Message #119966

[Jeannette Latoria]

September 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001, al Qaeda suicide hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the northern facade of the North Tower at 8:46 a.m., followed seventeen minutes later by a second team of hijackers who crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower.[109] The damage caused to the North Tower by Flight 11 destroyed any means of escape from above the impact zone, trapping 1,344 people[110] while as many as 600 people were killed instantly or were trapped at or above the floors of impact in the South Tower.[111] At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed due to fire which caused steel structural elements, already weakened from the plane impact, to fail. The North Tower collapsed at 10:28, after burning for approximately 102 minutes.[112]

At 5:20 p.m. on September 11, 2001, 7 World Trade Center collapsed due to uncontrolled fires causing structural failure.[113] 3 World Trade Center, a Marriott hotel, was destroyed during the collapse of the two towers. The three remaining buildings in the WTC plaza sustained heavy damage from debris and were ultimately demolished.[114] The Deutsche Bank Building across Liberty Street from the World Trade Center complex was later condemned due to the uninhabitable toxic conditions inside; it is undergoing deconstruction.[115][116] The Borough of Manhattan Community College's Fiterman Hall at 30 West Broadway was also condemned due to extensive damage in the attacks and is slated for deconstruction.[117]

In the aftermath of the attacks, media reports suggested that tens of thousands might have been killed in the attacks, as on any given day upwards of 50,000 people could be inside the towers. Ultimately, 2,750 death certificates were filed relating to the 9/11 attacks, including one filed for Felicia Dunn-Jones who was added to the official death toll in May 2007; Dunn-Jones died five months after 9/11 from a lung condition linked to exposure to dust during the collapse of the World Trade Center.[118] Cantor Fitzgerald L.P., an investment bank on the 101st–105th floors of One World Trade Center, lost 658 employees, considerably more than any other employer,[119] while Marsh & McLennan Companies, located immediately below Cantor Fitzgerald on floors 93–101 (the location of Flight 11's impact), lost 295 employees, and 175 employees of Aon Corporation were killed.[120] As well, 343 deaths were New York City firefighters, 84 were Port Authority employees, of whom 37 were members of the Port Authority Police Department, and another 23 were New York City Police Department officers.[121][122][123] Of all the people who were still in the towers when they collapsed, only 20 were pulled out alive.[124]