Non-Subscriber Extract
Hijacked airliners strike at the heart of America
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| 12 September 2001 |
Compiled by Jane's staff
Tuesday
morning's co-ordinated terrorist attack against New York and Washington
DC using four hijacked commercial airliners - the worst terrorist atrocity
in modern times - has left America stunned. 
The
attacks resulted in the destruction of the World Trade Center's twin towers,
the subsequent collapse of the adjacent Saloman building and the US Department
of Defense's Pentagon building in Washington being extensively damaged.
It is feared the death toll in New York may run into the tens of thousands,
while around 800 Pentagon staff are feared dead in Washington. All those
in the crashed aircraft - 233 passengers, 25 flight attendants and eight
pilots - were killed. 
The
US military, and those of its allies, remain on high alert. Airline operations
across the USA have been suspended and the USA has also closed its borders
to Canada and Mexico in response to the attacks.The horrific series of events began at 08.45 EDT when an American Airlines Boeing 767, Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles, was crashed into the World Trade Center's North Tower. Eighteen minutes later another hijacked Boeing 767, United Airlines Flight 175 also bound for Los Angeles from Boston, was flown into the World Trade Center's South Tower. Just over half an hour later, an American Airlines Boeing 757, Flight 77 from Washington to Los Angeles, crashed into the Pentagon. Another Boeing 757, United Airlines Flight 93 bound for San Francisco from Newark, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This aircraft is presumed to have been on its way to Camp David, the presidential retreat in the Maryland hills, and may have come down as those on board struggled with the terrorists
US fighters were being used in the aftermath of the attack to patrol US airspace. US Navy Atlantic Fleet ships were moved out to sea to provide air defence of Washington and New York, and to offer medical support and hospital beds to those areas. Aircraft carriers, amphibious ships, guided missile cruisers and guided missile destroyers were among the ships involved.
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| These photographs, taken by Edward Nicklas and Jane's staffer Steve Allen, show the damage to the Pentagon's west side after American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into it around 09.38 on Tuesday morning EDT. Up to 800 Pentagon staff were listed as missing and presumed dead late on Tuesday; all 64 passengers and crew on the aircraft were killed. |