07 Yes, yes, right in the middle of the building.
32:48 Speaker 07 And right now, that, yes, that was definitely looked like it was on purpose.
32:54 Speaker 04 You saw a plane-
32:55 Speaker 07 Yes, I just saw a plane go into the building.
32:59 Speaker 04 Okay, go ahead. The, um, I'd say the whole takes about...
33:06 Speaker 04 Just about six, seven floors were taken out, and there's more explosions right now. Hold on, people are running, hold on. Winston, hold on just a moment, we've got an explosion inside? The building's exploding right now, you got people running up the street. Hold on, I'll tell you what's going on. Okay, just, uh, put Winston on pause for just a moment. Okay, the whole building just exploded some more, the whole top part. Okay. The building's still intact, people are running up the streets. Uh, am I still connected? Winston, this would support probably what Libby and you both said, that perhaps the fuselage was in the building, that would cause a second explosion such as that. That's what just happened, then. That would, that certainly- Yeah, people are running up.
33:48 Speaker 04 Um, I, we're getting word that perhaps- Okay, hold on, the, the people here- Everybody's panicking. All right, Winston, you know, Winston, let me put Winston on hold for just a moment. Okay, I don't know how much longer we're staying, I'm inside of a diner right now. Well, Winston, you know what, if you could give us a call back, I just don't want to panic here on the air. Let's just take some of our pictures from News Chapter 7.
34:09 Speaker 02 ... out of the building. You say that emergency vehicles are there, understandably so, but of course, the major concern is human loss. I mean, do you know if there were many people in the building?
34:20 Speaker 06 Oh, another one just hit. Something else just hit. A very large plane just flew directly over my building and there's been another collision. Can you see it? I can see it on the shot.
34:29 Speaker 02 Yes.
34:30 Speaker 06 Something else has just... You know what, we just saw a plane circling the building.
34:33 Speaker 02 It is in the other building.
34:34 Speaker 06 We just saw a plane circling the building a second ago on the shot right before that. I think there may have been another impact. Can you tell? I just heard another very loud bang and a very large plane that might have been a DC-9 or a 747 just flew past my window and I think it may have hit the Trade Center again. To be honest, Elliot, I didn't get the impression that it was that big a plane. It looks big from here. I did see a plane go by a second ago, though, and it has now impacted the building. I'm trying to see if it's the different tower. I think it may have been. I believe the first one was World Trade Center 1 and it looks, from what I'm seeing on the television, like it may have been the second building. This is a piece of tape, and we may actually see another plane enter the picture here in a second. I wonder if there are air traffic control problems.
35:18 Speaker 06 Let's go back to Jennifer Oberstein, who we were talking to a second ago. Jennifer, did you see this happen?
35:22 Speaker 07 Hello?
35:23 Speaker 06 Did you just see this happen, Jennifer?
35:25 Speaker 07 Not... I've never seen any... It looks like a movie. I saw a large plane, like a jet, go immediately headed directly into the World Trade Center. It just flew into it, into the other tower, coming from south to north. I watched the plane fly into the World Trade Center. It was a jet, it was a very large plane. It was going south, it went past the Red Cross, how this is being built, and battery park, it flew right past it, almost hit it, and then went in.
35:53 Speaker 02 This is so shocking, of course, to everybody watching.
35:56 Speaker 00 After the second tower was hit, President George W. Bush would go on to make this statement.
36:02 Speaker 06 President Bush is now speaking about the situation here in New York City at the World Trade Center. We're trying to bring you his comments live as best we can quickly here. ... to hunt down and to find those folks who committed this act.
36:17 Speaker 06 Terrorism against our nation will not stand.
36:23 Speaker 06 And now if you'll join me in a moment of silence.
36:34 Speaker 06 President Bush speaking from an elementary school in Florida.
36:35 Speaker 06 May God bless the victims of families in America. Thank you very much. Brief comments of which apparently we didn't catch the beginning of it, but he was talking about this being a terrorist attack and talked about getting the folks responsible.
36:49 Speaker 01 Flight 175 had plowed through the World Trade Center's south tower, killing all 65 people onboard and most of the people on floors 77 through 85. When the first tower was hit, many people in the south tower began to evacuate. I feel like that's what anyone's reaction would be after seeing your twin tower in flames. But unfortunately, as the people began to evacuate, the port authorities who supervised the building made a public announcement telling everyone to go back to their offices and that their building was secure. Some people had even made it all the way downstairs into the lobby and then
37:32 Speaker 01 were told to make their way back up to the top. One man named Ernie Falk, who delivered packages in the building, said that he heard the plane hit the north tower and he immediately made the run for outside. On his way out, he heard people being told, quote, "The building is secure. The safest place is inside. Stay calm and do not leave," end quote.
37:57 Speaker 00 Many people decided to ignore the port authorities and evacuated the building anyways, and this decision would end up saving their lives. Unfortunately, though, hundreds of people would listen to the authorities, and they made their way back up to the floors that would get hit by the second plane just minutes later. But unlike the north tower, the south tower actually had a usable stairwell after the crash. Because the plane didn't hit directly in the center of the building, stairwell A would allow a number of people to get to safety that day and save their own lives.
38:27 Speaker 01 One of these people was a man named Keating Crown. He, along with 200 others, were at the 78th floor Sky Lobby that very day, directly where the plane would hit. At 9:03 a.m., nearly all 200 people in the room would die in a blink of an eye. And all that was left was Keating and about 14 others. Luckily, though, he was just out of reach from the plane's impact. Keating then ran down 78 floors with a broken leg and was loaded into an ambulance. There were hundreds of people that were above floor 77 when the plane hit the building,
39:09 Speaker 01 and only 18 of those people would successfully evacuate the South Tower that day, one being Keating Crown himself.
39:18 Speaker 00 Another one of the 18 survivors above floor 77 was a man named Brian Clark, who was the executive vice president at a brokerage firm on the 84th floor. He and his colleague Ron DeFrancisco felt the entire building sway from the crash that had hit the floors beneath them, and they knew immediately that they needed to evacuate. By total chance, they randomly chose to head down Stairwell A. On their way down, they heard a muffled voice behind a collapsed wall, and they end up rescuing a man named Stanley Pramnath.
39:47 Speaker 01 The three continued down the stairs, but keep in mind, they were having to pass through the floors that were just hit by the plane. And as they make their way down, the smoke started getting thicker and thicker, so much so that people were actually running up Stairwell A, hoping to get to the roof so that a helicopter could save them. Ron decided to go upstairs with a group of people. But Brian and Stanley kept heading down, knowing that that would be their only way out. And eventually, they made it to safety. Ron made it all the way up to the 91st floor. And then he started to panic and make his way back down the stairs.
40:32 Speaker 01 He later stated, quote, "I wanted to see my wife and kids again," end quote. So at that point, he and a group of people began to make their way down Stairwell A again. And as they made their way down, the smoke and the fire got more and more intense. When the smoke was too much to handle, Ron would lay on the floor, gasp for air, get back up, and keep running down the stairs. Luckily, he too made it out alive.
41:04 Speaker 00 All of the people that we just mentioned were among the very few that would escape the upper floors of the south tower. And as people were running out of the building, firefighters were heading into the building. Almost every single first responder in the city, whether they were off duty that day or not, were called that morning to the World Trade Center. And when they arrived, hundreds of them began making their way up to the top floors of the burning towers without giving it a second thought. Peter Hayden, the Division Chief for Lower Manhattan, later stated, "We had a very strong sense we would lose firefighters and that we were in deep trouble. But we had estimates of 25,000 to 50,000 civilians, and we had to try rescue them."
41:49 Speaker 00 What do you got up there, Steve?
41:52 Speaker 00 I still have a voice there with 744. No smoke or fire program.
41:57 Speaker 07 All of the police, so be careful. Yeah, that's why I saw that on 68.
42:04 Speaker 07 We're on 71, we're coming up behind you. Let me know when you see fire. 15 to 1508. 1508. Tommy, have you made it back down to the lobby yet? How the elevator screwed up?
42:22 Speaker 07 You can't move it?
42:25 Speaker 07 I don't like the stuff in that chair.
42:28 Speaker 04 The army has declared that you try to get down to the lobby command post. We got injured people up here on seventy.
42:37 Speaker 04 If you make it to the lobby command post, see if they can somehow get elevated past the fortieth floor. We got people injured all the way up here.
43:03 Speaker 04 One five, nine seven. Four four, you know, yeah. Okay.
43:11 Speaker 04 We got two. I'm sorry, the pocket to fire. We should have knocked it down two times. We got twenty, twenty-nine. Seventy-eight floor, and it's number ten forty-five, four hundred.
43:23 Speaker 07 One zero, you know, yeah.
43:25 Speaker 04 South tower. South tower.
43:29 Speaker 07 Four seventy-eight.
43:32 Speaker 04 South tower, see, south tower. Tower, tower.
43:37 Speaker 04 I'm going to tell you firefighters, out of stairway, to knock down two fires. We can hit the water on it, knock it down, okay? All right, south floor, we're coming up with this.
43:46 Speaker 01 We're on seventy-seven now, and the beam's down, you're right, so yeah. You can tell by the stress in his voice that the conditions inside the towers were bad. But they kept making their way up the floors regardless, looking for people to rescue. At the same time, the firefighters on the outside of the towers watched as dozens of their friends and colleagues enter the burning building. I'm sure that as they watched, they would say a quick prayer, hoping that they would get to see them again. But all of those hopes would immediately disappear at nine fifty-nine AM. Because the firefighters on the ground would hear a sound, almost like an explosion.
44:31 Speaker 01 And when they look up to see what's happening, they watch in horror as the south tower begins to collapse.
44:40 Speaker 01 And they know right then and there that hundreds of their fellow firefighters, their coworkers and friends, are dead. The firefighters on the outside of the building run for their lives. Unfortunately, some were killed by the debris. The entire country would watch in disbelief as the south tower collapses, killing nearly 800 people in a single moment. This is a 911 call of a man named Kevin Cosgrove, who was on the phone with dispatch as the tower collapsed, warning it is incredibly hard to listen to.
45:18 Speaker 07 Mine's Cosgrove. I must have called about a dozen times already.
45:23 Speaker 07 C-O-S-G-R-O-V-E. I like things I'm allowed I told you instead of leaving the building outside. I'm bang.
45:33 Speaker 07 Is anybody else on trial in here?
45:36 Speaker 07 There's young men who are not ready to die. I am too.
45:41 Speaker 07 Hello? Hello? We're looking at all, we're looking at fire at this center. Two doors, two broken windows.
45:50 Speaker 07 Oh, God!
45:52 Speaker 07 This is as close as we can get to the base of the World Trade Center. You can see the firemen assembled here, the police officers, FBI agents, and you can see the two towers. A huge explosion now raining debris on all of us. We better get out of there.
46:16 Speaker 07 Know how much fire equipment they've been able to move up on to those other rooms? Oh, it's just coming down, Pat. It is just coming down. Watch the right side. It's exploding.
46:26 Speaker 07 It is billowing. Pat, the debris is flying up there. Run! Okay. Crap.
46:37 Speaker 07 Holy shit! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, shit! Oh, my God!
46:46 Speaker 06 Oh my God! The World Trade Center just fell! The whole World Trade Center just fell! Oh my God! The building we can say is not where it was ten minutes ago. Lower Manhattan is simply completely enveloped in some visibility in zero. I can't even breathe, it looks like a nuclear war happened here. You can't see the sky at all, it's all gray. Right now I'm on Broadway and Leonard Street, and I'm in a crowd where we are escaping an enormous cloud of dust and debris.
47:18 Speaker 05 Let's gentlemen, there are times in our lives that are life-changing, where your life can never be the same, and this appears certainly to be one of them.
47:28 Speaker 01 At 9:59 a.m., just 56 minutes after the plane hit the building, the South Tower collapsed. And as the building fell, thousands of people started to run from the cloud of debris that was billowing towards them. Many people aren't able to escape the cloud in time, and are forced to hide under cars and inside of nearby restaurants. People of all ages are running as fast as they can to get away from the cloud. But it soon catches up to them, and what was once a beautiful sunny day quickly turns into a pitch-black nightmare. As people emerge from the cloud of debris, they are coughing, unable to see, hear, or
48:13 Speaker 01 breathe, and they're covered from head to toe in gray ash.
48:17 Speaker 00 Chaos and debris fill the streets of Manhattan. But just before the South Tower collapsed, another tragedy occurred in Arlington, Virginia, at the Pentagon. While all eyes were on New York City's World Trade Center, another plane had been hijacked, American Airlines Flight 77. The flight departed from Washington Dulles Airport at 8:20 a.m. and was set to arrive in Los Angeles. Onboard the plane were pilots Charles Berlingame and David Charlebois, along with four other crew members and 58 passengers. And, once again, amongst the random passengers on the plane that day were five members of Al Qaeda.
48:52 Speaker 01 About 20 minutes into the flight, at 8:43 a.m., air traffic control instructs the pilots to climb to an altitude of 35,000 feet, to which they do. A few minutes later, they're instructed to turn 10 degrees to the right. American 77, turn 10 degrees to the right.
49:13 Speaker 01 Ten right, American seventy-seven. And this would be the very last contact with the pilots from Flight seventy-seven. Because soon after this, the terrorists would hijack the plane. Unlike the first two planes, the hijackers don't kill or stab anyone. Instead, they shove the pilots, crew members, and passengers to the back of the plane. Once they have control of the aircraft, they start making their way towards Washington, DC.
49:42 Speaker 00 Air traffic control would attempt to make contact with the plane at 8:56 a.m., but they were met with no response.
49:49 Speaker 01 American seventy-seven, clear direct to Valdez.
49:52 Speaker 06 Clear direct to Valdez, American seventy-seven, thank you.
49:55 Speaker 00 It isn't until the second plane hit the World Trade Center that they realized that Flight seventy-seven had been hijacked. But there is some major confusion going on within air traffic control at this point, and they seem to be getting their aircrafts mixed up.
50:08 Speaker 01 American seventy-seven, Indy.
50:16 Speaker 01 American seventy-seven, Indy.
50:24 Speaker 01 American seventy-seven, American, Indy.
50:34 Speaker 01 American seventy-seven, American, Indy. Radio check, how do you read?
50:45 Speaker 01 American seventy-seven, American, radio check, how do you read?
50:49 Speaker 00 Soon after this, Flight seventy-seven takes a sharp turn towards Washington, DC.
50:54 Speaker 05 Can you tell me if we know for sure it was American eleven that went into the Trade Center? We think that's who it was. Okay. And we're missing another plane also. Uh, which flight are you missing? Seventy-seven. And when was last... He knew for sure something about him. Uh, he was in, uh, wait a minute. He's out of Dulles. Okay, and? Dulles, LA, and they both, uh, apparently have been hijacked.
51:17 Speaker 00 Everyone assumed that the hijacked plane was on its way to the White House, but instead, it took a last-minute detour towards the Pentagon.
51:24 Speaker 06 Aircraft is moving away. Moving away from the White House. Yeah, six airplanes, the White House deviating away. Deviating away, you don't have a tight air cushion, you don't know who we end. Nothing, nothing, we're in the White House. I have no clue.
51:36 Speaker 00 Fighter jets were sent out to take down the plane, but they were too late, because at 9:37 a.m., Flight 77 would crash into the western side of the Pentagon, killing all 64 people onboard and 125 people inside of the building. Terror was quickly spreading, and now that the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense was hit, no one in America felt safe.
52:05 Speaker 04 And, uh, this is Gopher 06, it looks like that aircraft crashed into the Pentagon, sir.
52:11 Speaker 04 Gopher 86, Gopher 06, thank you. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. We're looking at a live picture from Washington, and there is smoke pouring out of the Pentagon. It would appear that there has been another major explosion, this one in the nation's capital. You are looking at a scene of, uh, apparent blast aftermath. There is smoke in the air over the Pentagon. We don't know whether this is the result of a bomb, or whether it is yet another aircraft that has targeted.
52:44 Speaker 01 Two hijacked planes had crashed into the World Trade Center, and one had crashed into the Pentagon. But as you know, our story doesn't end there. There would be one more aircraft that would get hijacked: United Airlines Flight 93. Flight 93 left from Newark International Airport and was on its way to San Francisco on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Onboard were pilots Jason Dahl and Leroy Homer.
53:17 Speaker 01 Along with five flight attendants and thirty-seven passengers. Among the passengers were four members of Al Qaeda. The aircraft takes off twenty-five minutes late at 8:42 a.m., just minutes before the first plane hit the World Trade Center. At 9:02 a.m., the aircraft reaches thirty-five thousand feet in altitude, and everything is going smoothly. At 9:23 a.m., the aircraft received an ominous message from the ground that stated, "Beware of any cockpit intrusion. Two aircrafts hit World Trade Center."
53:59 Speaker 01 And just five short minutes later, at 9:28 a.m., the hijackers would storm the cockpit, and a struggle ensues over the aircraft's controls. As the pilots fight off the attackers, pilot Leroy Homer is able to get a message through to air traffic control.
54:26 Speaker 05 Somebody call police?
54:28 Speaker 00 What you just heard were the pilots screaming, "Mayday, mayday, get out of here." Two of the terrorists continue to fight with the pilots as the other two send the passengers and crew to the back of the plane. The air traffic control realizes that Flight 93 has quickly descended, so they try to make contact with the pilots.
54:50 Speaker 00 At 9:32 a.m., the leader of the terrorist group tried sending a message to the passengers, but instead sends it to air traffic control.
54:58 Speaker 05 You got United 93? United 93. Descended. What's that? I just see it looks like he descended there. United 93 verified 350.
55:12 Speaker 05 United 93 verified as platable 350.
55:17 Speaker 05 United 93, Cleveland.
55:20 Speaker 05 United 93, Cleveland.
55:24 Speaker 05 United 93, if you're at Cleveland Center, I got it, please.
55:27 Speaker 00 If you couldn't hear that, he says, ladies and gentlemen, here's the captain. Please sit down, please remain sitting. We have a bomb on board, so sit. The air traffic controller then reports the hijacking, but at this point, the aircraft has changed directions and is headed directly for Washington DC. At 9:39 AM, the terrorist leader sends out another accidental message to air traffic control.
55:58 Speaker 00 Once again, he says, this is the captain. I would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board. We are going back to the airport to have demands. Please remain quiet.
56:09 Speaker 01 By 9:42 AM, the FAA has demanded that all planes in the United States were to cut their route short and land at the nearest airport. Every airline in the United States was shut down, and over 4,500 planes were making immediate landings all over the country. Every plane except for Flight 93. At this point, people on board were starting to make calls to their loved ones. One man named Tom Burnett placed a call to his wife, Deena. After watching the news, Deena was relieved to see that her husband was calling. She thought that this meant he was safe. But as soon as she answered, she learned that her
56:54 Speaker 01 worst fears had come true.
56:57 Speaker 01 Tom was extremely intelligent and always very matter-of-fact. And when Deena answered the phone, he told her everything. He said, "We're on Flight 93. Someone's hijacked the plane. There's two people up front that are injured. Call the authorities immediately." And then he hung up the phone.
57:17 Speaker 00 Tom calls Deena back a few minutes later, hoping to get some information about what's happening. Keep in mind, no one on board knows anything about the other hijackings. And many people are scared, but they're hopeful that they will make it out alive. For the next few minutes, we're going to use interviews from a documentary called The Tragic Story of Flight 93, which I highly recommend watching. In this documentary, Tom's wife, Deena, explains what happens next.
57:41 Speaker 03 I then told him about both towers of the World Trade Center being hit. And he relayed that information to the people around him. We're being hijacked. Up and down the east coast that they had all originated on the east coast.
57:55 Speaker 00 Tom instructed his wife to give him all information possible about the hijackers. Tom then relayed that information to the people around him. And a few minutes later, he would call his wife again. On this phone call, Dina told him about the plane hitting the Pentagon. And it was at this moment when Tom started discussing the idea of overpowering the hijackers. A few minutes later, Tom would call Dina for the fourth and final time. And he told her that they were about to overtake the hijackers.
58:24 Speaker 03 It frightened me terribly. And I pretty much yelled into the telephone for him to sit down, be still and be quiet and not draw attention to himself.
58:37 Speaker 03 And he yelled back and he said, "No." I was so afraid for him. And I wanted to help.
58:46 Speaker 03 And that's what I had been told, so I wanted to pass it on. But I am so very glad he did not take my advice. He rarely did.
58:57 Speaker 00 Tom would be one of the many heroes onboard Flight 93, heroes who started forming a plan against the terrorists. In their last words to one another, Dina would say this.
59:08 Speaker 03 I told him that I loved him.
59:12 Speaker 03 And asked if there was anything else I could do.
59:21 Speaker 03 He said, "Pray, Dina.
59:25 Speaker 03 Just pray."
59:27 Speaker 01 Another passenger onboard Flight 93 was 27-year-old Elizabeth Wainio. And she decided to call her mom, Esther. Esther had already seen the news about the hijacking. So when Elizabeth called, she had already prepared herself for the worst. In the documentary, Esther says this.
59:47 Speaker 07 Fortunately, I had been watching on that little TV, so I had some mental preparation. And I was able to be unselfish instead of just crying and thinking about myself. And, you know, wanting to cling to her, I was able to to love her, you know, and help her become peaceful
1:00:07 Speaker 07 with the inevitable.
1:00:12 Speaker 07 The only way I could tell she was agitated is she had shallow breathing at the beginning of the phone call. It was real short and choppy and I wanted to help calm her down. And so I said, "Look Elizabeth, I've got my arms around you and I love you. Let's just be together here." So I said, "Let's just look out the window at the beautiful blue sky and take some deep breaths together." And we did. And it was amazing because within just a few breaths, she was calm. So we were together and a lot of the time, we were quiet.
1:00:56 Speaker 07 And it was just peaceful between us. No crying, no hysteria, no yelling. And I think that's a perfect example of Elizabeth's unselfishness, that in the midst of all of that, she could be thinking about the impact of it on us.
1:01:14 Speaker 01 The two sat on the phone together for a while before Elizabeth told her mom that she knew this would be harder on them than it would be on her.
1:01:25 Speaker 07 And that was a beautiful thing she did say. She called my mother, "Omie," and Ben's mother, "Grandma," and she said that she knew Omie and Grandma were waiting for her. And they both were dead. It made me feel clear that she was really going through a transformation while we were on the phone. I just feel like she was really releasing her life and going to wherever she had to go. And again, we were quiet.
1:02:00 Speaker 01 She ended the phone call by saying that she knew her grandmothers would be waiting for her in heaven.
1:02:06 Speaker 07 It was excruciating. I think, you know, a mother feels like you're supposed to be able to keep your children safe.
1:02:18 Speaker 02 I could love her, but I couldn't keep her safe.
1:02:23 Speaker 01 Elizabeth and her mom ended the phone call, knowing that it would be their very last time speaking to one another. A few other passengers onboard were able to leave voicemails to their loved ones. Here is 38-year-old Lauren Grandcolis, leaving a message for her husband.
1:03:02 Speaker 07 Hi, are you there? Jack, pick up, sweetie.
1:03:09 Speaker 07 Okay, well, I just wanted to tell you I love you. We're having a little problem on the plane. Um, I'm totally fine. Um, I just love you more than anything, just know that. And, uh, you know, I, I'm, you know, I'm uncomfortable and I'm okay. For now, um, it's a little problem, so I'll, uh... I, I just love you. Please tell my family I love them too. Bye, honey.
1:03:41 Speaker 01 Next, passenger Linda Gronland calls her sister, leaving her this message.
1:03:48 Speaker 07 Elsa, it's Lynn. Um, I've only half a minute. I'm on United 93 and it's been hijacked by terrorists who say they have a bomb. Apparently, they, uh, have flown a couple of planes into the World Trade Center already and it looks like they're gonna take this one down as well. Mostly, I just wanted to say I love you. And I'm gonna miss you. And, and please keep my love alive. And...
1:04:18 Speaker 07 Well, see, I just love you and I just wanted to tell you that. I don't know if I'm gonna be able to tell you that again or not.
1:04:26 Speaker 07 Um, all my stuff is in the safe. The, uh, the safe is in my closet in my bedroom. The combination is you push T for clear and then oh nine one three. And then, uh, and then it should, and maybe pound and then it should unlock.
1:04:44 Speaker 07 I love you and I hope I can talk to you soon. Bye.
1:04:48 Speaker 01 And lastly, flight attendant Cece Lyles calls her husband and leaves him a message.
1:04:56 Speaker 06 Hi, baby. I'm, baby, you have to listen to me carefully. I'm on a plane that's been hijacked. I'm on the plane. I'm calling from the plane. I want to tell you I love you. Please tell my children that I love them very much. And I'm so sorry, babe. Um, I don't know what to say. There's three guys. They've hijacked the plane. I'm trying to be calm. We're turned around and I heard that there's planes that have been, been blown into the World Trade Center. I hope that you will see your face again, baby. I love you. Bye.
1:05:30 Speaker 00 One man on board Flight 93 was a man named Todd Beamer. Todd was a father of two with another baby on the way. And he knew that calling his pregnant wife would cause a lot of stress on her and the baby. So instead, he talked to a woman named Terry at an emergency call center. Todd explained everything to Terry and she did her best to try and keep him calm. In the documentary, Terry said the following.
1:05:53 Speaker 07 And I asked him if he wanted to speak to his wife, if he wanted me to connect him. But for any reason, if he didn't make it off that plane, would I call her? And let her know in his family how much he loved them? And I told him I would. Everyone was calm until the plane started to take a dive and fly erratic. Then you could hear a lot of commotion, an awful lot of commotion.
1:06:17 Speaker 07 You can tell the difference when someone is screaming for their life.
1:06:22 Speaker 07 And that's what I felt. They were screaming for their lives.
1:06:26 Speaker 07 I could hear that. I could hear the screams, the crying, the hollering.
1:06:34 Speaker 07 Total commotion. That was the worst part of my entire conversation with them. Was hearing the commotion of those passengers.
1:06:43 Speaker 00 Around this time, everyone on the plane knew that they didn't have much time left. So Todd asks Terry if she would recite the Lord's Prayer with him.
1:06:51 Speaker 07 I hear their voices.
1:06:56 Speaker 07 Often.
1:07:02 Speaker 07 Something I'll never forget.
1:07:09 Speaker 01 Lastly, a man named Jeremy Glick, who was on Flight 93, decided to call his wife Liz. In the documentary, Liz says that when Jeremy explained what was happening, she began to scream and panic. Then, the two just started saying "I love you" back and forth for several minutes. That's all that they could get out. The words "I love you." But soon after this, Liz saw on the news that the south tower had collapsed. Jeremy then told his wife about how the people onboard were planning to attack the hijackers. And he asked her if she thought if it was a good idea.
1:07:50 Speaker 02 I hesitated for a minute before I told him. But, you know, I really trusted him. I trusted his strength. It was valuable information for him to have, you know, to be able to make a decision. You know, most times a hijacking, they land the plane or they blow it up. And this was a completely different type of hijacking.
1:08:11 Speaker 02 You know, I remember thinking in my mind, say I give him the wrong information. And, you know, it causes him to die or something like that. And there really wasn't a lot of time. You know, there really wasn't another option after seeing what I had seen in New York.
1:08:26 Speaker 07 And then finally, I think I said, "Honey, you need to do it."
1:08:31 Speaker 00 For the next few minutes, Jeremy and Liz expressed their love for one another and said their goodbyes. He then told her he was going to put the phone down and that they were going to put their heroic plan into action. He actually didn't end up hanging up the phone, so Liz could still hear everything going on in the background, but she couldn't bring herself to listen to what was going to happen next. After Jeremy Glick put the phone down, he, Todd Beamer, Tom Burnett, and many others on Flight 93 began grabbing anything on board that they could use as weapons. And suddenly, Todd Beamer can be heard on the phone saying his famous quote, "Let's roll", as the group attempted to take back the plane.
1:09:09 Speaker 01 Many people that were still on the phone with their loved ones said that after Todd yelled, "Let's roll", all they could hear were screams. Liz Glick couldn't stand to hear the last moments of her husband's life, so she handed the phone over to her dad.
1:09:27 Speaker 07 He said he'll be back. You take the phone. And she couldn't listen anymore. So I took the phone and it was probably 45 seconds of silence, a series of screams, kind of like a roller coaster diving. I mean, just a mass of people with a scream. And I'm hoping that Jeremy or someone's going to come back and say, "We got them" or something. Then nothing.
1:10:21 Speaker 01 The passengers on board Flight 93 put up one hell of a fight. The hijackers attempted to stop them by rolling the plane from side to side, hoping to knock them off balance, but they kept fighting. The hijackers knew that the passengers were close to taking control of the aircraft. And instead of letting that happen, they decided to run the plane into the ground. At 10:03 a.m., Flight 93 would crash into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all 44 people onboard. Although it's unclear what the terrorist's target was, it's widely assumed that they planned on hitting Washington DC's Capitol Building.
1:11:05 Speaker 01 But they were never able to do so, solely because of the brave men and women onboard Flight 93.
1:11:13 Speaker 06 United 93? Yes. There is a report of black smoke in the last position I gave you. It hit the ground. That's speculation only.
1:11:22 Speaker 00 Although United Flight 93 would be the last attack on September 11th, it wouldn't be the last tragedy. Because back in New York at 10:28 a.m., millions of people watched as the World Trade Center's North Tower collapses, killing everyone that was still trapped inside.
1:11:39 Speaker 06 And there's, you can see, perhaps the second tower, the front tower, the top portion of which is collapsing.
1:11:47 Speaker 06 Good Lord.
1:11:54 Speaker 06 There are no words.
1:11:55 Speaker 07 I'm about a block away, and there were several people that were hanging out the windows right below where the plane crashed, when suddenly you saw the top of the building start to shake, and people began leaping from the windows in the north side of the building. You saw two people at first plummet, and then a third one, and then the entire top of the building just blew up, and splinters of debris are falling on the street. Where I'm right now, there's a thick plume of smoke, and you can see crowds of people, including emergency service workers and police officers, running from the scene, screaming.
1:12:25 Speaker 06 A lot, but I think it's important as people join us as they do in moments like this, they are coming in all the time, that there have been attacks in two American cities, New York and in Washington. The Trade Centers here in New York have been hit by airplanes. In Washington, there is a large fire at the Pentagon. The Pentagon has been evacuated. And there's, you can see, perhaps the second tower, the front tower, the top portion of which is collapsing.
1:12:55 Speaker 06 Good Lord.
1:13:02 Speaker 06 There are no words. You can see large pieces of the building falling, you can see the smoke rising. You can see a portion of the side of the building now just being covered on the right side as I look at it, covered in smoke. This is just a horrific scene and a horrific moment.
1:13:25 Speaker 06 The president who was in Florida today is in route back to the White House. He took off a short time.
1:13:30 Speaker 00 Luckily, many of the firefighters that were in the North Tower evacuated when officials radioed in that the South Tower had collapsed. Some, however, never heard the evacuation order and were still trapped inside. One of the chiefs even ran throughout the North Tower's stairwell yelling on a bullhorn, "All firefighters, get the fuck out!", in action which saved many of their lives. But at the end of the day, 23 New York police officers died, 37 members of the Port Authority Police Department died, 343 New York firefighters died, and around 2,740 New York civilians had died. And after the attack, people were frantic, trying to call their loved ones to make sure that they were safe.
1:14:12 Speaker 00 But because of the overload of calls throughout the city, many cellphone networks crashed, and thousands of people were left completely in the dark about the fate of their loved one.
1:14:22 Speaker 07 I can tell you the reaction on the street. There are people sobbing, there are people frantically trying to dial their cellphones. Many of them don't know that service has been cut off. Everybody is sharing what little information they have with each other, but I can tell you that people are very, very frightened.
1:14:39 Speaker 06 All right, thank you. Kelly Edwards reporting live from downtown where so many thousands and thousands of people are waiting to hear the fate of the loved ones after the World Trade Center's South Tower completely collapsed, the North in flames.
1:14:53 Speaker 01 Many families would go to bed that night without their loved one, without answers.
1:15:00 Speaker 01 They weren't sure if their friend or family member had died in the attack, or if they were in a hospital somewhere injured. But as the days went on and their loved ones still didn't return home, many families had to come to terms with the fact that they were most likely dead. Thousands of people experienced this heartache. And over the next few months, New York was covered in missing persons flyers. People desperate to find their friends and family. A lot of people even tried contacting hospitals in New York City. But a number of doctors reported that
1:15:41 Speaker 01 they didn't receive nearly as many patients as they thought they would that day. Because sadly, despite a few cases, most people either escaped the towers with minor injuries, or they didn't escape at all. In the days following the attack, search and rescue missions worked tirelessly, trying to find people that were still alive among the rubble. And they ended up finding eighteen people that lived. But as the days went on, finding victims that were alive was becoming less and less likely. For the next nine months, search and rescue teams along with three hundred K-9 units from around the world
1:16:25 Speaker 01 were brought to Ground Zero to try and recover the bodies. Search and rescue workers would dig through 1.8 million tons of debris. Among the rubble, they would find twenty-two thousand body parts. But only sixty percent of the people killed in the towers would be identified. The other forty percent were among the body parts of people who will never receive a proper burial. Their families will never get the closure they deserve. But to this day, victims are still being identified. Recently, two victims' DNA were identified, giving their family closure twenty years later.
1:17:12 Speaker 00 While the entire nation did its best to heal from this horrible tragedy, many people had the same questions. How did this happen? And why?
1:17:21 Speaker 01 On that morning, nineteen hijackers snuck box cutters and fake bombs onto our nation's trustable airlines. They took control of our planes, killed thousands, and terrorized our nation. And as this day took most Americans by surprise, the members of Al Qaeda had actually been carefully planning this attack for years. Their leader Osama bin Laden had actually been calling Muslims to kill Americans since 1992.
1:17:51 Speaker 00 To try and explain why Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda hated America so much is quite the task. And the truth is, there is no simple explanation. However, in layman's terms, in 1988, while fighting against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden founded Al Qaeda, which means "the base" in English, an extremist militant group whose goal was to wage global jihad. While the term jihad has many different meanings, we can assume that bin Laden and Al Qaeda used the term to mean "holy war." Essentially, what this means is that the group wanted to defend and strengthen the Islamic faith, defend Muslims under attack, and punish enemies that attacked Islamic countries. The US at the time was Al Qaeda's main target.
1:18:33 Speaker 01 In the year 1998, Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda released their second fatwa, or a formal ruling, or position on Islamic law, that called for violence against America. The fatwa stated, "We, with God's help, call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim Yalima soldiers, youth, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's US troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson."
1:19:18 Speaker 01 Obviously, American leaders were concerned by this.
1:19:22 Speaker 01 But they had no idea how capable al Qaeda was of carrying out a mass-scale terrorist attack.
1:19:28 Speaker 00 It was around this time when an Islamic extremist named Khalid Mohammed began throwing around the idea of a planes operation in America. In 1999, after Bin Laden stated that he was going to "move the battle to American soil", Khalid Mohammed started plotting the attack and recruiting its members. Four of the recruits agreed to be the pilots of the hijacked airplanes. And one of Khalid Mohammed's recruits was a man who would become the leader of the hijackers, a man named Mohammed Atta. And his story is not one that you'd expect.
1:20:07 Speaker 00 Mohammed Atta was born on September 1, 1968, in Egypt. He was raised in the country in a small community, and he studied architecture at Cairo University, from which he graduated in 1990. After graduating in Egypt, Mohammed decided to continue his studies in Hamburg, Germany, at the Hamburg University of Technology. It was there, in Germany, where he first met Marwan al-Shehi, Ramzi bin al-Shab, and Ziad Girah, future conspirators of the 9/11 attacks. It is interesting to note that, when you look at the history of all four of these men, almost none of them came to Germany as radicalized Islamists. Mohammed Atta was simply a student when he arrived in Germany, but after being drawn to a specific mosque in Hamburg that adhered to a fundamentalist militant version of Islam,
1:20:52 Speaker 00 he began to become radicalized. Marwan al-Shehi came to Germany on a scholarship to study marine engineering, and Ziad Girah came over from Lebanon to attend junior college. While living in Germany, Ziad had a girlfriend who was a medical student, and he even worked a summer job at a paint shop factory for Volkswagen. They all seemed to be pretty normal.
1:21:11 Speaker 01 The group met three to four times a week to discuss their anti-American and anti-Israel views. During these discussions, they argued amongst one another about the best way that they could fight for their cause. And it wasn't until one day, after a chance meeting with a stranger on a train, that they were put into contact with... An Al Qaeda operative in Germany, and they were convinced to go to Afghanistan. The four traveled to Pakistan soon after this meeting, where they were instructed by the Al Qaeda operative to meet up with a man named Umar Al Masri. But once they arrived, they found out that there was no such man. The name was actually a code word that instructed Taliban officials
1:21:56 Speaker 01 to bring the men to Afghanistan, where after some convincing, the four men agreed to join Al Qaeda and fight the holy war against America.
1:22:06 Speaker 00 While in Afghanistan, the men met with Osama bin Laden himself and swore their allegiance and loyalty to him. Mohammed Atta was handpicked by bin Laden to lead the terrorist attacks in America. And after some discussion of strategy, planning, and goals, the four men headed back to Germany. It was here in Germany where they first attended flight school and learned how to pilot planes. One of the group's instructors in Germany recommended that they continue their flight school studies in America, and thus, three of the four members headed off to the US to complete their training.
1:22:36 Speaker 01 And these four were horrible, but they were mostly just soldiers taking orders from the real mastermind behind the attack. The real idea for the attack came from a man named Khalid Muhammad. Khalid has had his hand in a number of terrorist attacks, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, which was carried out by his own nephew. Khalid was a member of Al Qaeda and a close associate of Osama bin Laden's. The plan to hijack planes and create chaos in America was first suggested to bin Laden in 1996 by Khalid. According to the September 11th Commission, Khalid envisioned a plan where radical Islamist militants would hijack 12 airplanes
1:23:21 Speaker 01 on both the east and west coasts of America and crash the planes into selected targets. These targets at the time were the World Trade Center, the Empire State Building in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, the Prudential Tower in Boston, Massachusetts, the White House, and the United States Capitol. In Washington DC, the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois, the US Bank Tower in Los Angeles, California, the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, California, and the Columbia Center in Seattle, Washington. Bin Laden criticized the plan at first, believing that it was too elaborate.
1:24:01 Speaker 00 It should be noted that in as far back as December of 1998, the Director of Central Intelligence Counter-Terrorist Center reported to then-President Bill Clinton that Al Qaeda was preparing for attacks in the US, including training personnel to hijack aircrafts. But the US government at the time didn't do much. In late 1998 and early 1999, Bin Laden and Khalid met a number of times to discuss a new plan. Bin Laden had approved Khalid's planes' operation, but they had to narrow down their targets. While Bin Laden wanted to target the US Capitol, the White House, and the Pentagon, which he believed would lead to a collapse of the federal government, Khalid pushed for the destruction of the World Trade Center. And thus, the plan for 9/11 was born.
1:24:45 Speaker 00 And it was soon after when the four men from Germany traveled over, that with Bin Laden, and were selected as a few of the operatives that would carry out the attack.
1:24:54 Speaker 01 So, back to Afghanistan. After their meetings with Bin Laden, their discussions of the attacks and their selections as leaders of the assault, Mohammed, Ziad, and Ramsey headed back to Hamburg to obtain their new passports, claiming that their old ones were lost in order to obtain US visas. Marwan, too, headed back to his home country to obtain a new passport and visa as well. While back in Germany, the three attempted to present themselves as, quote, "less radical." They stopped attending extremist mosques, changed up their physical appearance, and distanced themselves from friends and acquaintances.
1:25:31 Speaker 00 In 2000, all members that were to be involved in the September 11th attacks began moving to the United States. Some members first settled in California. While living in the San Diego area, a few members had season passes to SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo. A few other future hijackers regularly visited Cheetahs, a local strip club. And at times, members would... would drive to Las Vegas for the weekend in a Toyota that they had purchased.
1:25:56 Speaker 01 It was also in California where some members took their first flight lessons. They only took one lesson, then decided afterward to carry out their training at a different flight school. The instructor of that first California flight school would go on to say in an interview, quote, "The first day they came in here, they said they wanted to fly Boeings. We said you have to start slower. You can't just jump right into Boeings." End quote.
1:26:22 Speaker 00 In March of 2000, Mohamed Atta, the ringleader of the plot, contacted the Academy of Lakeland in Florida and said the following in an email. "Dear sir, we are a small group of young men from different Arab countries. Now we are living in Germany since a while for study purposes. We would like to start training for the career of airline professional pilots. In this field, we haven't yet any knowledge, but we are ready to undergo an intensive training program, up to ATP and eventually higher." Mohamed apparently sent a similar message to 50 to 60 different flight schools across America.
1:26:54 Speaker 01 Let's fast forward. At this point, 12 of the 19 future hijackers are living in Florida. And about three weeks before September 11th, the targets that the groups were told to destroy were assigned to four teams. All of the targets had code names. The United States Capitol was nicknamed "The Faculty of Law." The Pentagon was dubbed "The Faculty of Fine Arts." And the World Trade Center was referred to as "The Faculty of Town Planning."
1:27:25 Speaker 00 In mid 2000, Mohamed, Ziad, and Marwan, the three men who had personally met with Bin Laden, came over from Germany after their visas had been approved and settled in Venice, Florida. By the end of 2000 and the beginning of 2001, all three had finished flight school and knew how to operate large planes. The day of terror was rapidly approaching, and they were all getting excited to die.
1:27:48 Speaker 01 While studying for the attacks, most of the hijackers watched training and promotional videos, took flight lessons, and became familiar with planes. But this wasn't enough. Chillingly, the future hijackers in the months before September 11th took multiple flights in first class so they could study the layout of the large planes and to see exactly how flight procedures were handled in the US. Hundreds of Americans during this time flew with the future hijackers, and no one had any idea that they were in the air with them.
1:28:22 Speaker 00 But well in Florida, when they had some free time, what did these future hijackers do? It's somewhat surprising. A few of the hijackers, including the man that would eventually crash the plane into the south tower of the World Trade Center, named Marwan Al Shehi, allegedly spent hundreds of dollars at a time on sex toys and porn. Another hijacker worked as a stock boy at a local warehouse. They at times visited Lowe's, Target, the pharmacy, and even at times the beach. A select few of the hijackers even purchased gym memberships and worked out frequently. Why? Because they were to be the muscle hijackers, or the ones that would take over the planes using physical force. Chillingly, at one point in his life, Mohammed Atta, the ringleader himself, had been an
1:29:06 Speaker 00 urban planner who claimed that he hated office buildings. It should also be noted that eerily, the community where several of the hijackers lived was named Delray, Florida. And in July of 2001, just over a month or so before 9/11, Delray, the city, was selected to win the title of All-American City. Sadly though, right under the surface in Delray that summer was anti-American hate. Before we get to the night of September 10th, I want to point something out. I've always thought that the date 9/11 was chosen as some sort of a symbol, a cry for help. After all, you dial 911 in America to reach emergency services.
1:29:46 Speaker 00 I've also always thought that it was crazy too, how the 11th and 9/11 is almost reminiscent of the Twin Towers. One and one, standing side by side, just like the World Trade Center. But as it turns out, the date wasn't picked for its symbolic value. Mohammed Atta decided on 9/11 for allegedly two reasons. One, it was the week after Labor Day, and as people were returning to work, the airports wouldn't be as crowded. Also, 9/11 that year fell on a Tuesday, and Mohammed assumed that as it was a weekday, the airports wouldn't be as crowded, the planes wouldn't be as full, and it would be easier to hijack a somewhat emptier flight than a full one.
1:30:25 Speaker 01 In the days before September 11th, the hijackers laid low. Most stayed in hotels on the East Coast, some visited ATMs, and others said goodbye to their loved ones. Allegedly, one of the hijackers even hired an escort from a local agency in Boston. But on the evening of September 10th, all of these future terrorists engaged in the same behavior. Following instructions, they washed their bodies and shaved off excess hair. They were also instructed to “forget this world.” It's hard to imagine what those 19 men were feeling at the time. Not only were they about to commit suicide, but they were also about to commit mass murder. No matter how they all felt though, or where they were staying,
1:31:10 Speaker 01 all 19 men went to bed that night for the very last time, then woke up early the next morning and headed to the airport.
1:31:19 Speaker 00 That morning, all 19 hijackers checked in for their flights, headed through security, and made it to their departure gates with no issues. No one noticed the box cutters that they had smuggled onboard, or the fake bombs. One of the most chilling images that emerged in the wake of 9/11 was a photo of the hijackers walking casually through the security screening in the airport. Nobody had any idea what these men were about to do. And, in an infuriating twist, a number of the hijackers, while going through airport security, were selected for additional screening procedures. But the only thing that these procedures guaranteed was that the selected person's checked baggage was kept off of their next flight until it was confirmed that the passenger had boarded. In addition, a few of the hijackers were deemed suspicious
1:32:04 Speaker 00 by the customer service representative at the check-in counter. And even though these men raised suspicions, once again, the only repercussion that they faced was that their checked baggage was kept off of their flight until the passenger had boarded. And finally, one of the hijackers set off both metal detectors at the security checkpoint that they were passing through. Even though security camera footage that was seized and scoured by authorities later showed that the hijacker had a suspicious item in his back pocket, the agent at the security checkpoint didn't notice it and allowed the hijacker through the checkpoint and into the airport.
1:32:37 Speaker 01 Mohammed Atta and Abdul Amari both flew that morning from Portland, Maine to Boston, Massachusetts. It was at the Logan Airport in Boston where they would board Flight 11. At the same airport in Boston was another team waiting to board their flight. Mohammed Atta took a phone call from Marwin, the soon-to-be pilot of the plane that would run into the cell tower, a short time before boarding their flights. This would be their last communication. It was soon after this call when all 19 hijackers would board their planes and take off into the skies.
1:33:28 Speaker 00 The impact that 9/11 had on the world was massive. First of all, not even a month passed after the events of 9/11 before the US Army invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to squash Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. This military engagement would end up becoming the longest war in United States history. As I'm sure many of you guys already know, the last US Army troops just left Afghanistan a few weeks ago. The military engagement ended in absolute chaos and death. During the war, more than 6,000 Americans were killed and roughly 44,000 Americans were wounded.
1:34:04 Speaker 01 After the 9/11 attacks, many government agencies were formed. Including the Department of Homeland Security and the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The TSA, or Transportation Security Administration, was also formed. Before, airlines were left to hire their own private security officials to conduct pre-flight security checks. Now, that task is left up to the government, and the restrictions on passengers are much more stringent.
1:34:34 Speaker 00 And finally, Americans lost their privacy to some degree. US intelligence agencies became much bolder. They began spying on normal Americans. They collected emails, texts, phone calls, sometimes from individuals with no connections to terrorists or terrorism. Some people have become angry with these practices, while others have asked the question, "What do I have to hide?"
1:34:59 Speaker 01 The world that day was changed forever, in just a matter of hours. And the world will never be able to go back to where it was before 9/11. It's a sad fact, but that's just reality.
1:35:13 Speaker 00 But no matter what, we want to end today's episode with a few survival stories from 9/11, of people that should have died that day, but didn't, only by pure luck.
1:35:23 Speaker 01 A man named Joseph Lott was supposed to be at a work conference at the Windows on the World Restaurant in the North Tower that morning. But before that meeting, a colleague named Elaine Greenberg gifted him with a red and blue tie. Joseph was flattered by her gift and went to put the tie on, but Elaine told him that if he was going to wear it, he needed to go change shirts because it didn't match. So Joseph went all the way back to his hotel, changed shirts, and then made his way back to the North Tower. As he walked inside the building and approached the elevator, he felt Flight 11 hit the tower. Elaine Greenberg and the 100 other people at the conference would die in the tower that day.
1:36:08 Speaker 01 Joseph Lott would escape, all because he went to change his shirt.
1:36:13 Speaker 00 Another man named Michael Lomenaco was a chef at the windows of the World Restaurant. He was supposed to clock in that morning at 8:30 a.m., but he was running behind because he made a quick stop to get a new pair of glasses that morning. Over 70 of his colleagues would die in the towers, but Michael's life was spared.
1:36:31 Speaker 01 A woman named Monica O'Leary was laid off the day before the attacks on September 10th, 2001. And although at the time it seemed like a very low point in her life, it ended up saving her life. Because the next day, right where she worked, the plane hit the towers, and all of her former colleagues would die.
1:36:55 Speaker 00 David Kervet would survive the attacks on the World Trade Center because he offered to walk a client downstairs to the security desk. He would have normally made his assistant do it, but she was eight months pregnant, so he did it instead. David would make it out of the towers alive that day, but all of his colleagues would perish.
1:37:15 Speaker 01 Nicholas Rayner was supposed to be on American Airlines Flight 11, but he ended up missing the flight because he sprained his ankle hiking right before.
1:37:25 Speaker 00 Interestingly enough, Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the popular cartoon show Family Guy, one of our favorite shows, was supposed to be on United Airlines Flight 175 that day, but his travel agent had accidentally told him the wrong time for his departure. When he arrived at the gate that morning, they informed him that he had just missed the flight. The next thing he knew, he saw the plane that he was supposed to be on crashing into the World Trade Center across TV.
1:37:54 Speaker 01 Army official Philip Smith would later say that the plane that hit the Pentagon hit at the strongest point of the building with the least amount of people, and that if the hijacker would have hit any other wedge on the building, he could have killed up to 5,000 people.
1:38:12 Speaker 00 A crew of firefighters led by Captain Jay Jonas were evacuating the towers when they made the heroic decision to help an injured woman named Josephine Harris. As they stopped to help her, the tower collapsed. But because of their exact position within the stairwell, they all made it out alive.
1:38:29 Speaker 01 Dozens of others had similar stories to this one. Like the people who slept in that morning because the New York Giants game was the night before. Or the employees who decided to take the next elevator up the towers because it was already too full. Or even people who decided to stop and look at the Manhattan skyline for a few minutes that morning. All of these stories are from people who, without even realizing, made a decision that day that would save their lives. So the next time you're sitting in annoying traffic, or you lost track of time, or you stopped for a bite to eat, remember that wherever you are in life is exactly where you're meant to be.
1:39:09 Speaker 01 A man named Garrett Graft wrote a book about 9/11, and in his research, he stated, quote, "One theme that never ceases to amaze me: the sheer randomness of how the day unfolded. Who lived? Who died? Who was touched? Who escaped? One thousand times a day, we all make arbitrary decisions. Which flight to book? Which elevator to board? Whether to run an errand or stop for coffee before work? Never realizing the possibilities that an alternate choice might have meant. In the eighteen years since 9/11, each of us have made literally one million such decisions, creating a multitude of alternate outcomes we'll never know."
1:39:53 Speaker 01 End quote.
1:40:03 Speaker 00 Ground Zero used to be a site of disaster, where rubble and debris filled the streets.
1:40:10 Speaker 00 Now, 20 years later, it serves as a beautiful memorial remembering what happened on that tragic day in September of 2001. In place of where the World Trade Center once stood are now two twin memorial pools, and the names of every 9/11 victim are inscribed into the bronze parapets around it. Every year, thousands upon thousands of people come to visit to pay their respects. Next to some of the names are flowers and memorabilia that family members will leave from time to time. For some of the families whose loved ones were never identified, this memorial is the only closure that they will ever have. But despite all of the hatred and horror that occurred at the World Trade Center on 9/11, there is now a sense of peace
1:40:55 Speaker 00 that resides over the memorial.
1:41:08 Speaker 01 Although we normally tell stories about Americans murdering each other, we thought it was important to tell you one of America's most prolific murder stories, especially on its 20th anniversary. 9/11 was my first memory ever. I was only four years old when it happened, but I remember all of my loved ones crying and the collective sadness that it left on everyone. I hope today, 20 years later, you can reflect on all that was lost on September 11th, 2001. All of the people who went into work that morning and never made it back home. Think of their friends and family members and what they're going through today. Think
1:41:50 Speaker 01 of the first responders who ran into the burning buildings while everyone else was running out. The pilot on Flight 93, Jason Dahl, was married to a woman named Sandy, who after the attacks said, “If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short, and there's no time for hate.” 9/11 is a great reminder that our days are not promised, and that everything can change in the blink of an eye. So enjoy every moment you're given. Be kind to one another. Tell your friends and family how much you love them, and never take your life for granted.
1:42:33 Speaker 00 To end today's episode, instead of saying our usual catchphrase and discussing the paranormal and everything, I'm just gonna end the podcast with outro music and then place at the very end of this edit, a minute of silence. So if you're listening, don't turn the podcast off yet. Listen to the silence for a minute before you start your next, next activity, or whatever show you're gonna listen to next, and use that minute to really reflect on life, love, liberty, and, uh, America. Those lives that were lost. It's Colin here signing off.
1:43:06 Speaker 01 And Courtney.
1:43:07 Speaker 00 And we'll, uh, we'll see you on the next one, everybody.
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